Agenda and minutes

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

RESOLVED THAT:

Councillor E Allman 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 interests

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.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report, which asked members to consider the conduct of a Dual Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver.

In response to questions from Councillor J Clarke, the Licensing Enforcement Officer stated that in his interactions with the licensed driver he had not seen any cause for concern with regard to his attitude and behaviour. The Licensing Enforcement Officer also observed that in the seven years he had worked in Licensing he had not known any other driver to have eighteen points against their license.

In response to a question from Councillor M Hay regarding the gaps between times of offences and their subsequent reporting to the Council, the Licensing Enforcement Officer observed that often drivers were not immediately aware of convictions and he felt the licensed driver had always informed the relevant authorities within seven days.

The Legal Advisor sought clarification regarding the licensed driver’s disqualification from driving in 2016 as detailed in the report, and how the application for a Dual driver’s badge was granted on 6 December 2016.  The Licensing Enforcement Officer explained that as the disqualification had expired in October 2016, the licensed driver was able to apply again and the Licensing Team Leader granted the application for a Dual Badge.

In response to a question from Councillor E Allman, the Licensing Enforcement Officer outlined the responses taken in regard to the complaint of road rage on 19 February 2018.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer explained that he had spoken to the complainant and they were quite upset, visibly scared and intimidated. He had also spoken to the licensed driver who protested his innocence on the matter. As it came down to one word against another no further action was taken other than that outlined in the report.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer also stated that he had never received a complaint of road rage regarding the licensed driver before or after this complaint, and in all their interactions, he had never seen him show any anger.

In response to a question from Councillor E Allman, the Licensing Enforcement Officer also explained that with regard to the complaint of overcharging on 8 August 2018 the licensed driver  was following the instruction of the private hire operator to charge that amount therefore he did not believe he  could be held responsible.

In response to a question from Councillor J Clarke, the Licensing Enforcement Officer stated that he was not aware of the exact speeds the licensed driver was travelling when incurring several of the SP30 endorsements.

The licensed driver was invited to address the meeting. He began by admitting that his standard of driving after being granted a license in 2012 was not what it should have been as demonstrated by the six points on his licence in his first year. He stated that he believed his behaviour had dramatically improved since and when endorsed with SP30s was driving less than 10mph  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.