Meeting documents

There were no apologies for absence received.

There were no interests declared.

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 presented his case. He explained that he had had arguments with colleagues and his former partner and had been under stress over the last 18 months due to the death of his father and sister. He stated that he was having bereavement counselling and had improved since.

In response to questions from members, the licence holder stated the following:

- He had started bereavement counselling subsequently to the complaints outlined in the appendices.

- The bereavement counselling did not cover anger management but he would be willing to consider undertaking a course.

- He had never had any complaints prior to those outlined in the appendices.

- He accepted that his conduct in respect of his colleagues and former partner was not acceptable, however he felt that he did his job professionally and had received no complaints from customers.

In response to questions from the Licensing Enforcement Officer, the licence holder stated the following:

- He did not contact the Licensing Enforcement Officer regarding the recent disqualification and ban as he had been out of the country in an area with poor mobile phone reception until late the previous evening.

- He was partly dyslexic and sometimes had difficulties understanding the conditions attached to his licence.

- He thought that it would be acceptable for a third party to inform the Licensing Enforcement Officer regarding the recent disqualification and ban, and did not understand that he was required to do so personally.

In response to a question from a member, the Licensing Enforcement Officer advised that she had called the licence holder on five occasions, had left three messages and had received no return contact.

In response to further questions from members, the licence holder stated the following:

- He had left the country immediately after he received the disqualification and ban, and the trip was unplanned.

- He did not realise that he was in a 40mph zone at the time of the incident outlined in the additional information circulated prior to the meeting.

- He stated that the allegations made against him as described in appendix 1 were untrue.

In response to questions from members, the licence holder's employer stated the following:

- He felt that the allegations made against the licence holder were probably embellished.

- There was a lot of tension and animosity between all parties at the time of the complaints.

- He had discussed the situation with the licence holder and as a result he had decided to work a day shift predominantly to alleviate the situation with his colleagues.

The Legal Advisor explained that the licence holder had submitted some additional information for consideration at the start of the meeting. The committee agreed to accept the additional information.

The licence holder's employer addressed the meeting. He referred to the testimonials received from his customers which members had received as additional information, and added that these glowing character reference were contrary to the account in the report. He stated that the licence holder had been through turbulent times as he had suffered the death of his father and sister, and the break up of his marriage. He reported that the licence holder had never been the subject of complaints from fare-paying customers. He added that taxi driving was a very competitive industry, and this often led to conflict amongst colleagues. He explained that the licence holder sought bereavement counselling as a result of personal problems which had stretched his temperament to the limit. He felt that the counselling had brought about improvements in the licence holder's attitude, and that the testimonials from his customers spoke volumes.

Both the Licensing Enforcement Officer and the Licence Holder gave brief closing remarks reiterating points raised earlier in the meeting.

The Sub Committee adjourned for consideration at 5.17pm and reconvened at 5.47pm.