Meeting documents
Taxi and Private Hire Sub Committee
Monday, 5th December, 2011 6.30 pm
| Item | Description | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Declaration of interests - members are reminded that following the adoption by Council of the new Code of Conduct, any declaration of interest should be made having regard to the new code. In particular, members must make clear the nature of the interest and whether it is 'personal' or 'prejudicial'. The Monitoring Officer would like to remind members that when they are considering whether the following items are exempt information under the relevant paragraph under part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 they must have regard to the public interest test. This means that members must consider, for each item, whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption from disclosure outweighs the public interest in making the item available to the public. | ||
| 1 |
ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN |
RESOLVED THAT: Councillor P Hyde take the Chair for the meeting. |
| 2 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE |
There were no apologies for absence. |
| 3 |
DECLARATION OF INTERESTS |
There were no declarations of interest. |
| 4 |
EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC |
RESOLVED THAT: In pursuance of Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act, and in the circumstances of the matter under consideration, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information. |
| The officers consider that the press and public should be excluded during consideration of the following items in accordance with Section 100(a) of the Local Government Act 1972 as publicity would be likely to result in disclosure of exempt or confidential information. | ||
| 5 |
APPLICATION FOR A HACKNEY CARRIAGE DRIVER'S LICENCE The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report which asked members to determine whether the applicant was a fit and proper person to hold a Hackney Carriage driver's licence. He gave background details and highlighted the options available to members.
There were no questions for the Licensing Enforcement Officer. The Applicant made representations about his case. He admitted that he had been silly and had made mistakes in the past. He wanted to forget what had happen in the past and look to the future. He asked that the Panel give him a chance to prove that he was a changed person. A member asked the applicant what positive steps had he taken to change as he had made the same statement in 2004. In response the applicant said that 2004 was a long time ago and he now had a family which had made him more responsible. A member asked why he had ignored the Police when he was asked to stop. In response the applicant said that he had had a busy day, a long day and he forgot to go back to the officer. He did apologise to the officer afterwards. In response to a question from the Licensing Enforcement Officer, the applicant explained that the reason why he had put 4 convictions on the July application and only 2 on the September application form was that he had forgot. He apologised for this mistake. It was confirmed that the children not wearing seat belts incident did not appear on the applicant's driving licence as the case had not gone to court. The applicant's potential/previous employer made a statement stating that during the time that the applicant had worked for him, he had found him to be very reliable and he had received no complaints about his behaviour. In this sense he would have no hesitation having him work for his company in the future. In his opinion he was a fit and proper person. If he had prior notice of the licence that the applicant was applying for he would have advised him to apply for a Private Hire Licence instead of a Hackney Carriage licence as private hire work was a different type of work and more suitable at this time. The Legal Advisor informed members that the Panel could not change the application from a Hackney Carriage to the Private Hire Licence today and gave advice. In response to a question from a Member, the applicant stated that the neighbour dispute was due to their children falling out over a period of 2 to 3 years and he had now moved address. He added that he had had no issues with customers. The Licensing Enforcement Officer did not wish to give a closing statement. The applicant confirmed that he was happy with the statement made by his potential /previous employer and had nothing further to add. The Legal Advisor provided the committee with advice on the options that were before them and issues that were to be considered when reaching its decision. |
RESOLVED THAT: The Hackney Carriage Driver's Licence not be granted on the following grounds:- That the sub-committee did not consider the applicant to be a fit and proper person to drive a Hackney Carriage within the District as the applicant had not been able to demonstrate an improvement in his attitude such that the sub-committee had confidence in allowing the applicant to ply the streets for hire without the risk of further confrontations occurring based on the evidence put before them. Advice was given regarding the right of appeal. |
Published on Tuesday, 6th December, 2011
The meeting started at 6.45pm.
At 7.25pm the Sub Committee adjourned to consider its decision. The meeting reconvened at 8.00pm.
The meeting closed at 8.07pm.
At 7.25pm the Sub Committee adjourned to consider its decision. The meeting reconvened at 8.00pm.
The meeting closed at 8.07pm.
Attendance Details
Present:
Councillors J Cotterill, P Hyde, J Ruff
Officers: Mr A Cooper, Mrs V Eaton and Mr D Gill
The Applicant and his potential/previous employer.
Officers: Mr A Cooper, Mrs V Eaton and Mr D Gill
The Applicant and his potential/previous employer.