Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked the Democratic Services Officer to read out the Emergency Evacuation Procedure.

There were none.

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting.

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest (as defined in Part 4.4 Appendix B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests).

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer or a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

There were none.

There was none.

The Chair referenced the procedure that would be followed during the course of the meeting.

Those that were present confirmed that they had received and understood the licensing procedure.

The Sub-Committee is asked to consider passing the following resolution:

“the Sub-Committee having been satisfied that the public interest would be better served by not disclosing relevant information, in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, RESOLVES that the public shall be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business and the reporting of the meeting be prevented under Section 100A(5A), because of the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended.   

The members of the Sub-Committee agreed that they were satisfied that the public interest would be better served by not disclosing relevant information, in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972.

It was RESOLVED that the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business and the reporting of the meeting be prevented under Section 100A(5A), because of the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended.

The Public Protection Officer (Licensing) introduced the report to the Sub-Committee. He stated that they were being asked to determine whether a Personal Licence should be revoked, having received a Police Notice requesting such revocation on behalf of The Chief Officer of Police.

The Police Licensing Officer addressed the Sub-Committee and stated that revocation of a Personal Licence was being sought due to the licensee having been convicted on three relevant offences under Section 113 and Schedule 4 of The Licensing Act 2003.

He informed the Sub-Committee that the licensee had also failed to tell the Court, when convicted, that he held a Personal Licence and had not informed the Licensing Authority regarding his convictions.

The Police Licensing Officer explained that the licensee was also the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) at four premises within B&NES.

The Chair asked if it was a criminal offence for the licensee to withhold that he was a Personal Licence holder from the Court.

The Police Licensing Officer replied that it was.

The licensee addressed the Sub-Committee and said that he was sorry for what he had done. He said that he now knows it was wrong to send a video to his friend, but stated that he had not actively search to find it in the first instance.

Councillor Toby Simon asked the licensee if he had completed his rehabilitation programme and series of meetings with his probation officer.

The licensee replied that he had and that they had concluded on 2^nd September 2024.

The Police Licensing Officer said that in his role as a DPS, information regarding the conditions of his licence should be kept on the premises. He asked the licensee if he was able to train his staff appropriately.

The licensee replied that he was and that he receives information from the Council about training online. He added that he does keep the conditions of his licence on the premises he runs.

The Chair stated that the licensee should be fully aware and know the responsibilities that come with holding his Personal Licence.

Councillor Toby Simon asked if the Licensing team had any notable interactions with the premises ran by the licensee.

The Public Protection Officer (Licensing) replied that there was a record of some anti-social behaviour in the locality of one of the premises, that there was no evidence of a refusal log, incident log or age restricted training at another, no complaints regarding one of the premises and one historical incident relating to test purchasing at another.

The Team Leader, Legal Services said that the Sub-Committee should consider whether or not this information was relevant when making their decision.

The Police Licensing Officer made a closing statement. He said that in order to hold a Personal Licence that person must be professional in their role and observe the four licensing objectives.

He stated that the Police believe that the licence should be revoked as the Court convictions undermine the prevention of crime and disorder and the protection  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

The Lead Officer (Licensing) introduced the report to the Sub-Committee. He stated that they were being asked to determine a licensee’s fitness to continue to hold a combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s licence.

The licensee confirmed that the content of the report was correct. He apologised and said that English was not his first language. He added that he was very sorry that he had not reported his medical conditions to the Licensing team.

He explained that he has to ask his son to help him when using a computer.

Councillor Toby Simon commented that the licensee had already appeared before the Sub-Committee on two previous occasions and had been warned about his conduct in relation to complying with the conditions of his licence.

He referred to the MOT failure and asked the licensee if he was aware that he could present his vehicle up to one month before the current expiry date.

The licensee replied that around the same time he had been suffering from a skin problem and that when he realised that the MOT was due his normal garage had no availability to perform the inspection.

Councillor Simon stated that there are many other garages that he could have taken his vehicle to. He asked the licensee why he had purchased the incorrect insurance.

The licensee said that this was an error by the insurance company.

Councillor Simon said that it was the licensee’s responsibility to check these documents regardless.

The Chair asked the licensee how he could ensure that these issues regarding his administration / conditions would not happen again.

The licensee replied that he would ask his son to help him with all these matters.

The Team Leader, Legal Services asked the licensee if he had reported his eye condition to the DVLA in 2015.

The licensee replied that he had not and said that he has now had further tests and that all was ok.

The Team Leader, Legal Services asked the licensee if he had driven his taxi whilst knowing that he had an eye condition.

The licensee replied that he had not.

The Team Leader, Legal Services asked the licensee if he had stopped driving for a period of time after complaining of problems with his vision in December 2021.

The licensee replied that he had not driven whilst knowingly had issues with his vision at that time.

The Team Leader, Legal Services asked the licensee if he was now aware of what to do if there are any further changes to his medical condition.

The licensee replied that he knows he must inform the Council as soon as possible. He made then made a closing statement to the Sub-Committee.

He said that he was sorry for the mistakes that he has made.

Decision & Reasons

Members have had to consider whether or not the licensee is a fit and proper person to continue to hold his combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s licence in the light of a medical diagnosis and his record  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.