Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

None were received.

            None were received.

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items as they were considered to contain exempt information by virtue of paragraphs 12 and 13 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

RESOLVED:

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items as they were considered to contain exempt information by virtue of paragraphs 12 and 13 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

(a)        That the applicant was a fit and proper person to hold a Private        Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence under the Local Government         (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 and was granted a 12 month       licence; and

(b)      That at the end of the 12 month Licence, in the event the applicant made   a new application for a Private Hire/Hackney Carriage (Joint) Driver’s      Licence, the costs associated with the application including any criminal           records and other vetting checks would be at his own expense.

                        The Licensing Team Leader presented the report to consider an application for a Private Hire/Hackney Carriage (Joint) Driver Licence, licensed by the Authority. 

The Licensing Team Leader explained that the application had asked for details of any previous convictions and the applicant had disclosed a number of past convictions.   On receipt of the applicant’s Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) enhanced criminal records disclosure two convictions, from 1995 and 2013, with five separate offences were shown. Full details of the convictions were appended to the report.  The applicant’s D199 Data Subject Enquiry report was returned from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) which provided further detail of his offences on his DVLA driver licence which were disclosed by the applicant. 

The Licensing Team Leader said the applicant was asked to provide a written explanation of his convictions and this was appended to the report.    Due to the nature and the number of convictions the applicant was invited to appear before the Licensing Sub Committee to determine whether he was a fit and proper person to hold a Joint Driver Licence. 

The Chairman referred to the applicant’s application for a (Joint) Driver Licence and sought further information around his current and previous employment details, and future ambitions.  He questioned the applicant on his application to drive a taxi or Private Hire Vehicle, which involved driving for a considerable amount of time and transporting passengers safely to their destination, and asked if he was successful would he be able to fully understand and converse with passengers regarding their booking and journey.  The applicant confirmed that he was able to understand directions and converse with passengers.  The Licensing Team Leader explained that the applicant had undertaken a knowledge test of local areas as part of his application process and had achieved a high pass rate. 

The Chairman invited the applicant to give a full explanation of his previous convictions as detailed on the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records disclosure.  The applicant referred to the written explanation which was appended to the report and provided information on the offences which had been committed. 

The Chairman invited members of the Panel to question the applicant.  The Panel sought further information from the applicant concerning the circumstances which had given rise to his convictions.

The Solicitor questioned the applicant in detail on his convictions as recorded in his DBS record and his written explanation concerning his convictions in 1996 and 2013.  He questioned the applicant in further detail on his written explanation regarding his conviction in 2013 and said he had stated that “neither parties were hurt” at the time of the incident.  He asked the applicant about his understanding of the meaning of his statement and to confirm if it was correct.  The Solicitor questioned the applicant and asked him to explain the circumstances relating to that offence and the actions that he had taken at the time.  The applicant explained that as the convictions had occurred a number of years previously he  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.