To consider the attached report.
Minutes:
The Sub-Committee received a report from the Licensing Officer which set out the detail of an application for a hackney carriage/private hire driver licence from an applicant with previous relevant convictions.
It was explained that the applicant wished to renew his licence and that he had been a licensed driver with this authority since 2012.
The Licensing Officer informed the Sub-Committee that the applicant had been banned from driving in 2021 for a period of six months under the totting up provisions. The Licensing Officer provided detail of each of the offences received.
Due to the nature of the offences and Council Policy, the application had to be presented to this Sub-Committee for consideration.
The Licensing Officer informed the Sub-Committee that under the legislation part of the report before Members, this application had to be made in line with Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, Section 51, yet the determination of this application had to be made under Section 61 of this Act, and a copy of this part of the legislation was circulated to all present at the meeting.
The applicant was in attendance and provided a statement confirming how he had regretted his actions and in assessing the risk associated with them, he had learnt from his actions and was ashamed and embarrassed that he had jeopardised the safety of others and his career. This was time for him to reflect and he provided assurance that this would not happen again and that he posed no risk or harm to anyone.
The Sub-Committee had no questions to ask the applicant
All parties left the room to enable the Sub-Committee to consider the matter.
All parties were then recalled being advised of the Sub-Committee’s decision.
The Chair confirmed that the Sub-Committee had fully considered the application and had decided to refuse the application. The full reasons for refusal were confirmed by the Interim Legal Services Manager.
It was confirmed that the Sub-Committee’s overriding concern was to protect public safety. Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers were professional drivers charged with the responsibility of carrying the public. Any motoring conviction demonstrated a lack of professionalism and was considered very seriously. It was accepted that offences could be committed unintentionally, and single occurrence of a minor traffic offence might result in action against an existing licence. However, in this case, there had been four incidents of speeding from December 2019 resulting in disqualification imposed on 3 September 2021 for a period of 6 months. This reinforced the Sub-Committee’s view that the applicant did not take his professional responsibilities seriously and was therefore not a fit and proper person to retain a licence.
This decision would be sent to the applicant within fourteen days of this meeting. The applicant was advised that he had the right to appeal this decision to the Magistrates Court within twenty one days of receiving this decision.
The Sub-Committee therefore
RESOLVED
To refuse the application as the Sub-Committee’s overriding concern was to protect public safety. Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers were professional drivers charged with the responsibility of carrying the public. Any motoring conviction demonstrated a lack of professionalism and was considered very seriously. It was accepted that offences could be committed unintentionally, and single occurrence of a minor traffic offence might result in action against an existing licence. However, in this case, there had been four incidents of speeding from December 2019 resulting in disqualification imposed on 3 September 2021 for a period of 6 months. This reinforced the Sub-Committee’s view that you do not take your professional responsibilities seriously and are therefore not a fit and proper person to retain a licence.