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.

There were no declarations of interests on this occasion.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting held on 12 July 2016 as a true and correct record.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 July 2016 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 3 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 existing Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle drivers and new Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver licence applicants that 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)                 SEB – Existing Hackney Carriage Driver

Mr Ryan Ratcliffe, Licensing Officer was in attendance to present the case on behalf of the Authority.

SEB was not in attendance.

The Sub-Committee considered the driver’s non-attendance and whether there had been a possibility he had not been given sufficient notice to attend.

Resolved:

To defer consideration of the case to the 6 September 2016 Sub-Committee meeting to allow the driver a further opportunity to attend.

(ii)               SRB - Existing Hackney Carriage Driver

Mr Ratcliffe presented the case on behalf of the Authority.

SRB was in attendance along with a legal representative, Mr Cobain, and both made representations to the Sub-Committee.

The Sub-Committee was informed of an incident of overcharging uncovered as part of a routine test purchase operation involving Council officers. Members also noted four separate complaints that had been received in relation to other alleged instances of overcharging involving the same driver. Mrs Davies reminded the Sub-Committee that the criminal matter had been dealt with at the Magistrates Court and Members were requested to assess whether in light of the conviction, the driver remained a fit and proper person to be licensed.

Mr Cobain reported that the driver had admitted to the instance of overcharging but claimed that a fee had been agreed with the passengers that the driver thought would actually save them money given the amount of roadworks they might encounter during the course of the journey and the busy time of day they had chosen to travel. SRB also claimed that the four additional accusations of overcharging had been submitted by a fellow driver who held a personal grudge against him.

The Sub-Committee discussed the case and reasoned that the driver had been licensed without incident for a number of years. However, Members expressed concern that the driver had not used the taxi meter at the time of the incident and it was agreed that despite the relatively low amount overcharged in this instance, it represented an act of deception in accordance with the guidelines contained within section 13.1 of the Local Authority’s 2016 Taxi Licensing Policy.

Resolved:

That the Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence be revoked on the grounds that the driver was no longer a fit and proper person to hold such a licence and given the nature of the offence, that the revocation be with immediate effect.

(iii)             MMH- New Private Hire Driver Applicant

MMH was not in attendance and did not make any representations to the Sub-Committee. However, the driver had previously indicated to Mrs Davies that he was satisfied the case should be heard in his absence.

Mr Ratcliffe and Mr Luke Andrews, Licensing Officer, who was also in attendance, presented the case  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To note the date of the next meeting as Tuesday 6 September 2016.

Members noted that the date of the next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday 6 September 2016.