Agenda item

(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 whether two licence holders were fit and proper

persons to hold Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licences, in respect of the following cases:

(i)                 S.P (Existing licence holder)

Mr Ryan Ratcliffe presented the Authority’s case. He advised that the case had previously been deferred to allow the licence holder an opportunity to attend with a legal representative. The Sub-Committee was advised that the vehicle licensed to SP, which was subject to the Council’s exceptional quality policy, had been found to have a number of serious mechanical defects during the course of a routine pit inspection.

SP was in attendance with a legal representative, Mr Cobain and both made representations to the Sub-Committee. Mr Cobain suggested that his client had thought the inspection was designed to identify any vehicle issues and allow the owner a chance to rectify the faults. He added that SP had operated for over ten years without previous incident as a licence holder. During this time, it was claimed that the licence holder had effectively leased various vehicles to drivers to operate and therefore assume the maintenance responsibilities for each of those vehicles. Mr Cobain suggested a number of conditions be added to the licence which his client would strictly adhere to.

The Sub-Committee accepted the proposal that the licence holder undertake weekly visual inspections of the vehicle attached to the licence and conduct a short drive to establish any obvious vehicle defects. However, given the severity of the faults found on the vehicle, the Sub-Committee felt that more could be done to deter similar incidents from happening again in the future.

Resolved:

1.      To issue a severe warning letter in relation to future conduct indicating that if the licence holder were brought before the Sub-Committee again, suspension or revocation of the licence would be the likely outcome.

2.      To impose the following conditions on the vehicle licence:

·         That a weekly visual inspection and test drive of the licensed vehicle be undertaken by the licence holder

·         That once a month or every 5,000 miles (whichever is the soonest) a detailed maintenance inspection be carried out by a suitably qualified mechanic

·         Legible records of all maintenance inspections to be retained by the licence holder for a period of two years.

(ii)               H.M (Existing licence holder)

HM was not in attendance and therefore made no representations to the Sub-Committee.

As no indication had been given by the licence holder on his intention to attend the meeting, the Sub-Committee agreed to hear the case in his absence.

Mr Ratcliffe advised the Sub-Committee that HM had been before the Sub-Committee once before for an incident in which he was judged to have used abusive or threatening behaviour towards a member of the public. On that occasion at the October 2016 meeting, he was issued with a severe warning letter.

Members were informed that with regards to the reason he had been referred to the Sub-Committee on this occasion, he had been operating a vehicle in a poor mechanical state and in a condition that made it dangerous for the transport of fare paying passengers.

The serious nature of the defects found on the vehicle combined with the driver’s previous appearance before them, led the Sub-Committee to take a stern view.

Resolved:

That the Hackney Carriage vehicle licence be revoked on the grounds that the driver was not a fit and proper person to hold such a licence.

Background papers: exempt