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 either a

(a)   personal interest

(b)   prejudicial interest

(c)    disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI)

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.

There were no declarations of interest on this occasion.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting held on 15 January 2019 as a true and correct record.

The Sub-Committee considered the minutes of the last meeting held on 15 January 2019.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 January 2019 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Resolved: 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 decisions referred to at Agenda items 3 and 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 applicants and licence holders who had been convicted of offences or otherwise given sufficient cause for concern.

Members discussed the applications and referrals as appropriate.

(i)                  AWB – Existing Driver

Mr Ryan Ratcliffe, Licensing Officer, was in attendance and presented the case on behalf of the Authority. Members of the Sub-Committee were informed that the driver had been involved in a domestic incident that had led to his Police caution for a violent offence.

AWB was in attendance and made representations to the Sub-Committee. He expressed regret and embarrassment in relation to the incident and his actions. He suggested it had been both an isolated incident and a private matter which had not impacted on his ability to carry out his duties as a licensed driver and added that he felt his response at the time had been proportionate in the face of provocation. He claimed that he had been a driver for over 30 years and in that time had not received any complaints about his conduct or been involved in any violent incidents.

The Sub-Committee reasoned that the incident did offer cause for concern, but given that the driver had no history of violence and some of the mitigating circumstances described, members were inclined to take less severe action against the driver

Resolved: That the Private Hire driver be issued with a warning letter in relation to future conduct indicating that if he was brought before the Sub-Committee again for any reason, then suspension or revocation of the licence would be the likely outcome.

(ii)                KBJ - Existing Driver

KBJ was in attendance and listened whilst Mr Ratcliffe presented the Authority’s case which described an event with the help of video evidence whereby the driver had verbally abused a Civil Enforcement Officer, whilst he went about his duties.

The Civil Enforcement Officer was in attendance and advised that at the time of the incident, he had felt intimidated and threatened by KBJ who took exception to being issued a Parking Charge Notice and who upon moving his vehicle, proceeded to return to again confront the officer a second time.

KBJ was apologetic and remorseful for his part in the incident and explained he had been visiting a shop and had inadvertently parked on a bus stop for a short period of time. He added that he had not intended to intimidate the officer and acted recklessly and on impulse.

The Sub-Committee were mindful of the driver’s full and frank apology. However, Members were convinced that such abuse of an officer carrying out their duty was wholly unacceptable and action should be taken to deter licensed drivers from similar behaviour in the future.

Resolved: To revoke the Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence on the grounds that the driver was no longer a fit and proper person to hold such a licence.

(iii)              DSS - Existing Driver

The driver was not in attendance though the Vehicle Licence holder and owner, SDJL, was in attendance and was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

(This item contains personal information regarding 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 considered referrals for two existing Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licence holders.

(i)                  PE – Existing Licence Holder

Mr Ratcliffe informed the Sub-Committee that at the time of a scheduled pit test by qualified mechanics at the Central Vehicle Maintenance Unit at Layton Depot, the licence holder had presented a vehicle with two tyres that displayed wear below the legal tread limit.

PE was in attendance and suggested that in relation to the maintenance issues with his vehicle, he asserted that it had only been the opinion of the mechanic who had identified the faults. He added that he would like to see more evidence of the issues presented to the Sub-Committee.

The Sub-Committee considered the suggestion by the licence holder and agreed it would be desirable to allow the mechanic who had identified the faults to attend the next meeting to give more detailed evidence on behalf of the Authority.

Resolved: To defer further consideration of the case until 26 March 2019, to allow additional time for the mechanic named in the report to attend or make representations.

(ii)                SDJL - Existing Licence Holder

The Local Authority case concerned the vehicle licence holder who had presented a vehicle for a routine pit inspection not in a state of roadworthiness. According to the report, some of the faults identified with the vehicle should have been obvious during visual inspections of the kind stipulated to be performed weekly on conditions the licence holder already had imposed on the licence. SDJL had been before the Sub-Committee twice before for similar maintenance issues on vehicles operated by him under separate vehicle licences.

The licence holder presented hand written documentation which he claimed evidenced a regular system of maintenance carried out on the vehicle, which given its age, was also subject to the Council’s Exceptional Quality Policy which required such vehicles to be held to an even stricter standard of maintenance. He claimed he had been reliant on both the vehicle driver, DSS and his garage of choice to identify and rectify faults with the vehicle. He added that in his opinion, faults related to the vehicle’s tyres were at least partly attributable to a shortage of tyres over the 2018 festive period.

The Sub-Committee were unconvinced by the licence holder’s explanations and seeming disregard for the standards expected of himself in relation to vehicle maintenance. Members were extremely concerned that none of the hand written notes presented as evidence of maintenance were supported by any official receipts or invoices of any kind. Furthermore, SDJL’s lack of acceptance of his responsibilities as a vehicle licence holder and failure to comply with the conditions already imposed on the licence, led the Sub-Committee towards a stronger course of action to encourage future compliance. The Sub-Committee also expressed concerns with certain aspects of the Exceptional Quality Policy, namely with regard to the clarity of procedures for vehicles that failed pit tests.

Resolved:

1.      To revoke the Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licence with immediate effect on the grounds  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To note the date of the next meeting as 26 March 2019.

The Sub-Committee noted the date of the next meeting as 26 March 2019.