Agenda and minutes

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

RESOLVED THAT:

Councillor T Eynon 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 licensed driver’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 10 minutes.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report, which asked members to determine whether the application for a renewal of a dual hire driver’s licence should be granted.  The Licensing Enforcement Officer highlighted the relevant background information as set out in the report. He noted to members that the driver had been written to on two separate occasions reminding him that he was required to disclose penalty points to the Council, that six or more DVLA penalty points received during a three year period would result in the need to sit a driving assessment and that three driving assessments within a ten year period would result in a sub-committee.

In response to questions from Councillor S Sheahan, the Licensing Enforcement Officer advised that he could not say if two points per year was typical for drivers, however twenty-seven points was the most that he was aware of for any driver. He added that it was also the first time in the lifetime of the policy that a driver had to attend a Sub-Committee hearing for requiring three driving assessments within a 10 year period. This was unique.

In response to questions from Councillor T Eynon, the Licensing Enforcement Officer outlined the policy for the requirement of drivers to notify the council of any points, at what stages the council requests information in relation to convictions and he reiterated that the driver had been notified and reminded in both person and in writing the need to advise the council should he receive any further penalty points.

In response to a question from Councillor J Clarke, the Licensing Enforcement Officer advised that he was not aware that the driver had signed the policy to confirm that he had understood the requirements.

The Legal Advisor informed the members that the driver had held a licence for a long time and that the policy would have been brought in later, therefore there may not have been a requirement to have the policy signed at the time the driver initially obtained his licence.

The licensed driver addressed the members. He put forward his case against the offences that had been listed in the report. He advised the sub-committee that he had not smoked since September 2018, that, from his own pocket he had reimbursed the passenger who had complained that they had been overcharged and that he only ever used his phone via a hands free kit when driving. He informed the members that the speeding fines had only been when he was on his own, without customers and that on one occasion he had just received some distressing family news that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.