Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare any interests in the items under consideration and in

doing so state:

(1)   the type of interest concerned; and

(2)    the nature of the interest concerned

If any member requires advice on declarations of interests, they are advised to contact the Head of Democratic Governance in advance of the meeting.

Councillor Collett explained that he knew the Horse Drawn Hackney Carriage driver D.S in a personal capacity and would feel uncomfortable discussing his case.

Councillor Collett therefore left before consideration of D.S’s case and took no part in the subsequent discussion.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting held on 24 May 2017 as a true and correct

record.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 24 May 2017 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

That under Section 100 (A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the whole item, including the decision referred to at Agenda item 4 on the grounds that it would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

(This item contains personal information regarding applicants and licence holders which is exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972)

The Sub-Committee was informed of a number of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence applicants and referrals who had given sufficient cause for concern as to be referred to the Sub-Committee for consideration.

Members discussed the applications and referrals as follows:

(i)                 AJM (New Private Hire Driver Applicant)

The driver was in attendance and made representations to the Sub-Committee.

Mr Luke Andrews, Licensing Officer, who was in attendance presented the case on behalf of the Local Authority. Members were informed of a number of historic convictions, one of which was of a particularly serious nature. In addition, The Sub-Committee noted that a licence would not normally be granted where the applicant had a conviction for this type of offence and where the date of the conviction was less than ten years prior to the date of application. 

The applicant advised the Sub-Committee that in relation to the most serious offence, he and his family had received serious threats of a personal nature, which had led him to act in a manner he considered to be out of character. With regards to the other offences, the applicant advised that a number of domestic disputes had gotten out of hand and he expressed regret and remorse for his actions. AJM added that he had been a member of both the emergency services and the armed forces and had held various positions of importance throughout his career without incident. He accepted that on those occassions he had acted in a reckless manner and accepted full responsibility for the offences.

The Sub-Committee expressed concerns at the nature of the offences committed by the applicant and the poor choices he had made on a number of occassions. However, on balance, Members reasoned that there were exceptional mitigating circumstances that had led to the most serious offence and considered that this was sufficient reason to depart from relevant guidance contained within the Hackney Carriage Policy.

Resolved:

To grant the application for a Private Hire Vehicle Driver’s Licence.

(ii)               AWG (New Private Hire Driver Applicant)

Mr Andrews advised Members that the applicant had a number of previous convictions for motoring offences that in Mr Andrews opinion, demonstrated a propensity for poor driving.

The driver, who was in attendance, explained that having come to the UK from abroad, he initially struggled with the highway-code and understanding what constituted a motoring offence on British roads. He added that he no longer had any penalty points on his driver’s licence and that his last motoring offence had occurred almost six years previously. The applicant described recently becoming a father and expressed a desire to maintain regular employment. In addition, he expressed regret at his previous convictions for motoring offences and accepted responsibility for them.

The Sub-Committee accepted that whilst there were a number of previous convictions for similar motoring offences, the applicant gave a satisfactory explanation and demonstrated remorse. He had also kept a clean licence for several years and had not been convicted of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To consider an application for a House to House Collection Licence.

The Sub-Committee considered an application for a house to house collection licence on behalf of Claire House Hospice in Manchester. Mrs Davies advised that this could not be granted administratively as the charity had requested a licence for a period of 12 months.

The Sub-Committee discussed the application and agreed that it was not exceptional in any way and therefore decided to issue the licence as per the standard guidelines recommended by the Licensing Service.

Resolved:

To grant a house to house collection licence on behalf of Claire House Hospice for two separate periods of two weeks to be used within a 12 month period from the date of the meeting.

To note the date of the next meeting as 18 July 2017.

Members noted that the date of the next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday 18 July 2017.