Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence and declarations of interest.

There were no apologies for absence or declarations of interest.

Consideration of reports containing exempt information within the meaning of section 100I and paragraph 1 part 1 Schedule 12A Local Government Act 1972.

RESOLVED that under section 1001 of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded for the following items of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To review an existing Private Hire Driver Licence.

The Senior Licensing and Compliance Officer gave a summary of their report which requested that Members review whether the Driver was still suitable to hold a Private Hire Driver’s Licence.

Prior to the meeting, it had been agreed by both the Driver and the Vice-Chair of the Committee to hear the review in the Driver’s absence.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer confirmed that it was within the Panel’s gift to apply the following sanctions:

·         No further action

·         A suspension of the licence for a prescribed period

·         A revocation of the licence

In response to members questions, officers clarified that the certification for the Victim Awareness Course, appended to the report, was related to the case and that the driver had completed it within the required timeframe as outlined by the conditions of their police caution.

Furthermore, the fine referenced by the Driver in their correspondence to officers was likely to be a Victim Surcharge, which can be issued by the police as part of a caution.

Meeting adjourned at 10:09 for the Panel to retire to make their decision.

The meeting was reconvened at 10:18

DECISION NOTICE

The matter before the Panel today is the review of a Private Hire driver’s licence.

We have had the opportunity of reading the officer’s report on this case, a copy of which has been served on the applicant, and we have also seen, as has he, the background documents annexed thereto. We have had the opportunity of hearing from the Case Officer and have considered the terms of the Council’s Licensing Policy.

The Licensing Team received an email from the Driver to advise that they had received a ‘caution on his DBS’ and provided a short summary of the circumstances. In response, the Licensing Officers ran a check on the DBS Update Service to confirm the change to the Drivers DBS status. In summary of the conditional caution, the Driver committed ‘’wound/inflict grievous bodily harm without intent’’. The caution conditions required completion of an anger management and victim awareness course, to not commit any further offences and to pay a fine of £50. The Licensing Team are not aware of any other convictions or cautions on the Drivers record.

The Council’s Driver Suitability Policy, does not specifically refer to cautions and therefore the Driver is not automatically prohibited from retaining a Private Hire Driver licence, however, the admission of the offence does naturally raise a question of suitability and as such Licensing Officers deemed it necessary for the Panel to review the licence.

We have heard from the case officer today and we have listened carefully.

Agreement to make a decision in the absence of the Driver was obtained from both himself and Chair of the Panel, prior to the meeting.

The primary function of this Committee is the protection of the public and if we are in any doubt as to whether an individual is a safe and suitable person to continue to hold a licence then our duty is clear – we  ...  view the full minutes text for item LIC49

To review an existing Private Hire Driver Licence.

The Licensing and Compliance Officer gave a summary of their report which requested that Members review whether the Driver was still suitable to hold a Private Hire Driver’s Licence and Private Hire Vehicle Licence.

It was noted that the Driver’s Private Hire vehicle had recently broken down, and they were in the process of applying for a new Private Hire Vehicle Licence.

A representative of the Driver addressed the Panel and asked if drivers needed to have full signage displayed on school runs, as every council had a different policy. Officers confirmed that signage should be displayed on the vehicle at all times.

The representative said that the Driver admitted to making a mistake and explained that the signage was taken off at night as taxis in their area were targeted by vandals.

Officers clarified that the policy around signage had changed approximately two years ago and before this, there were no requirements to display anything on the vehicle doors. The Driver had held their licence since 2016 in order to work on home-to-school contracts, and these were the only two offences which they had committed, both before and since the policy change. The Driver’s representative confirmed that the Driver did not understand that the law had changed.

Officers explained that, in order to renew their licence, the Driver would have sat the Green Penny course last year which outlined this policy.

Meeting adjourned at 10:35 for the Panel to retire to make their decision.

The meeting was reconvened at 10:56

DECISION NOTICE

The matter before the Panel today is the review of a Private Hire Driver licence, and Private Hire Vehicle licence. It was noted that the Private Hire vehicle referred to in the report had since broken down and the Driver was currently in the process of applying for a new Private Hire Vehicle Licence from Uttlesford District Council.

We have had the opportunity of reading the officer’s report in this case, a copy of which has been served on the applicant, and we have also seen, as has he, the background documents annexed thereto. We have had the opportunity of hearing from the Case Officer and a representative of the applicant and have considered the terms of the Council’s Licensing Policy.

Licencing Officers attended a scheduled driver and vehicle check, when they saw a Driver and their vehicle which was not displaying either the authorities’ licence plate or door signs. The Drvier stated that the plate must have fallen off on the journey as it had been present at the start of the day. They gave no explanation for the door signs being missing. It was explained to them that they along with the plate need to be displayed on the vehicle at all times. Email correspondence was later received from the employer of the Driver, showing that the Driver had in fact found the Licence plate and along with the door signs affixed them to his vehicle.

Licensing Officers attended another scheduled check where they saw  ...  view the full minutes text for item LIC50

To review an existing Private Hire Driver Licence.

The Senior Licensing and Compliance Officer gave a summary of their report which requested that Members review whether the Driver was still suitable to hold a Private Hire Driver’s Licence.

In response to member questions, officers confirmed that endorsements for exceeding the statutory speed limit on a public road (SP30) were active on a DVLA driving licence for three years, however, remained on a driving record for four years. When the Licensing Team previously identified the Driver as having accumulated nine points on their DVLA licence from three separate SP30 offences, he was required to undergo and pass the Council’s approved driving proficiency test. The Driver then committed a further SP30 offence after completing the test which meant that their DVLA licence now showed holding 12 points, but only nine were considered “active”, in line with the DVLA driving endorsement guidelines. On none of these occasions did the Driver notify the Licensing Team of the endorsements and they were instead picked up on routine driver licence checks.

The Driver addressed the Panel and said that first offence was his first SP30 in quite some time and had been during the Covid-19 pandemic. As a consequence of the pandemic, he was the only driver in his company and was doing a lot more professional driving as a result whilst his headspace was not in the right place. He explained that the two additional SP30 offences were committed in succession and he tried to toe the line as he was at risk of losing his licence.

After the pandemic, the driver said that he continued to do more professional driving due to a severe driver shortage and once again ended up in a position with nine points on his DVLA Driver’s Licence. He said that he could not excuse his actions but had since taken stock as it was sobering to think that he could lose his livelihood. He had implemented further measures to avoid speeding, including setting a speed limit in his vehicle and using an app which also alerts him to speed limits.

In response to member questions, the Driver confirmed the following:

·         The Driver had known that it was a requirement to self-report offences to the Council’s Licensing Team but didn’t think that it was something that the Council has followed up on before.

·         At the time of coming out of the pandemic, he had put steps in place to avoid committing any further SP30 offences but lapsed again the next year. He then introduced additional measures after his most recent offence.

·         He had undergone the National Speed Awareness Course many years ago because of the incidence outlined within the report.

·         He was unaware that he had a responsibility to report any of the offences to the Traffic Commissioner in regards to any of his other licences.

·         Taxi driving was his main source of income.

The Deputy Monitory Officer clarified that as of June 2023, the driver would only have three active points on his DVLA licence.

Meeting adjourned  ...  view the full minutes text for item LIC51