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 applicants for new Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver Licences who had been convicted of offences or who had otherwise given the Licensing Authority cause for concern.

i)                 DSC

The Sub-Committee considered an application from DSC for a new Private Hire Driver’s Licence. Mr Ryan Ratcliffe, Licensing Enforcement Officer, informed Members that DSC’s Solicitor had contacted the Licensing Service to request that the application was deferred due to him being unavailable to attend the meeting.

The Sub-Committee considered the request and agreed to defer consideration to its next ordinary meeting.

Resolved: That consideration of the application for a new Private Hire Driver’s licence for DSC be deferred to the next meeting on 4 October 2022.

ii)               KB

Mr Ryan Ratcliffe, Licensing Enforcement Officer, presented the case and explained that KB had applied for new Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver licences in February 2022. As part of the application process all new applicants were vetted by Blackpool Council’s Child Protection Licensing Officer who had submitted an intelligence report on 14 March 2022 raising concerns in respect of KB and alleged inappropriate behaviour towards a young person. Although no information had been disclosed separately by the Chief Officer of Police on the Disclosure and Barring Certificate, nor had KB been charged or convicted of any offence, Mr Ratcliffe considered that the nature of the intelligence received raised serious concerns over their fitness and propriety to hold a licence. Referring to sections 1.3, 16.2 and 16.4 of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Convictions Policy, Mr Ratcliffe recommended that, although KB had not been convicted of an offence, consideration should still be given to refusing the application even if the applicant had not been charged by the Police.

KB appeared before the Sub-Committee accompanied by the parent of the young person who endorsed the character of KB by stating that they should be considered a fit and proper person to be granted a licence. KB advised Members that they had never been in trouble with the authorities previously and that they had applied for a taxi driver licence due to recent knee surgery which prevented them from being able to undertake their current physically demanding job as easily.

KB agreed that the information provided in the intelligence report was factually correct and went on to explain the circumstances, advising members that they had been attempting to help the young person who had led a troubled lifestyle and that in their opinion their actions had been misinterpreted by the authorities. However, they accepted that a text message sent by KB to the young person had been inappropriate and regret was expressed for the incident.

The Sub-Committee carefully considered the information presented by all parties. Members noted that KB and not been convicted of any offence and acknowledged the character endorsement provided by the parent of the young person. However, concerns were expressed about the nature of the intelligence provided and, having taken into consideration the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Convictions Policy, decided on balance that KB was not a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

Resolved: That the application for new Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver Licences for KB be refused.

iii)              AC

Mr Ryan Ratcliffe, Licensing Enforcement Officer, presented the case of AC who had made an application for a Private Hire Driver’s Licence in June 2022. The Enhanced DBS certificate submitted as part of the application process had disclosed that AC had six convictions for eight separate offences between June 2012 and August 2021 in relation to drugs offences and failure to comply with Community Orders imposed as a result of those offences. In addition, a DVLA check had revealed that in July 2021 AC had been convicted of an MS90 (failure to give information as to identity of driver etc) which resulted in 6 penalty points on their DVLA driving licence. Furthermore, Mr Ratcliffe reported that AC had failed to disclose their full conviction history on their application form.

Referring to Blackpool Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Convictions Policy, in particular that a licence would not normally be granted if an applicant had more than one conviction for a drugs related offence or if they had omitted information from their application, Mr Ratcliffe therefore recommended that Members refused the application.

AC appeared before the Sub-Committee and explained that they had not been aware that the full history of convictions had to be declared on their application form, particularly as a previous Basic Disclosure check had only disclosed unspent convictions. In relation to the drugs related convictions from 2012 and 2013, AC advised members that they had occurred during a difficult period in their life following the death of their father and birth of their daughter and regret was expressed for their actions at that time. Members were advised that the most recent conviction from 2021 was a result of small quantity of cannabis being found at the family business for which AC bore no responsibility but accepted the charge to protect other family members.

Referring to the driving offence, AC explained that the conviction had come about whilst selling their vehicle and a potential purchaser had been caught speeding whilst test-driving the car. As AC had been in the process of moving house at that time, correspondence with the Police identifying the driver had not been received which led to AC being charged with failing to identify the driver. AC highlighted that they had not received any other driving convictions and that they had recently secured employment in the care sector who had expressed trust in their character despite the convictions. AC therefore requested that Members granted the application.

The Sub-Committee carefully considered the evidence submitted by both parties alongside the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Convictions Policy. Members noted the applicant’s regret however expressed concern over the number of convictions accumulated by AC, particularly the number of drugs related offences, and were not convinced that the case presented by the applicant was sufficient to warrant departure from the policy. They therefore agreed on balance to refuse the application.

Resolved:

That the application for a new Private Hire Driver Licence for AC be refused.