Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Guildhall, Bath. View directions

Contact: Mark Durnford  01225 394458

Items
No. Item

109.

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 drew attention to the Emergency Evacuation Procedure.

110.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

Minutes:

There were none.

111.

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.

(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.

 

Minutes:

There were none.

112.

TO ANNOUNCE ANY URGENT BUSINESS AGREED BY THE CHAIR

Minutes:

There was none.

113.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 9th March 2023 and 23rd March 2023 pdf icon PDF 441 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee RESOLVED to approve the minutes for the meetings held on 9th March 2023 and 23rd March 2023 and they were duly signed by the Chairman.

114.

LICENSING PROCEDURE pdf icon PDF 167 KB

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman referenced the procedure for each of the applications before the Sub-Committee and stated that all parties would be given an equal opportunity to make their representations and give evidence.

115.

EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

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.   

Minutes:

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.

116.

Application to Renew Combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Drivers Licence - Consideration of Fit and Proper - 23/00105/TAXI pdf icon PDF 133 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Public Protection Officer (Licensing) introduced the report to the Sub-Committee. He explained that they were being asked to determine whether a driver remains fit and proper to hold a combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Drivers licence.

 

He outlined the key points from the report.

 

The Chairman asked the driver to address them on why he believed he should remain considered as fit and proper to hold his licence and specifically, first of all, why he had not informed the Licensing department when he had received the penalty points for speeding.

 

The driver replied that at the time he was honestly not aware that he had to inform Licensing and that he had reported it to his insurance company only.

 

The driver added that he has had no complaints made against him from passengers and that he now understood fully the need to report any further issues to the Licensing department.

 

Councillor Sally Davis asked if he had re-read the conditions of his licence since being informed that he had to attend the Sub-Committee.

 

The driver replied that he had.

 

The Chairman asked the driver if he felt he had given the Sub-Committee as much information as he could regarding his case.

 

The driver replied that he had and apologised once more.

 

Decision and 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 failures to disclose motoring convictions whilst licensed.

 

In doing so Members took account of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, Human Rights Act 1998, case law and the Council Policy.

 

Members heard from the Licensee in oral representations who indicated that he was not aware that he had to report these convictions to licensing. On questioning he indicated that he was aware now, he understood what was required of him and he apologised to Members for his failure to comply with the terms of his licence.

 

Members noted the Licensee had been licensed with BANES since 2017 and there had been no complaints against him made by members of the public.

 

On balance, Members find that the Licensee is fit and proper to continue to hold the combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s Licence, but they issue a final warning to the Licensee in the strongest possible terms that:

 

  1. He must comply with the conditions on his licences as they are an important safeguard to ensure the safety of the travelling public.

 

  1. He must take care to ensure that he completes his documentation related to his BANES licences with care and accuracy, if in doubt he should seek assistance from licensing.

 

  1. It is his responsibility, nobody else’s, to ensure compliance with the terms of his licences.

 

  1. He must take care to travel within the road speed limits as the safety of the travelling public is of the utmost importance.

 

  1. If he comes before the Licensing Sub-Committee again, against this background, there is a very strong  ...  view the full minutes text for item 116.

117.

Consideration of Fit and Proper status - 22/00614/TAXI pdf icon PDF 119 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Public Protection Officer (Licensing) introduced the report to the Sub-Committee. He explained that they were being asked to determine whether a driver remains fit and proper to hold a combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Drivers licence.

 

He outlined the key points from the report.

 

The Chairman asked the driver to address them on why he believed he should remain considered as fit and proper to hold his licence.

 

The driver began by apologising to all concerned for making such a huge mistake and said that the last six months had been very tough for him and his family. He explained that in the Summer of 2022 his father had been unwell and that he had had to visit him in Pakistan. He added that while he was away he had been contacted to inform him that his home had been burgled and that this had added to the ongoing stress he was feeling.

 

He stated that he was truly sorry and regrets the lies he had told. He apologised for letting the Licensing team and his family down by his actions.

 

The Chairman acknowledged the written statements that had been received from the driver and his partner. He asked if the driver’s partner, who was present, would like to address the Sub-Committee.

 

She confirmed that it had recently been a stressful time for the whole family due to her father in-law being unwell. She said that her husband has a clean driving record with no convictions and is a very caring person who helps many people in the local area.

 

The Chairman asked the driver if he felt he had given the Sub-Committee as much information as he could regarding his case.

 

The driver replied that he had.

 

Decision and 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 dishonesty concerning his vehicle insurance. In doing so Members took account of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, Human Rights Act 1998, case law and the Council Policy.

 

Members had received and considered two lots of additional information on behalf of the Licensee. The first was an e-mail dated 10th March 2023 which had been provided by his partner, the second was an e-mail dated 14th March 2023 and was from the Licensee himself. The Licensee indicated that he had been in the taxi trade for more than 5 years without complaint or any indecent behaviour displayed at any time. He described himself as honest, law abiding, aware of his duties and responsibilities, conviction free and committed with work and in his personal life. In the period before the incident in question the Licensee’s father was severely ill, there had been a burglary at the Licensee’s home whilst he was overseas, and the Licensee was suffering greatly with stress. He admitted his mistake and described his fear and embarrassment at the situation he had put  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117.

118.

Consideration of ‘Fit and Proper’ status - 21/02458/TAXI pdf icon PDF 135 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Public Protection Officer (Licensing) introduced the report to the Sub-Committee. He explained that they were being asked to determine whether a driver remains fit and proper to hold a combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Drivers licence.

 

He outlined the key points from the report.

 

The Chairman asked the driver to address them on why he believed he should remain considered as fit and proper to hold his licence.

 

The driver, in response to the safeguarding concern, explained that he was helping a disabled man that he knew to get to a doctor’s appointment. He acknowledged that he should not have done this while a child was in his vehicle on their way to school.

 

He added that during the journey he had been speaking to the man in Bengali as he did not speak any English. He said that he had not used any abusive or bad language in front of the child at any time.

 

Councillor Steve Hedges asked if the use of another language could sound like swearing to a child or cause them concern.

 

The driver replied that when talking in Bengali he does talk faster and admitted that it could sound a little aggressive if you did not know what was being said.

 

The Chairman asked why he had been reluctant to indicate who was driving his vehicle when a speeding penalty had been incurred.

 

The driver explained that this incident occurred in his private vehicle, not his licenced one and that his son, who had been driving the vehicle, had not informed him of it until a letter relating to a court appearance had arrived. He added that his son had previously tried to reply to initial correspondence to attend a speed awareness course without success.

 

The Chairman asked if he had been allowed to return to taking passengers as part of Home to School transport work.

 

The driver replied that he had.

 

The Chairman asked the driver if he felt he had given the Sub-Committee as much information as he could regarding his case.

 

The driver replied that he had and said he was truly sorry for what had happened regarding the matters that had been raised.

 

Decision and 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 complaint concerning a home to school contract journey as well as the circumstances resulting in 6 penalty points having been imposed on his DVLA licence. In doing so Members took account of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, Human Rights Act 1998, case law and the Council Policy.

 

Members heard from the Licensee in written and oral representations who indicated that he had undertaken the Blue Lamp Trust Safeguarding Course in October 2021 and he learnt from that course, amongst other things, to be aware of the safety of children who travel in licensed vehicles. He admitted that he had a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.