Agenda and draft minutes

The Democratic Services Officer drew attention to the Emergency Evacuation Procedure.

Councillor Toby Simon had sent his apologies to the Sub-Committee, Councillor Michael Auton was present as his substitute for the duration of the meeting.

Councillor Ann Morgan had sent her apologies to the Sub-Committee, Councillor Samantha Kelly was present as her substitute for the duration of the meeting.

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 Sub-Committee RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 20^th March 2025 and they were duly signed by the Chair.

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 Lead Officer (Licensing) introduced the report to the Sub-Committee. He explained that they were being asked whether the licensee remains fit and proper to have their combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Drivers licence renewed by this authority.

The licensee’s DBS certificate was shared by the Lead Officer (Licensing) with the Members.

The Chair confirmed to the Sub-Committee there had been a misprint in the record of interview papers, the papers confirm one of the charges was £97.90, this should be £7.90.

The Chair asked the licensee if they could explain to the Sub-Committee why they had been cautioned by the Police in February 2022.

The licensee replied that it had been a stupid incident involving their family and that they didn’t inform Licensing about it as it was a personal issue. The licensee added that they did not mean to declare a false application and was told by the Police that they could continue to work.

The Chair reminded the licensee that the conditions of their licence states that they must declare all offences.

The licensee replied that they now understand this point.

In a summing up statement the licensee said that they needed their licence to continue to support their family.

Decision & Reasons

Members have had to consider whether to renew the licensee’s combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s licence in the light of a failure to declare a criminal caution for a course of conduct amounting to harassment, received on 18 February 2022 and their licensing record. In doing so Members took account of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, Human Rights Act 1998, case law and the Council Policy. 

The licence issued by Bath & North East Somerset Council had an expiry date of 28^th February 2025.  The licensee has been licensed with this authority since 1^st June 2015.

It is a legal requirement that drivers and operators must be ‘fit and proper’ for a licence to be granted under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. The Fit and Proper Person test is a statutory test but there is no statutory definition. However, the Panel needs to be mindful of the Council’s Policy and the Statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards which provides as follows in relation to the Fit and Proper person test: “Licensing authorities have a duty to ensure that any person to whom they grant a taxi or private hire vehicle driver’s licence is a fit and proper person to be a licensee. It may be helpful when considering whether an applicant or licensee is fit and proper to pose oneself the following question: Without prejudice, and based on the information before you, would you allow a person for whom you care, regardless of their condition, to travel alone in a vehicle driven by this person at any time of day or night?” Members have asked themselves if they would allow their friends, loved ones and indeed all members of the community to travel alone in a vehicle driven by this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 156.

The Lead Officer (Licensing) introduced the report to the Sub-Committee. He explained that they were being asked whether the licensee remains fit and proper to have their combined Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Drivers licence renewed by this authority.

The licensee’s DBS certificate was shared by the Lead Officer (Licensing) with the Members.

The licensee addressed the Sub-Committee and referred to the incident in 2017 when they had been the subject of a complaint that they had been parked on double yellow lines. The licensee explained that they had arrived around 5 minutes early for a fare for a regular customer and had parked their vehicle to wait for the short period of time. The licensee apologised and stated that they had not parked there since the incident.

The licensee referred to the dangerous driving complaint from 2017 and stated that they had reported the incident to the Police as they had felt intimidated by the actions of the other driver. The licensee insisted that the other driver had caused the incident by their actions whilst driving and behaviour following the incident.

The licensee referred to the previous Caution that was issued on 17th May 2023. They said that this had been a result of the Police visiting their home 3-4 times a day over a number weeks whilst they were looking for a child they thought was a friend of the licensee’s son and had attended the same school as their son.

The licensee explained that on the day in question he had approached the officers that were present to say that the returning visits were scaring their family, and they did not know anything about the child they were looking for. The argument with the police was 45 minutes in length and a video was also recorded of the licensee’s interaction with the police.

The licensee admitted to shouting and swearing during the incident and has subsequently apologised for their actions and voluntarily attended an anger management course.

The licensee explained that they had not declared the caution as part of the renewal application as they were not aware of it until the DBS check was carried out earlier this year. They said that they thought they had only received a warning and had been told by the Police that they were allowed to continue to drive. They did not believe they had been dishonest when completing the application form, as they did not know they had received a caution.

The licensee referred to the speeding offence from 16th September 2024 and stated that this was when their wife had been driving the licensed vehicle after they had become unwell.

The licensee informed the Sub-Committee that in the main they would now carry out school runs with vulnerable and disabled children and airport transfers for work if their licence was to be renewed.

Councillor Samantha Kelly asked the licensee if they had received any advice on what to do when becoming unwell whilst driving their licensed vehicle.

The licensee replied  ...  view the full minutes text for item 157.