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.

The Public Protection Sub-Committee considered excluding the public and press from agenda item three as that item contained information which was exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

It considered that the public interest would not be served by allowing the information to be held in open session due to the sensitive information about individuals outlined.

Resolved: That under Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of agenda item three, Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Licences.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting held on 5 December 2023 as a true and correct record.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 5 December 2023 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

To consider applicants or licence holders who have been convicted of offences or who have otherwise given reasons for concern.

(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 considered the cases of applicants and licence holders who had been convicted of offences or who had otherwise given reasons for concern.

i)                    A.B.N.

Mr Ryan Ratcliffe, Licensing Enforcement Officer, presented the case in relation to A.B.N. who had applied for a new Private Hire Driver’s Licence on 7 September 2023. The Disclosure and Barring Service and DVLA checks submitted as part of the application had revealed convictions for three separate offences in August 2015 for two minor road traffic offences and failure to appear at court together with a conviction for no insurance from August 2022 for which A.B.N had 6 live points on their DVLA driving licence. A previous speeding offence from December 2019 for which they had received three points, which had been live at the time of application, had since been removed from their record in December 2023.

A.B.N. had failed to disclose any of the offences at the time of application and Mr Ratcliffe drew the Sub-Committee’s attention to Section 9 of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy in relation to motoring convictions which stated that, although an isolated incident would not prevent the granting of a licence, multiple motoring convictions may indicate that an applicant did not exhibit the behaviours of a safe road user and one that is suitable to drive professionally. He therefore asked the Sub-Committee to give careful consideration to A.B.N.’s fitness and propriety to be a licensed driver and recommended that the minimum of a strict warning was given.

Appearing before the Sub-Committee A.B.N. explained that the conviction for no insurance in 2022 had been as a result of a misunderstanding as to whether they were insured to drive another person’s vehicle under their own policy which had recently been updated and the terms of the policy changed. The two minor road traffic offences in 2015 also related to having no insurance, however A.B.N. assured the Sub-Committee that they had not been driving when Police approached the vehicle and had only been using it to sit in the driver’s seat to shelter from the rain whilst waiting for a friend.

A.B.N. apologised for not disclosing the offences at the time of application and presented a copy of a Basic Disclosure certificate that had previously been issued to them in July 2023 which had not recorded any of the offences. They explained that they were unaware that the Enhanced Disclosure certificate returned as part of the application process would include the convictions and that they therefore were not aware that should have been disclosed.

The Sub-Committee considered the information presented by both parties, noting A.B.N.’s explanation for not disclosing the offences. Concerns were expressed that A.B.N had been convicted of insurance related offences on two separate occasions in 2015 and 2022 however acknowledged the explanation provided and on balance agreed to grant the licence with a severe warning letter that in the event of any future incidents the licence may be suspended or revoked.

Resolved: That A.B.N.’s  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To note the date of next meeting as Tuesday 20 February 2024.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as Tuesday 20 February 2024.