Agenda and minutes

It was moved by Councillor M Specht, seconded by Councillor J Clarke and

RESOLVED THAT:

Councillor S Sheahan to take the chair for the remainder of the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

Under the Code of Conduct members are reminded that in declaring disclosable interests you should make clear the nature of that interest and whether it is pecuniary or non-pecuniary.

There were no declarations of interest.

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.

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.

Report of the Licensing Enforcement Officer

The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report, which asked Members to consider a dual hire drivers licence.  Further to the report and by way of update, it was confirmed that the licensed driver had now paid the ‘failure to attend’ fee outstanding from July 2018.  After failing  a depot test  in January 2019 the Licensing Enforcement Officer had suspended his licence for a short time.  Following the suspension, the Licensing Enforcement Officer attempted to contact the licensed driver a number of times by telephone and letter, and when he finally presented his vehicle for the depot test, he was 30 minutes late for the appointment.

Councillor M Specht asked why the licensed driver was required to present his vehicle for a retest in July 2018, and if the depot test was similar to an MOT test.  The Licensing Enforcement Officer explained that the licensed driver would have failed the initial depot test and would have been required to address the problem before bringing the vehicle back in for a retest.  He also explained that the depot test was more detailed that an MOT test.

In response to a further question from Councillor M Specht, the Licensing Enforcement Officer stated that the garage could take away the vehicles plates in the event of a major fail and the licence would remain suspended until a successful depot test had been carried out.  He also confirmed that the licensed driver passed the retest.

As it was an offence, Councillor J Clarke asked what could be done if it was true that the driver had refused to pick up a disabled passenger.  The Licensing Enforcement Officer reported that the licensed driver could be prosecuted.

Councillor S Sheahan referred to the warning letters mentioned within paragraph 2.5 of the report and asked what the licensed driver had been warned about.  The Licensing Enforcement Officer explained that the licensed driver had been sent letters regarding his breach of  council conditions in relation to not informing Licensing about points received for exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road, as well as his failure to attend the depot test. 

In response to a question from Councillor M Specht, the Licensing Enforcement Officer explained that the unreported points became known during the checks undertaken as part of the yearly licence renewal process.  In response to a further question, it was confirmed that yearly checks were also undertaken for insurance documents.

In response to Councillor S Sheahan’s request for more information regarding the failed depot test, the Licensing Enforcement Officer explained that due to the licensed driver’s vehicle being over six years old, a depot test was required.  The licensed driver had missed three appointments before he eventually attended and passed the depot test, his dual hire licence had been suspended until that point.

The Legal Advisor asked for clarity on the nature of the failed depot test in July 2018.  The Licensing Enforcement Officer did not have the details but assumed it was a major fail as that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.