Meeting documents

Taxi and Private Hire Sub Committee
Wednesday, 23rd February, 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 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 PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER'S LICENCE The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report and highlighted the options available to members. In response to a question from a member, the Licensing Enforcement Officer advised that no caution had been issued to the applicant at present. The applicant put forward his case. He reported that he had been on his way to pick up a fare and had stopped to speak to a woman, who was an undercover officer. He stated that he had acted with no intention, and had tried to drive off but was surrounded by police. He added that he had never done anything like this before, and had foolishly decided to stop and make fun of the woman before driving off. He could not offer an explanation for his actions but he regretted it. The applicant's wife stated that he had acted without intention, and had not considered that is would be a crime to talk to a woman and then drive off. She added that his actions were out of character, and had a profound impact upon him. She stated that it was a mistake and he wished to put it behind him. In response to questions from members, the applicant stated that he regretted his actions and had made a mistake. He added that no complaints had been received regarding his conduct. The applicant gave a brief closing statement reiterating points raised earlier in the meeting. At 6.51pm the Sub Committee adjourned to consider its decision. The meeting reconvened at 6.54pm. (Attachment: 1)Report of the Licensing Enforcement Officer	RESOLVED THAT: The private hire driver's licence be permitted to continue until its expiry date with a strict warning in respect of future conduct.

Published on Friday, 25th February, 2011

The meeting closed at 6.59pm.

Attendance Details

Present:

Councillors D Everitt, P Holland and N Smith.

Officers: Mr D Gill, Miss E McHugh and Miss M Terry.

The applicant was in attendance and was accompanied by his wife.