Agenda and minutes

It was moved by Councillor J Clarke, seconded by Councillor S Sheahan and

RESOLVED THAT:

Councillor M Specht 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

Exempt under Schedule 12A, part 1, paragraph 7

The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report which asked Members to determine whether the application for the renewal of a dual driver’s licence should be granted.

There were no questions for the Licensing Officer from the applicant.

In response to questions from Councillor J Clarke, the Licensing Enforcement Officer reported that it was unusual for a driver to have four warning letters on their file, those that did, had been a licensed driver for a considerable period of time.

At the request of Councillor S Sheahan, the Licensing Enforcement Officer explained that there was not a set protocol regarding the issue of warnings, it was operated under officer discretion and warning letters were kept on the driver’s file indefinitely.  He added that it was a combination of the number and nature of the warnings which led him to recommend a hearing to consider the application in this case.  Councillor S Sheahan questioned why so many warning letters were issued before any action was taken.  The Licensing Enforcement Officer explained that in many cases it was the complainants word against the driver’s and therefore it was the responsibility of the officers to use their judgement as to the appropriate action to take.  Councillor S Sheahan suggested that the more letters a driver received, the less importance they held.  The Licensing Officer agreed for this case as the warning letters were not effective.

Miss T Starkey, representing the applicant, addressed the meeting and made the following points:

Regarding the complaint of overcharging fares, she stated that as a taxi driver herself she could sympathise with the applicant as it was easy to press the wrong button to restart the meter, but she stressed that this did not happen while he was employed by herself.

Regarding the complaint of U-turns on Market Street in Ashby, she was aware that many drivers did that due to the lack of spaces available at the taxi rank.  She believed that the issue with the taxi rank needed to be addressed.  She also confirmed that none of the A1 Taxi drivers performed U-turns on Market street.

Regarding the applicant smoking in his vehicle, she assured Members that he had listened to the warning and was no longer smoking in his vehicle, even though it was his personal vehicle as well as a taxi.

Regarding the lack of smoking signs during the ad hoc inspection, she reported that the signs were renowned for falling off, especially when attached to the vehicles dashboard, it was easy to forget to pick up a replacement.

Regarding the metal bar discovered in the boot of the vehicle during the ad hoc inspection, she reported that after having discussion with the applicant it was clear that the bar was actually a hollow tube which formed part of the frame of a trampoline.  He insisted that the bar was a broken part of the trampoline which he was taking to Tool Station to replace and was placed there by his wife.  Miss T Starkey  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.