Agenda and minutes

Venue: Kaposvar Room - Guildhall, Bath. View directions

Contact: Sean O'Neill  01225 395090

Items
No. Item

13.

EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

The Chair will draw attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out under Note 5 on the previous page.

Minutes:

The Democratic Services Officer advised those present of the procedure.

14.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

Minutes:

There were none.

15.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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

(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 2, A and 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 Officeror a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

Minutes:

There were none.

16.

TO ANNOUNCE ANY URGENT BUSINESS AGREED BY THE CHAIR

Minutes:

There was none.

17.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 98 KB

Minutes:

These were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

18.

EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

The Committee is asked to consider passing the following resolution:

 

“the 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 remainder of the meeting and that the reporting of the following items of business 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.”   

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee having been satisfied that the public interest would be better served by not disclosing relevant information, RESOLVED in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, that the public should be excluded from the remainder of the meeting and that the reporting of the following items of business 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.”   

 

19.

TAXI PROCEDURE

The Chair will, if required, explain the taxi procedure.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair drew attention to the procedure to be followed for agenda items 8-13.

20.

CONSIDERATION OF FIT AND PROPER PERSON IN THE ABSENCE OF A VALID DBS CERTIFICATE & FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH REASONABLE REQUEST OF DELEGATED OFFICER - 1600763TAXI pdf icon PDF 142 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The licensee did not attend the hearing or communicate any explanation for non-attendance. The Sub-Committee decided to proceed with the hearing in his absence.

 

The Senior Public Protection Officer presented the report.

 

Members noted that the licensee had not responded to letters sent in January and June 2018 to his last known address as part of the three-yearly Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check and that no communication had been received from him up to the date of the meeting. Therefore it was not possible to establish that the licensee remained a fit and proper person to hold a combined Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence.  He had also failed to comply with the reasonable requests of a delegated officer.

 

Following an adjournment the Sub-Committee RESOLVED to revoke the licensee’s Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence.

 

Reasons

 

Members have had to determine whether or not the licensee continues to be a fit and proper person to hold a combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s Licence having failed to provide a copy of his Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate and failed to comply with a reasonable request of an officer with delegated authority. In doing so they had regard to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, Human Rights Act 1998, case law and the Council’s Policy.

 

Preliminary Issue 

The licensee did not attend and the committee had no explanation as to why he had not attended. Members were satisfied that notice of the hearing and report pack had been sent to the licensee at his last known address. Members were satisfied that the licensee had been sent letters in January and June informing him of the requirements of the DBS Check and warning him that failure to comply would result in a referral to the committee. The Senior Public Protection Officer confirmed that he had received no contact from the licensee in relation to the DBS Check or committee hearing. Having considered this information  and weighed it in the balance, Members were satisfied that it was in the interests of public protection to proceed to determine this matter, the licensee having been given adequate warning of the potential consequences and referral to Licensing Sub-Committee.

 

Members took into account the contents of the report before them together with annexes. The licensee had not made any representations in writing and had not attended the hearing in person to make oral representations.

Members noted:

 

  i.  That the licensee’s licence had been issued on 1 March 2016 subject to “a satisfactory DBS Check”.

  ii.  The Council’s Policy on Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Standards States; “that all holders of a combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire drivers licences will be subject to an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check every three years from the date of the first licence issued”. In line with this, the licensee was sent a letter to his last known address in January 2018 by the Taxi Licensing team informing him that the DBS check was due and that he needed to make an appointment  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

21.

CONSIDERATION OF FIT AND PROPER PERSON IN THE ABSENCE OF A VALID DBS CERTIFICATE & FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH REASONABLE REQUEST OF DELEGATED OFFICER – 16/00987/TAXI pdf icon PDF 142 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The licensee did not attend the hearing or communicate any explanation for non-attendance. The Sub-Committee decided to proceed with the hearing in his absence.

 

The Senior Public Protection Officer presented the report.

 

Members noted that a letter had been sent to the licensee in January 2018 as part of the three-yearly Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service  check. The licensee attended the licensing office on 28th March 2018 and completed the necessary DBS forms. At this time it was explained to the licensee that the DBS form would be sent to him and that he was then required to present it at the licensing office. The licensee signed a document confirming that he had understood that he must present the DBS certificate at the licensing office and was made fully aware of the implications of failing to do so. The DBS tracking service confirmed that a valid DBS certificate was sent to the licensee on 20th April 2018. A reminder letter was sent to the licensee on 12 June 2018. At the date of the meeting no reply had been received from the licensee and no DBS certification had been produced.

 

Following an adjournment the Sub-Committee RESOLVED to revoke the licensee’s Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence.

 

Reasons

 

 

Members have had to determine whether or not the licensee continues to be a fit and proper person to hold a combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s Licence having failed to provide a copy of his Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate and failed to comply with a reasonable request of an officer with delegated authority. In doing so they had regard to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, Human Rights Act 1998, case law and the Council’s Policy.

 

Preliminary issue

The licensee did not attend and the committee had no explanation as to why he had not attended. Members were satisfied that notice of the hearing and reports pack had been sent to the licensee at his last known address. Members were satisfied that the licensee knew that it was his responsibility to provide the DBS Certificate to the Taxi Licensing team having confirmed in writing the same on 28 March 2018 and that he been reminded by letter in June of the requirements of the DBS Check and warning him that failure to comply would result in a referral to the Committee. The Senior Public Protection Officer confirmed that he had received no contact from the licensee to provide his DBS certificate or in relation to committee hearing. Having considered this information and weighed it in the balance, Members were satisfied that it was in the interests of public protection to proceed to determine this matter, the licensee having been given adequate warning of the potential consequences and referral to LSC.

 

Members took into account the contents of the report before them together with annexes. The licensee had not made any representations in writing and had not attended the hearing in person to make oral representations.

 

Members noted:

 

  i.  That the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

22.

CONSIDERATION OF FIT AND PROPER PERSON IN THE ABSENCE OF A VALID DBS CERTIFICATE & FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH REASONABLE REQUEST OF DELEGATED OFFICER – 16/01060/TAXI pdf icon PDF 27 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The licensee did not attend the hearing or communicate any explanation for non-attendance. The Sub-Committee decided to proceed with the hearing in her absence.

 

The Senior Public Protection Officer presented the report.

 

Members noted that the licensee had not responded to letters sent in January and June 2018 to her last known address as part of the three-yearly Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check and that no communication had been received from her up to the date of the meeting. Therefore it was not possible to establish that the licensee remained a fit and proper person to hold a combined Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence. She had also failed to comply with the reasonable requests of a delegated officer.

 

Following an adjournment the Sub-Committee RESOLVED to revoke the licensee’s Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence.

 

Reasons

 

Members have had to determine whether or not the licensee continues to be a fit and proper person to hold a combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s Licence having failed to provide a copy of her Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate and failed to comply with a reasonable request of an officer with delegated authority. In doing so they had regard to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, Human Rights Act 1998, case law and the Council’s Policy.

 

Preliminary issue

The licensee did not attend and the committee had no explanation as to why she had not attended. Members were satisfied that notice of the hearing and reports pack had been sent to the licensee at her last known address. Members were satisfied that the licensee had been sent letters in January and June informing her of the requirements of the DBS Check and warning her that failure to comply would result in a referral to the Committee. The Senior Public Protection Officer confirmed that he had received no contact from the licensee in relation to the DBS Check or committee hearing. Having considered this information and weighed it in the balance, Members were satisfied that it was in the interests of public protection to proceed to determine this matter, the licensee having been given adequate warning of the potential consequences and referral to LSC.

 

Members took into account the contents of the report before them together with annexes. The licensee had not made any representations in writing and had not attended the hearing in person to make oral representations.

 

Members noted:

 

  i.  That the licensee’s licence had been issued on 1 March 2016 subject to “a satisfactory DBS Check”.

  ii.  The Council’s Policy on Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Standards States; “that all holders of a combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire drivers licences will be subject to an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check every three years from the date of the first licence issued”. In line with this, the licensee was sent a letter to her last known address in January 2018 by the Taxi Licensing team informing her that the DBS check was due and that she needed to make an appointment for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

23.

CONSIDERATION OF FIT AND PROPER PERSON IN THE ABSENCE OF A VALID DBS CERTIFICATE & FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH REASONABLE REQUEST OF DELEGATED OFFICER – 16/00890/TAXI pdf icon PDF 138 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The licensee did not attend the hearing or communicate any explanation for non-attendance. The Sub-Committee decided to proceed with the hearing in his absence.

 

The Senior Public Protection Officer presented the report.

 

Members noted that the licensee had not responded to letters sent in January and June 2018 to his last known address as part of the three-yearly Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check and that no communication had been received from him up to the date of the meeting. A copy of the agenda report for today’s hearing sent to him had been returned marked “not known at this address”. Therefore it was not possible to establish that the licensee remained a fit and proper person to hold a combined Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence. He had also failed to comply with the reasonable requests of a delegated officer.

 

Following an adjournment the Sub-Committee RESOLVED to revoke the licensee’s Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence.

 

Reasons

 

Members have had to determine whether or not the licensee continues to be a fit and proper person to hold a combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s Licence having failed to provide a copy of his Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate and failed to comply with a reasonable request of an officer with delegated authority. In doing so they had regard to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, Human Rights Act 1998, case law and the Council’s Policy.

 

Preliminary issue

The licensee did not attend but the Senior Public Protection Officer had received the letter containing notice of hearing and reports pack returned and marked “not known at this address please amend your records”. Members were satisfied that the licensee had been sent letters in January and June informing him of the requirements of the DBS Check and warning him that failure to comply would result in a referral to the Committee and the Senior Public Protection Officer indicated that these had not been returned saying “not known at this address” as far as he was aware. The Senior Public Protection Officer confirmed that he had received no contact from the licensee in relation to the DBS Check. Having considered this information and weighed it in the balance, Members were satisfied that it was in the interests of public protection to proceed to determine this matter, the licensee having been given adequate warning of the potential consequences of failing to comply with the requirement of a DBS check and it being his responsibility under the conditions of his licence to notify the licensing office of any change of address.

 

Members took into account the contents of the report before them together with annexes. The licensee had not made any representations in writing and had not attended the hearing in person to make oral representations.

 

Members noted:

 

  i.  That the licensee’s licence had been issued on 1 March 2016 subject to “a satisfactory DBS Check”.

  ii.  The Council’s Policy on Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Standards States; “that all holders of a combined Hackney  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

24.

CONSIDERATION OF FIT AND PROPER PERSON IN THE ABSENCE OF A VALID DBS CERTIFICATE & FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH REASONABLE REQUEST OF DELEGATED OFFICER – 16/01064/TAXI pdf icon PDF 27 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The licensee did not attend the hearing or communicate any explanation for non-attendance. The Sub-Committee decided to proceed with the hearing in his absence.

 

The Senior Public Protection Officer presented the report.

 

Members noted that the licensee had not responded to letters sent in January and June 2018 to his last known address as part of the three-yearly Enhanced Barring and Disclosure check and that no communication had been received from him up to the date of the meeting. Therefore it was not possible to establish that the licensee remained a fit and proper person to hold a combined Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence. He had also breached a licence condition by failure to comply with the reasonable requests of a delegated officer.

 

Following an adjournment the Sub-Committee RESOLVED to revoke the licensee’s Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence.

 

Reasons

 

Members have had to determine whether or not the licensee continues to be a fit and proper person to hold a combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s Licence having failed to provide a copy of his Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate and failed to comply with a reasonable request of an officer with delegated authority. In doing so they had regard to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, Human Rights Act 1998, case law and the Council’s Policy.

 

The licensee did not attend and the committee had no explanation as to why he had not attended. Members were satisfied that notice of the hearing and reports pack had been sent to the licensee at his last known address. Members were satisfied that the licensee had been sent letters in January and June informing him of the requirements of the DBS Check and warning him that failure to comply would result in a referral to the Committee. The Senior Public Protection Officer confirmed that he had received no contact from the licensee in relation to the DBS Check or committee hearing. Having considered this information  and weighed it in the balance, Members were satisfied that it was in the interests of public protection to proceed to determine this matter, the licensee having been given adequate warning of the potential consequences and referral to Licensing Sub-Committee.

Members took into account the contents of the report before them together with annexes. The licensee had not made any representations in writing and had not attended the hearing in person to make oral representations.

 

Members noted:

 

  i.  That the licensee’s licence had been issued on 1 March 2016 subject to “a satisfactory DBS Check”.

  ii.  The Council’s Policy on Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Standards States; “that all holders of a combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire drivers licences will be subject to an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check every three years from the date of the first licence issued”. In line with this, the licensee was sent a letter to his last known address in January 2018 by the Taxi Licensing team informing him that the DBS check was due and that he needed to make  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

25.

CONSIDERATION OF FIT AND PROPER PERSON IN THE ABSENCE OF A VALID DBS CERTIFICATE & FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH REASONABLE REQUEST OF DELEGATED OFFICER – 16/00286/TAXI pdf icon PDF 143 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The licensee confirmed that he understood the procedure to be followed for the hearing.

 

The Senior Public Protection Officer presented the report. Members noted that the licensee had not responded to letters sent to him in January and July 2018 as part of the three-yearly Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check of licence holders. He had, however, sent an email to the Licensing office shortly before the hearing accepting responsibility for not replying to the letters through an oversight. The Senior Public Protection Officer advised the Sub-Committee that there had been no complaints against the licensee.

 

The licensee stated his case. He said that he had missed the letters and that this had been his fault. He stated that he had not yet been issued with a DBS certificate, because he had not been able to log into the DBS online system. The DBS had informed him that they did not hold a registration number for him. The Senior Public Protection Officer said that he was satisfied that the licensee was in the process of obtaining a DBS certificate. In response to a question from the Chair the licensee stated that the DBS, when issued, would not disclose any motoring offences, convictions or cautions. In his closing statement he reiterated that it had been entirely his fault that he failed to respond to the letters of January and June.

 

Following an adjournment the Sub-Committee RESOLVED that the licensee continued to be a fit and proper person to hold a combined Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence, but gave him a formal warning about his conduct, as detailed below.

 

Reasons

 

Members have had to determine whether or not the licensee continues to be a fit and proper person to hold a combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s Licence having failed to provide a copy of his Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate and failed to comply with a reasonable request of an officer with delegated authority. In doing so they had regard to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, Human Rights Act 1998, case law and the Council’s Policy.

 

Members took into account the contents of the report before them together with annexes and balanced these against the licensee’s written submissions and oral representations.

 

The licensee took full responsibility for failing to deal with this correspondence but could not explain how he missed it. He indicated to members that he has a clean driving licence and police record with no cautions, convictions or driving offences. He also confirmed that he had his DBS subscription in place.

 

The Senior Public Protection Officer confirmed when asked by Members, that there had been no complaints against the licensee since he was first licensed in 2014.

 

Members noted that the DBS Check is an important tool in determining whether or not a licensee continues to be a fit and proper person to hold a licence however they were satisfied based the information before them, including the licensee’s oral representations and confirmation from the Senior Public Protection officer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.