Agenda item

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

(This item contains personal information regarding applicants 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 three licence holders who had been convicted of offences or who had otherwise given reasons for concern.

i.   DK

Mr Ryan Ratcliffe, Licensing Enforcement Officer, presented the case of DK who had applied for a Private Hire Licence in March 2022. A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check had therefore been undertaken which reported two convictions relating to the supply of drugs in 2013 and 2015. He noted that the 2015 conviction had resulted in DK receiving a three year custodial sentence suspended for six years. The Licensing Service therefore had recommended that DK’s application be refused.

DK appeared before the Sub-Committee with a representative to explain the circumstances of the convictions that they had received. DK’s representative explained that DK had changed their lifestyle since the last conviction and had subsequently started a family and begun to undertake community work. This had meant that the details of the offences were no longer representative of DK’s character.

DK also explained that the 2015 conviction related to offences committed in 2005 in Poland, therefore the last offence committed was nearly nine years ago.

The Sub-Committee queried DK’s current employment status, in response to which it was explained that they had worked as a window cleaner but had now started HGV vehicle training and had applied for a Private Hire Driver’s Licence to allow them to work while they obtained a qualification.

The Sub-Committee considered the information that had been provided by both parties and agreed that no information had been provided that would justify departing from the Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Convictions Policy in this case. Therefore the application was refused.

Resolved: That DK’s application for a Private Hire Drivers Licence be refused.

ii.  KNT

Mr Ryan Ratcliffe, Licensing Enforcement Officer, presented the case of KNT who had applied for a Private Hire Driver Licence in May 2022. He reported that KNT had previously been a licensed driver with Blackpool Council between 2008 and 2016. During that time they had been required to appear before the Sub-Committee on three occasions. The second occasion at which they had been required to appear before the Sub-Committee related to an allegation of indecent assault by a female passenger in 2012. The Sub-Committee had suspended their licence on this occasion but it had been restored when it had been decided that no charges would be brought against KNT. In 2016 KNT had appeared a third time before the Sub-Committee following an incident of verbal abuse directed against a Council Civil Enforcement Officer. At this meeting KNT’s Private Hire Drivers Licence had been revoked. Mr Ratcliffe also noted that since this time KNT had continued to hold a Private Hire Vehicle Licence. The Licensing Service therefore asked that the Sub-Committee give consideration to KNT’s fitness and propriety to be a licenced driver.

KNT appeared before the Sub-Committee to explain the circumstances under which they had previously attended meetings and the details of their previous convictions. They queried the inclusion in the report of details of a letter from the police in relation to the incident in 2012 which described them as engaging in a “disturbing sexual conversation”. KNT stated their view that this misrepresented the circumstance of the allegations made against them and did not accurately reflect their character. They added that they had changed significantly since 2016 and now had a family to support and that their current occupation as a HGV driver negatively impacted on their family life.

In relation to the 2016 incident where they had been accused of verbal abuse against a Civil Enforcement Officer, KNT stated that the abuse had been from an individual who was with them at the time and that they had only been convicted as the Officer had misidentified them as the perpetrator. It was however noted that in 2016 the Sub-Committee had not accepted this version of events.

In relation to a spent conviction for Grievous Bodily Harm from 2001 when KNT had been serving in the armed forces, they explained that the conviction had followed a fight with another member of the armed forces who had been intoxicated and had attacked them.

The Sub-Committee considered the information that had been provided, KNT’s representations and the circumstance under which KNT’s previous licence had been revoked and agreed that they could not be considered a fit and proper person to hold a Private Hire Driver Licence.

Resolved: That KNT’s application for a Private Hire Driver Licence be refused.