Minutes:
The Chair opened the meeting and welcomed those in attendance.
The Licence Holder was in attendance, who confirmed receipt of the paperwork.
The Licensing and Enforcement Officer presented the report to the Sub Committee.
The Licence Holder had held a combined Hackney Carriage / Private Hire Vehicle Driver’s Licence with the Council since 23rd September 2021. Their most recent licence expired on 22nd September 2027. A copy of the licence was attached at Appendix 1.
On 23rd August 2024, the Licence Holder had emailed the Licensing Team to advise they had received a fixed penalty of £100 and 3 points on their DVLA driving licence. A copy of this email was attached at Appendix 2.
The Licence Holder’s email notification was dated 23rd August 2024, and had been received 27 days after the offence date of 27th July 2024. The Licence Holder stated they were aware of their responsibility to notify the Council, and that they had attempted to call in to provide notification of the offence. At the time, they had also been going through some personal issues. As a result, there had been a delay in their informing the Council of the offence.
Following receipt of the notification, a DVLA check was requested and on 5th
November 2024, the DVLA check revealed the following offences:
|
Points: |
DVLA Code: |
Offence Description: |
Date of Offence: |
Expiry Date: |
|
3 |
SP30 |
Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road |
07/05/2022 |
07/05/2025 |
|
3 |
SP30 |
Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road |
18/08/2022 |
18/08/2025 |
|
3 |
SP30 |
Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road |
27/07/2024 |
27/07/2027 |
The full DVLA check was attached at Appendix 3.
The accrual of the latest 3 points took the Licence Holder to a total of 9 points on their DVLA driving licence.
A check of the Licence Holder’s history had been completed and revealed they had previously been issued with a warning letter for failure to disclose two previous offences. The offences were revealed on 25th January 2023 during a routine interim check of the Licence Holder’s DVLA driving licence.
The warning letter reminded the Licence Holder of their responsibility to notify the Council of any conviction for an offence or of any receipt of a fixed penalty within 7 days. A copy of the letter was attached at Appendix 4.
The Licensing and Enforcement Officer referred the Sub Committee to sections 1.1 to 1.3 of Appendix B of the Policy, which outlined the general principles for assessing if a licence holder could be considered ‘Fit and Proper’. These were detailed in the report.
With no questions of the Licensing and Enforcement Officer, the Licence Holder was invited to address the Sub Committee.
The Licence Holder explained during the 2022 offences, their granddaughter had been diagnosed with Leukaemia and had begun treatment. They had thrown themselves into their work to distract but also, as the primary breadwinner, was undertaking 12-14 hour shifts to afford extra outlays including travel to Pontefract Hospital during their granddaughters’ treatment.
There had been no intention of being dishonest and not informing the Council of offences. They could only apologise for not notifying the Council.
A Member asked if the offences had taken place during work. The Licence Holder confirmed they had taken place during work hours. The first two offences had both been 1-2mph over the speed limit, and the third offence had taken place on an unfamiliar route, on a corner, with the speed limit changing from 50-30mph.
The Chair asked if the Licence Holder had been on a speed awareness course. The Licence Holder answered no, they had not.
The Licence Holder informed the Sub Committee that their granddaughter had ‘rung the bell’ in October 2024, was clear of Leukaemia and had started the 5-year antibiotic programme to help rebuild her immune system.
To a question on the 2024 offence, the Licence Holder informed they had emailed the Council for this event and reiterated they had been on an unfamiliar route with the speed limit changing from 50-30mph.
The Chair invited those in attendance to provide their closing statements.
The Licensing and Enforcement Officer noted the Licence Holder had been brought before the Sub Committee due to the now 9 points accumulated on their DVLA driving licence.
The Licence Holder stated this had been the first time attending a Sub Committee, they had explained life events had taken place, but that they should have notified the Council of all offences.
The Sub Committee was adjourned at 12:04 hours. The Licence Holder, Environmental Health Team Manager and Licensing and Enforcement Officer left the room for Members to deliberate.
The Sub Committee reconvened at 12:31 hours. The Licence Holder, Environmental Health Team Manager and Licensing and Enforcement Officer returned to the meeting.
The Chair invited the Legal Team Manager to set out in summary the Sub Committee’s decision.
The Legal Team Manager stated the decision of the Licensing Sub Committee was: to allow the combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver’s Licence to continue with a strict warning as to future conduct.
The Sub Committee made findings of fact and gave the following reasons as follows:
1. The Licence Holder had held a combined licence with the Council since September 2021.
2. Historically, the Licence Holder had received a written warning in January 2023 after they had failed to disclose two endorsements on their DVLA licence, i.e.:
i. SP30 in May 2022 (3 points); and,
ii. SP30 in August 2022 (3 points).
That warning letter reminded the Licence Holder of the obligations of their licence, requiring that they notify the Council within 7 days of any conviction of any offence or on receipt of a Fixed Penalty. The warning letter went on to state that further offences/breaches could result in suspension, revocation or referral to the Sub Committee.
3. On 23rd August 2024, the Licence Holder had emailed the Licensing Section to advise that they had received a Fixed Penalty of £100 and 3 points endorsed on their DVLA driving licence. The Fixed Penalty was for an offence on 27th July 2024.
4. The notification of this July 2024 Fixed Penalty was again outside of the obligation to notify within 7 days of receipt.
5. Furthermore, the July 2024 endorsement now meant that the Licence Holder had 9 points on their DVLA driving licence.
6. When questioned, the Panel were concerned with the Licence Holder’s response that all 9 points had been awarded on journeys carrying passengers, i.e., in the course of business.
7. The Panel accepted the Licence Holder’s explanation for why they had failed to report the endorsements in 2022.
8. The Panel felt that the Licence Holder accepted the seriousness of the failure to notify, and the amount of points now / currently on their DVLA licence.
9. The Panel gave a strict final warning to the Licence Holder – this warning was to remain on their driver record indefinitely. It was made clear to the Licence Holder that;
- All notifications to the Council (in compliance with the requirements of the Combined Licence and the Council’s Policies) must be made in writing within the requisite 7 days of receipt – failure to do so would result in a further Sub Committee to consider the Licence Holder’s licence; and,
- Any further DVLA endorsements on the Licence Holder’s licence would be placed before a Sub Committee for consideration and may result in the licence being revoked.
Considerations:
In reaching its decision, the Sub-Committee took into consideration the following factors:-
(i) The report and evidence of the Licensing Officer and the verbal representations provided by the Licence Holder;
(ii) The provisions of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976;
(iii) The Human Rights Act 1998 and of The First Protocol, Article 1; and,
(iv) The Council’s Policy and Guidelines.
The decision letter would be posted to the Licence Holder within 5 days. There was a right of appeal against the Sub Committee’s decision to the Magistrates Court, exercisable within 21 days of receipt of the notification.