Agenda item

To determine a private hire/hackney carriage driver’s licence.

The driver had not arrived to the meeting, nor had he responded to any correspondence sent by the Council.

The Solicitor said the case warranted to be heard in the driver’s absence as he had failed to provide a medical certificate proving he was fit to drive. The driver, therefore, was a threat to public safety.

The panel considered the Enforcement Officer’s report.

The driver’s group 2 medical,DVLA mandate and enhanced DBS check had all expired on the 30 April 2018 and the driver had repeatedly failed to respond to the Council’s request to supply this information.

The Enforcement Officer said he had spoken to the Operations Manager of the driver’s last known employer, who confirmed that the driver was no longer in their employment. He also said the driver had moved from his previous residence and he was unaware of the driver’s new address. Failure to notify the Council of a change of address was in breach of the driver’s conditions of licence.

At 2.40pm the panel retired to make its decision.

At 2.45pm the panel returned.

The Chairman read the decision.

Decision:

The application before the Panel today is for the suspension or revocation of the driver’s joint private hire/hackney carriage licence no PH/HC 0949  in accordance with S61  (1) (b) Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.- any other reasonable cause. He has been licenced in Uttlesford since 21st May 2015 and his current licence is due to expire on 30^th April 2019. His last known driving role was with 24 x 7 (Northants) Ltd who advised the Council his employment with them had ended and that he was no longer at the address the Council had for him.

Failure to notify the Council in writing within seven days of a change of address is a breach of paragraph 18a of Appendix G of the Council’s Licensing Standards.

The Council requires all drivers to undergo an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and group 2 medical when they apply for a licence and every three years after that.   These checks assist the Council in establishing whether an individual is a ‘fit and proper’ person to hold a licence. The driver’s last group 2 medical and DBS check both expired on 30^th April 2018. Further, as part of the Council’s due diligence licensed drivers are required to provide a DVLA mandate every three years, and the driver’s mandate similarly fell due on 30^th April.

Normal practice at UDC is to send out reminder letters to drivers for DBS checks that are due to expire on the first working day of the month which precedes the month when the check expires. The reminders for medicals are typically sent out on the 15^th day of the month preceding the expiry of that check.

The driver was contacted in writing on 13^th April, 1^st May and 28^th June and on the last occasion was told that if he wanted to remain licensed then he must provide these documents by 16^th July 2018. He has not done so. Attempts were also made to contact him upon his last known telephone number.

Condition 12 of Appendix A of the Council’s Licensing Standards requires drivers to meet “…Group 2 medical standards as published by the Dept of Transport.”

Compliance with this standard is a legal requirement, and without a certificate we have no means of knowing whether this requirement is satisfied. This Committee considers that failure to provide an up to date medical or DBS check is a breach of Council policy; the checks are vital to establish that a driver is medically fit enough to drive, and has not received any criminal convictions in the period since their last DBS check. Lacking that information, and mindful of the paramount importance of public safety, we are are not satisfied that the driver is a fit and proper person to hold hackney carriage and private hire licences  and therefore revoke them, with immediate effect.

The driver has a right of appeal against this decision to the Magistrates Court, and that any such appeal must be lodged within 21 days. Normally, the revocation would come into effect following the end of the appeal period, but since the revocation is because of failure to supply a medical certificate in the interests of public safety, this period of grace will not apply. He will receive a letter from the Legal Department explaining this.

The meeting ended at 2.50pm.