Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence and declarations of interest.

Apologies were received from Councillor Moran.

There were no 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/Hackney Carriage Driver Licence.

The Licensing and Compliance Officer gave a summary of her report which requested that members determine whether the Driver was “Fit and Proper” to continue to hold a Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence.

In response to questions from members, the Licensing and Compliance Officer clarified that the Licensing Team conduct endorsement checks on all their taxi drivers’ DVLA licences both during the application process and then once annually.

In respect to the case before the Panel, the Driver had completed an application for a Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Licence in May last year and the licence was subsequently issued that June. The IN10 offense (using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks) was committed during the application process, 12 days before the licence was granted but after the checks had been completed and was not reported to the Council.

The Driver addressed the Panel and said that whilst he was guilty of the offense, there were mitigating circumstances. He explained that his vehicle had been off the road, but he had believed that it was still insured as there was a Direct Debit coming out of his account every month. He later discovered, after being charged for having no insurance, that this was for road tax.

He said that he was stopped by the police when taking the car for its MOT. He proceeded to ring his insurer in the presence of the police, and they confirmed that they had contacted him by email five weeks prior to the expiration of the policy; something which he had overlooked. He had not been contacted by the provider any time after this.

In response to questions from the Panel, the Driver clarified the following:

• He had failed to report the offense to the Council as he was under a lot of stress at the time. He had undertaken several tests, including medicals and a driving exam, to obtain his taxi licence whilst recovering from a cancer operation and being a victim to an investment scam.
• It had not occurred to the Driver that he needed to report the offense to the Council, even after reading the Terms and Conditions of the application as he also had many things on his mind at the time. Furthermore, he was unaware who to contact at the Council as he had not seen a contract.
• He believed that he had been paying for insurance, but not road tax, as he had taken the car off the road. He confirmed that he had not signed or completed a SORN declaration to register the car as off the road.
• The Direct Debit, which the Driver had believed was for insurance, was payable to the DVLA.
• The tests which he had undertaken to obtain the licence were more centred on safeguarding and there was no emphasis on insurance.
• The Driver’s employer checked their drivers’ DVLA licences once a year. The Driver had not thought to report the offense at the time to his line manager.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item LIC17

To review an existing Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Drivers Licence

The Licensing and Compliance Officer gave a summary of her report which requested that Members determine whether the driver was “Fit and Proper” to continue to hold a Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence.

The Driver addressed the Panel and said that they were aware that it was illegal to answer the phone whilst driving, but they felt they needed to take the call as it was from work.

The Driver’s partner added that the fleet of vehicles were issued with unreliable hands-free equipment. Furthermore, the call which the Driver received was not relevant. They concluded by saying that she was an asset to the company, and regularly worked a lot of overtime.

In response to questions from members, the Driver clarified that the phone was in a hands-free system, and she did try to cancel the call when she was not able to make a satisfactory connection. However, as she was required to answer incoming calls from her employer as it may regard information about her jobs, she continued to take the call. The call was however not important as it was regarding a quiz night outside of work hours.

The meeting was adjourned at 14:24 for the Panel to retire to make their decision.

The meeting was reconvened at 14:44

Decision Notice

The matter before the Panel today is for a review of HC/PHV driver’s licence. The Driver is employed on school and social care contract driving.  She appeared before us today with her partner.

We are charged with determining whether she is considered ‘fit and proper’ to continue holding the licence, and depending on our determination upon that issue, we may impose any of the following sanctions:

·         No further action

·         A suspension of the licence for a prescribed period

·         Revocation of the licence

We start with the law, namely Part II of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.

S 51 thereof states:

51(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part of the Act, a district council shall, on the receipt of an application from any person for the grant to that person of a licence to drive private hire vehicles, grant to that person a driver’s licence:

Provided that a district council shall not grant a licence

(a)  Unless they are satisfied

(i)            That the applicant is a fit and proper person to hold a driver’s licence.

This responsibility is ongoing, and whether the Driver remains a fit and proper person is what we must decide today.

S61 goes on to state:

A district council may suspend or revoke a driver’s licence for:

(a)  That since the grant of the licence he has-

(i)            Been convicted of an offence involving dishonesty, indecency or violence: or

(ii)          Been convicted of an offence under or has failed to comply with the provisions of the Act of 1847 or of this part of the Act: or

(b)  Any other reasonable cause.

In the event of a licence being revoked a driver has the right  ...  view the full minutes text for item LIC18

To review an existing Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Drivers Licence.

The Licensing and Compliance Officer advised the Panel that the Driver was not in attendance but had submitted a written statement. The Driver had also confirmed that they were happy for the case to be heard in their absence.

The Legal Advisor suggested that the item be deferred so that the Driver may be given another opportunity to address the Panel.  This was agreed by the Panel.

Meeting ended 15:01