Meeting documents

Taxi and Private Hire Sub Committee
Wednesday, 11th April, 2012 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 G Allman take the chair for the remainder of 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	REVIEW OF A HACKNEY CARRIAGE DRIVER'S LICENCE The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report which asked members to determine whether the licence holder 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. In response to questions from members, the Licensing Enforcement Officer stated the following: - The licence holder had not been before the Committee previously. - The applicant's Licence would expire in November. - It was considered that this matter should not wait until the renewal of the licence in November as the case was high profile and had been referred to the Chief Executive. - Together with the Licensing Team Leader, he had visited the last complainant and taken a statement. The complainant appeared very genuine and had been upset by the incident. The Licence holder put forward his case. He stated that regarding the last complaint, his window was open and the man swore at him as he approached. He reported this to control. He added that when he turned the car around, the man swore more and more and used racist language. The applicant stated that he had worked here for 15 years and had had people spit in his face. He added that his car was always clean and he always helped people. The Licence Holder clarified that the incident referred to involved 2 women, and not a man. In response to questions from members, the licence holder stated the following: - The speeding incident was due to someone attacking him and taking his money. He was stopped immediately afterwards by the police and he explained the incident to the officer, but they were not interested. - Regarding the allegation of overcharging and assault, he had seen a man urinating in the street. He had stopped his car and was asked to take the job as the driver was too tired. He refused to take the job and so they made up a story. - He had previously attended a disability awareness at the Council Offices and would be happy to compete a qualification. - There had been a further incident involving a disabled passenger. The circumstances were that he had a small suitcase in his car as he lived in Burton. When he received the job, he told control that he would leave the suitcase in the office so he could do the job. Control told him not to worry, they would send another car. The licence holder's employer made representations on his behalf. He stated that the licence holder had held a licence for 13 years, and the incidents referred to were mainly unsubstantiated. He stated that he had been subjected to an intolerable level of abuse and had not responded in any way except in the case of the first incident. he had been assaulted a number of times, and had money taken. He added that the licence holder was kind and compassionate, and he could have provided evidence of a number of wheelchair users who had been assisted by the licence holder. The Legal Advisor referred to the description of the licence holder outlined in the email from the licence holder's employer appended to the report. The licence holder's employer stated that the email had been sent as he and the Licence Enforcement Officer at the time had wished to send a clear message to the licence holder. He added that following the email, the licence holder's attitude improved dramatically. The licence holder made a brief closing statement reiterating points made earlier in the hearing. At 7.25pm the Sub Committee adjourned to consider its decision. The meeting reconvened at 7.45pm. (Attachment: 1)Report of the Licensing Enforcement Officer	RESOLVED THAT: The meeting be adjourned to enable the Licensing Enforcement Officer to liaise with the Council's Equalities Officer to explore available training courses in respect of equalities, disability awareness and customer care.

Published on Monday, 23rd April, 2012

The meeting closed at 7.54pm.

Attendance Details

Present:

Councillors G Allman, J G Coxon, N Smith.

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

The applicant was in attendance with his current employer.