Agenda and minutes

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

RESOLVED THAT:

Councillor R Ashman take the chair for the remainder of the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence received.

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.

No interests were declared.

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 Chairman introduced the parties and outlined the procedure to be followed.  It was clarified that Mr D Underwood was present as the applicant’s representative.

The Hearing Regulations 2005 stated that the Authority must allow parties an equal period of time in which to present their evidence.  It was agreed that the maximum time limit for each presentation be twenty five minutes.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report, which asked members to determine whether the application for a private hire driver’s licence should be granted.  The Licensing Enforcement Officer highlighted the relevant background information as set out in the report.

In response to a question from Councillor M Specht, the Licensing Enforcement Officer explained that applications could be determined under delegated powers.  Further information had come to light since the submission of the application, however as officers had already committed to determining the application via the sub-committee it was decided to continue with this approach.

Mr D Underwood commented that the application was particularly old form and very basic, and required redesigning as it predated the time when drivers required a CRB check.  He asked why the Council would not redesign the form and remove the section which asked for a list of convictions as he felt it was completely irrelevant when a DBS check was required.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer advised that the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act clearly stated that any conviction was relevant and disclosable.  He added that the application form was the first contact with the applicant and officers would like to be aware of any convictions at that point as the application process could be lengthy and this enabled officers to give early advice to applicants on whether it was worthwhile to proceed.

The Legal Advisor added that the applicant had used an older version of the form and it had been updated recently to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations.

In response to a question from Councillor R Ashman, the Licensing Enforcement Officer confirmed that all applicants were required to complete the same form. 

In response to a question from Mr D Underwood, the Licensing Enforcement Officer explained that a restriction could not be placed on which GP could complete the medical certificate as not all GP’s were authorised to complete them.  He added that prices also varied and it was the applicant’s choice which GP to visit. 

The applicant addressed the meeting and made the following points:

-     He had sent the Licensing Enforcement Officer an email to advise him that there were inaccuracies in his report; however the Licensing Enforcement Officer had not responded.  He felt aggrieved by this. 

-     Traffic noise did not have any affect on his PTSD.

-     He did not feel he needed to mention his previous employment at North West Leicestershire District Council.

-     His doctor had recently advised him to go back on medication for his PTSD.

-     He had been pleasant in all meetings and phone calls with the Licensing Enforcement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.