Minutes:
The Chair opened the meeting and welcomed those in attendance.
The Licence Holder confirmed receipt of the paperwork.
The Licensing and Enforcement Officer presented the report to the Sub Committee.
The Sub Committee procedure was followed.
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.