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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
Monday, 14th February, 2011 4.00 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 P Holland 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 RENEWAL OF A HACKNEY CARRIAGE DRIVER'S LICENCE
The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report and highlighted the options available for Members. She asked the committee to consider if the Licence Holder was a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

There were no questions for the Licensing Enforcement Officer.

The Licence holder presented his case. He admitted that he did have a bit of an attitude and did not always think before he spoke. However he was not aggressive. He stated that he had been driving since 2004 and had never had any issues or problems with customers. He informed the members that he had a young family and that this was his only form of income.

Following a question from the Licensing Enforcement Officer the licence holder informed officers that it was his own choice to change operators often to try and make more money.

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

- He reiterated that he did not always think before he spoke and apologised for the comments he made about the Police.

- He had never had any issues or problems with customers.

- He always used a hands free kit for his mobile and could not remember the occasion when he used it when driving.

- That he had a lot of respect for the police and the job that they did and that he had made a mistake by forgetting to pull over for them when asked to do so. He did not believe himself to be above the law and had contacted the Licensing Enforcement Officer about the comments that had been made in the informal interview.

In a closing statement the Licensing Enforcement Officer requested members to refuse the licence on the evidence in the report and on the attitude and demeanour of the Licence Holder.

The Licence Holder gave brief closing remarks reiterating points raised earlier in the meeting.

The Licence Holder's employer was given the chance to make a closing statement. He told the committee that as a driver there is a packed mentality to pick up every fare possible. He informed the committee that discussions had taken place between the licence holder and himself that if the committee were minded to grant the licence then the Licence Holder would work within the Coalville area. He agreed that the Licence Holder did have a bit of an attitude but over the year that he had worked for him, the licence holder had matured. This was a big wake up call not just for the Licence Holder but also for a lot of the drivers that he employed. He informed the committee that he felt that the Licence Holder was a fit and proper person and that as an employer he also dealt with drivers that he considered weren't.

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.

At 4.45pm the Sub Committee adjourned to consider its decision. The meeting reconvened at 5.50pm.



  • (Attachment: 1)Report of the Licensing Enforcement Officer
 RESOLVED THAT:

The Hackney Carriage Driver's Licence not be renewed on the following grounds:-

That the committee did not consider the holder to be a fit and proper person to drive a Hackney Carriage within the District based on the evidence put before them.

Advice was given regarding the right of appeal.
Published on Tuesday, 1st March, 2011
The meeting closed at 5.50pm

Attendance Details

Present:
Councillors G Allman, P Holland and N Smith

Officers:- Mr D Gill, Mrs C Hammond and Miss E McHugh.

The license holder was in attendance accompanied by his employer.