Issue - meetings

In attendance for this item was the applicant, Mr. Peter Hopkinson, and his son, Mr. Peter Luke Hopkinson.

The Chair introduced the item and welcomed those present.

The Legal Officer explained it had been brought to the attention of the Council on Tuesday, 27^th August that the objectors listed in the Report had not been safely notified by 10 working days of the hearing takin place.

One objector had subsequently contacted the Council wishing to attend the hearing.  The other objector had not.

Regulation 32 of the legislation stated “the authority shall, if it considers that any person may have been prejudiced as a result of the irregularity, take such steps as it thinks fit to cure the irregularity before reaching its determination”.

Therefore, Members needed to consider whether to continue the hearing or adjourn to prevent prejudice towards the objectors.

The Chair stated, to prevent prejudice, it would be appropriate to adjourn the hearing to enable the 10 working days necessary to inform the objectors.

The Legal Officer noted, if the objectors were not present at the rescheduled hearing following safe notification, that hearing would proceed.

Apologies were expressed for the hearing to be adjourned, and the Chair thanked all those for attending.

Moved by Councillor Emma Stevenson and seconded by Councillor Amanda Davis

RESOLVED that the hearing be adjourned and a new hearing takes place.

The Chair introduced the item and welcomed those present.

The Chair explained the procedure that would be followed and stated that the hearing was not a court and as such strict court rules would not apply.  Any evidence given would not be given under oath, but the Chair reminded parties that providing untrue statements was a criminal offence under the Licensing Act 2003.

With all those present confirming that they had received the relevant documents, the Chair asked the Licensing Officer to present the report.

The Licensing Officer stated the Council was responsible for granting Personal Licences under the Licensing Act 2003 (‘the Act’).  The Act set out 4 statutory objectives, each of equal importance, that had to be addressed by the Council when discharging its functions under the legislation.  Those licensing objectives were:

·       The prevention of crime and disorder;

·       Public safety;

·       The prevention of public nuisance; and

·       The protection of children from harm.

In addition to the legislation, the Council had to have regard to the Revised Guidance issued under section 182 of the Act and to the Council’s own Statement of Licensing Policy.

The report set out that in 2019 the Council had adopted its current Statement of Licensing Policy (‘the Policy’) under the Act.  The report set out paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2 of the Policy, which outlined the general principles of the Policy and the Act.  The report also set out paragraph 7.47 of the Policy.

The Licence Holder, Mr. Mark Wayne Marriott, had held a Personal Licence issued by Bolsover District Council under the Act since 19^th July 2023.  A copy of the Personal Licence was attached as Appendix 1 of the report.

On 9^th November 2023, the Licensing Team had received information via local police intelligence reports that Mr. Marriott may have been involved in an assault at a licensed premises, and an investigation was ongoing.  Confirmation was subsequently received from Derbyshire Constabulary on 21^st March 2024, that Mr. Marriott had been found guilty of a relevant offence, namely assault by beating.  A copy of the intelligence report was attached as Appendix 2 and the confirmation of conviction was attached as Appendix 3.

On 27^th March 2024, the Licensing Team contacted the Magistrate’s Court to confirm the outcome of the hearing; Mr. Marriot had been convicted of assault be beating.  A copy of the court extract was attached as Appendix 4.

On 5^th April 2024, the Licensing Team had received an email from Mr Marriott stating he had been convicted of assault by beating.  A copy of the email was attached as Appendix 5.

On 17^th April 2024, in accordance with the legislation, the Licensing Team had posted a notice to Mr. Marriott at his home address informing him that the Council were considering whether to suspend or revoke his Personal Licence and inviting him to make representations.  A copy of this notice was attached as Appendix 6.

Mr. Marriott subsequently provided his representations and two character references, which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5

The Chair introduced the item and welcomed those present.

The Legal Officer confirmed that Mrs Tracy Kay, whose Personal Licence was under consideration was not present.  A copy of the report had been posted to Mrs Kay’s home address, but no response or representation had been received.

The Sub Committee agreed that it was in the public interest to continue with the hearing and to consider whether to suspend or revoke Mrs Kay’s Personal Licence in their absence.

The Chair explained the procedure that would be followed and stated  that the hearing was not a court and as such strict court rules would not apply.  Any evidence given would not be given under oath, but the Chair reminded parties that providing untrue statements was a criminal offence under the Licensing Act 2003.

With all those present confirming that they had received the relevant documents, the Chair proceeded and asked the Licensing Officer to present the report.

The Licensing Officer began by stating that the Council was responsible for granting Personal Licences under the Licensing Act 2003.  The Licensing Act 2003 set out four statutory objectives, each of equal importance, that had to be addressed by the Council when discharging its functions under the legislation.  Those licensing objectives were:

·       The prevention of crime and disorder;

·       Public safety;

·       The prevention of public nuisance; and

·       The protection of children from harm.

In addition to the legislation, the Council had to have regard to the Revised Guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 and to the Council’s own Statement of Licensing Policy.

The report set out that in 2019 the Council had adopted its current Statement of Licensing Policy under the Licensing Act 2003.  The report set out paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2 of the Policy, which outlined the general principles of the Policy and the Act.  The report also set out paragraph 7.32 of the Statement of Licensing Policy.

The Licence Holder, Mrs Tracy Kay, had held a Personal Licence issued by Bolsover District Council under the Licensing Act 2003 since 25^th November 2005.  A copy of the Personal Licence was attached as Appendix 1 to the report.

The Licensing Officer explained that whilst Mrs Kay’s licence showed an expiry date, the Deregulation Act 2015 amended the Act to remove the requirement to renew Personal Licences.  Any licence still valid on 1^st April 2015 remained valid indefinitely until such a time when the licence lapsed or was revoked.  There was no requirement for Personal Licences to be updated to remove the expiry date.

On 20^th February 2023, the Licensing Team had received information via local Police intelligence that Mrs Kay may have been involved in an assault at a licensed premises, and an investigation was ongoing.  Confirmation was subsequently received from Derbyshire Constabulary on 18^th July 2023, that Mrs Kay had been found guilty of a relevant offence, namely assault by beating.  A copy of the notification was attached as Appendix 2 to the report.

Following a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6

The applicant attended the meeting for Committee to consider whether he is ‘fit and proper’ to hold a hackney carriage/private hire vehicle driver’s license. Also in attendance, one of the applicant’s office managers.

The Chair opened the meeting and welcomed those in attendance. Introductions followed, with Councillor David Bennett staying as an observer.

The Chair proceeded to ask if the applicant received all their paperwork – they had.

The Licensing Officer was then invited to present their report.

The hearing procedure was followed.

The applicant, their office manager, and the Licensing Officer left the meeting at 10:32 hours whilst Committee deliberated. They then returned for the announcement of the decision.

The following edited text is from the Chartered Legal Executive’s decision letter.

The decision of the Licensing Sub-Committee was to REVOKE the combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver’s Licence.

The Sub-Committee made findings of fact and gave the following reasons as follows:

1.        The Panel considered the representations and submissions made by the applicant in relation to the failure to notify the Licensing Authority of speeding offences on two separate occasions dated 13.05.2023 and 29.02.2020. In relation to the speeding offence dated 29.02.2020 the applicant admitted they had not informed the Authority as they had forgotten. In relation to the speeding offence dated 13.05.2023, the applicant stated that they had informed the Licensing Authority by way of a telephone call. The applicant stated they could not remember the date of the telephone call but thought they had spoken to the Authority’s Licensing Manager, but the applicant could not be certain of this and the Panel did not have any supporting evidence that the applicant informed the Licensing  Authority by telephone.

2.        The Panel accepted that although the applicant had notified the Licensing Authority about the speeding offence dated 16.08.2023 by way of an email dated 18.09.2023, the notification was not within 7 days as was required by Condition 4.7 of the Authority’s Private Hire Driver’s Licence Conditions.

3.        The Panel considered the applicant’s comments about the total of 9 points on their licence and the speeding offences they had received – stating that they were a safe driver and that they had ‘just been unlucky’. The applicant stated their job involved transporting music professionals around the Country and they regularly travelled throughout the Country. They said that speeding restrictions on roads often changed, and this made it more difficult when driving on unfamiliar roads.

4.        The Panel heard that the applicant had some mitigating circumstances in that the applicant said their friend’s mother had died recently, but the Panel did not accept this was an exceptional circumstance and therefore it did not justify a departure from the Authority’s Taxi Licensing Policy.

5.        The Panel considered the number, type and frequency of speeding offences, noting the last 2 speeding offences dated 13.05.2023 and 16.08.2023 occurred within 6 months of each other. In addition, the speeding offence dated 16.08.2023 had occurred within the previous 6 months.

6.        The Panel asked themselves  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29