To consider a report of the Assistant Director of Operations & Neighbourhoods.
Minutes:
The Assistant Director of Operations and Neighbourhoods submitted a report requesting that the Panel determine whether the licence holder remained a fit and proper person to hold the relevant licences in accordance with the provisions of Section 61 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.
The Panel considered the written information submitted and heard the Regulatory Services Manager’s case. The Manager advised the Panel that the driver had held a Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence with Tameside Council since October 2010. On 23 November 2017, the Manager received information from a colleague in Oldham that the driver had appeared in court having been charged with using a mobile phone whilst driving.
The driver was invited to attend the Licensing office on 29 November 2017 to be interviewed about the incident. During the interview the driver said that they had been stopped by the Police on 5 August 2017 whilst driving along the M60 near Oldham for driving without due consideration in lane 2 whilst using a mobile phone.
The Manager notified the Panel that the driver had appeared at Tameside Magistrates Court on 17 November 2017 and pleaded guilty to the offence. The driver was fined £715 and imposed with 6 penalty points on their DVLA driver’s licence. Despite the conviction taking the total penalty points on the driver’s licence to 12, they had been allowed to keep their driving licence after claiming that disqualification would cause them exceptional hardship.
The driver had applied to renew their Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence on 18 October 2017 but did not list the pending matters on the form despite having been summoned to court for the offences and being aware that the Police intended to prosecute them. The driver listed two red traffic light offences from 22 November 2014 and 6 June 2015, which they had received a total of 6 penalty points for.
The Panel were aware that under the conditions of Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licences, drivers must within 7 days disclose to the Council details of any convictions, cautions or any other orders imposed on them during the period of their licence. The driver had not complied with this condition.
Having heard the Regulatory Services Manager’s case the driver and the Panel were provided with the opportunity to ask questions.
The driver then addressed the Panel and said that they had been wiping clean their PDA as it had frozen and were unable to accept jobs when the Police stopped them on 5 August 2017 and it was not a mobile phone. The driver also provided an explanation for driving without due consideration in lane 2. They advised the Panel that 3 points had been taken off their driving licence as they were over 3 years old, taking the total to 9 penalty points, and a further 3 penalty points would be taken off the licence in June 2018, taking the total to 6 penalty points.
The driver further added that they had been a driver for a considerable length of time and had a good reputation. This was the first time they had appeared in front of the Panel and apologised for taking up the Panel’s time.
Following the driver’s case Panel Members and the Regulatory Services Manager were provided with the opportunity to ask questions.
At this juncture the applicant, the Regulatory ServicesManager and the Regulatory Compliance Officer (Licensing) left the meeting whilst the Panel deliberated on the review. The Solicitor to the Panel and the Senior Democratic Services Officer remained in the meeting to give legal and procedural advice and took no part in the decision making process.
The Panel considered all the information presented at the hearing. The Panel had particular concerns about the nature of the driving on 5 August 2017, which resulted in the driver’s licence being endorsed with 6 penalty points, the fact that at the time of the offences they already had 6 penalty points on their licence, and the fact that they failed to notify the Council within 7 days, or at all, that they had been convicted of a driving offence.
In these circumstances the Panel could no longer be satisfied that the driver was a fit and proper person to hold a Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence and with reference to the relevant section of the Local Authority’s Convictions Policy resolved that their Private Hire and Hackney Carriage driver’s licence be revoked in accordance with section 61(1)(b) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.
RESOLVED:
That the Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence 8/2017 be revoked.
Supporting documents: