• Accessibility
  • |
  • |
  • Font Size:
  • |

Grass-cutting on council properties | Due to wet conditions of the grass, we may not be able to cut all of the grass areas of our council properties at this current time; this includes our parks, open spaces and play areas. Our team are surveying the sites and as soon as the areas are dry enough, our team will be grass-cutting as usual. Sorry for any inconvenience caused. 

Meeting documentation

Meeting documents

Taxi and Private Hire Sub Committee
Tuesday, 1st September, 2009 2.00 pm

ItemDescriptionResolution
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 N Smith take the chair for the meeting.
2 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
There were no apologies for absence received.
  
3 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
There were no interests declared.
  
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 CONSIDERATION OF A HACKNEY CARRIAGE DRIVER'S LICENCE
The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report which asked members to determine whether the licence holder was still a fit a proper person to hold a licence.

There were no questions for the Licensing Enforcement Officer.

The licence holder's solicitor presented the case on behalf of his client. He sought clarification from the legal advisor regarding the grounds for the review of the licence.

The licence holder's solicitor stated the following points:

- He clarified that the offences in 2004 and 2006 were endorsements and not convictions.

- He explained that his client had pleaded guilty to the charges of failing to stop and driving without due care and attention in respect of the accident in 2008.

- He drew members' attention to the circumstances surrounding the accident, namely that his client's father in law had been admitted to hospital urgently. His client had picked up his wife and was on the way to the hospital when the accident occurred. He stated that his client had acknowledged the accident and had stopped, however the injured party had gestured with a 'thumbs up' and therefore his client had continued on to the hospital.

- His client did report the accident to the police.

- The allegation of sexual assault had been thoroughly investigated by the police who had come to the conclusion that it was a case of mistaken identity.

- He acknowledged the endorsements on his client's driving licence but there was nothing to suggest that his client was dishonest, indecent or violent.

- He stated that his client had held a private hire licence for some time and had always passed the tests required.

Members sought clarification from the licence holder in respect of the whereabouts of his wife during the accident, the circumstances surrounding the accident and the allegation of sexual assault. A discussion followed regarding taxi drivers' call signs and members sought further clarification from the Licensing Enforcement Officer.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer did not wish to make any closing remarks.

The Licence Holder's solicitor, making closing remarks on behalf of his client, reiterated that the allegation of sexual assault had been investigated by the police who had concluded that it was a case of mistaken identity. He added that his client had pleaded guilty to the charges in respect of the accident in 2008 and had already been punished for this.

The Sub Committee adjourned for consideration at 3.12pm and reconvened at 4.26pm.

The Legal Advisor summarised the advice given to members.
  • (Attachment: 1)Report of the Licensing Enforcement Officer
 RESOLVED THAT:

In the interests of public safety, the hackney carriage driver's licence be suspended with immediate effect for a period of 12 months.
Published on Tuesday, 8th September, 2009
The meeting commenced at 2.00pm and closed at 4.44pm.

Attendance Details

Present:
Councillors P Holland, N Smith and R Woodward.

Officers: Mr A Cooper, Mr D Gill and Miss M Terry.