Agenda item

To determine an application for a Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Drivers Licence.

The Licensing Support Officer gave a summary of her report which requested that Members determine whether the applicant was suitable to hold a Private Hire Driver’s Licence.

The applicant addressed the Panel and explained that they regretted their actions from 8 years ago, but questioned the convictions included on the DBS form as nobody had been hurt. They said that when they were in court, the judge had given them the smallest possible fine.

They understood why their licence application had been brought before a Panel hearing, but felt that they were more than worthy of the drivers job which they had applied. They concluded by saying that they were not the person that the DBS made them out to be.

The Chair asked the applicant for further information regarding another caution on the DBS form. The applicant responded that they did not understand why the incident was on the DBS form, as the Crown Prosecution Service had dropped the case. The Solicitor clarified that a person would have received a caution if they had admitted to committing said crime, regardless of any further convictions being later pursued.

The applicant explained that the caution was as a result of an incident with a takeaway driver after they had nearly hit one of their family members; however, they had not gone out to intentionally harm anyone and nobody was hurt.

The Chair then requested further clarification on the applicants most recent convictions. The applicant explained that this had been a result of a disagreement with the family of another pupil at his son’s school, following the discovery of a quantity of cannabis in his son’s possession. He confirmed that no action was ever taken by the police against the other pupil.

Meeting adjourned at 13:53 for the Panel to retire to make their decision.

The meeting was reconvened at 14:10

DECISION NOTICE

The matter before the Panel today is an application dated 6th December 2022 for the grant of a new HC/PHV driver’s licence. If successful, he has an offer of employment.

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 from the applicant, and we have considered the terms of the Council’s Licensing Policy. We remind ourselves that all applications are determined on their merits and we have discretion to depart from policy in appropriate circumstances.

On the DBS certificate attached to his application, he has two for Common Assault and Battery. He also has a caution for Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm. The case officer had an informal conversation on the 8th December 2022 with the applicant to discuss these convictions.

In the course of that conversation the applicant explained that  his son had been found with cannabis at school and he believed he was being exploited to sell this. Once he identified the other individual involved in the case, he went to visit him and his family where the situation got heated and the police were called. 

As a consequence, the applicant does not meet the following requirements of the Council’s Licensing Policy:

Point 2.9 states “A driver has direct responsibility for the safety of their passengers, direct responsibility for the safety of other road users and significant control over passengers who are in the vehicle. As those passengers may be alone, and may also be vulnerable, any previous convictions or unacceptable behaviour will weigh heavily against a licence being granted or retained.”

Point 2.10 further provides that  “where an applicant has more than one conviction showing a pattern or tendency irrespective of time since the convictions, serious consideration will need to be given as to whether they are a safe and suitable person

Finally, point 2.14 states “Where an applicant has a conviction for an offence of violence, or connected with any offence of violence, a licence will not be granted until at least 10 years have elapsed since the completion of any sentence imposed.’

We have heard from the applicant today and we have listened carefully. However, we are considering two offences of violence, albeit eight years apart. To receive a caution one must admit the offence and the offence for which the applicant was cautioned was one of violence. Similarly, though we accept the later incident was in support of his son, the proper course of action in all the circumstances would have been to make an appointment with the Headteacher: the offence with which he was subsequently charged was actual bodily harm, so someone was hurt, and he was also made subject to a restraining order. We regard violence of any kind very seriously indeed.

The primary function of this Committee is the protection of the travelling public. The legislation makes this clear as does the case law and all authority in the area. Our role is to determine whether or not an applicant is a fit and proper person to hold a HC/PHV licence and if we consider that he is not, then our duty is clear – we should refuse the application. Sadly, in the applicant’s case we feel that in all the circumstances we have no alternative but to do so. Violence is never acceptable and what the DBS certificate reveals is a true picture of the offences.

The applicant has a right of appeal to the Magistrates Court against this sanction and this right must be exercised within 21 days of the date of our decision. The applicant will receive a letter/email from the Legal Department explaining this but he should be aware that since this is a refusal, and not a revocation, that the magistrates have no power to grant him a licence.

The meeting ended at 14:14