Agenda and minutes

Venue: Main Committee Room, Civic Centre, Stone Cross, Northallerton

Contact: Democratic Services Officer  01609 767015

Items
No. Item

LAHP.17

Exclusion of the Public and Press

To consider passing a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 excluding the press and public from the meeting during consideration of item 3 on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

Minutes:

That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public were excluded from the meeting during consideration of the item of business at minute no LAHP.18 on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act as the Panel was satisfied that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

LAHP.18

Suitability of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver

Report of the Director of Law and Governance (Monitoring Officer)

Minutes:

The subject of the decision:

 

The Director of Law and Governance (Monitoring Officer) asked the Panel to consider whether the licence holder (“D”) was a fit and proper person to continue to hold a hackney carriage and private hire driver licence.

 

Alternative options considered:

 

The Panel considered the options in paragraph 6.1 of the officer’s report but, having concluded that D was not a fit and proper person to hold a hackney carriage and private hire driver licence, the only suitable option was to revoke D’s licence with immediate effect.

 

The Panel was not satisfied that any of the alternative options, including issuing a warning or a suspension, would adequately serve the interests of the public and address the safety concerns raised.

 

The reason for the decision:

 

The Panel considered:

 

the officer’s report;

the written and oral representations of D;

the Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy; and

the relevant legislation.

 

The Panel noted that, on 1st September 2017, D was convicted of driving in excess of 70 miles per hour on a dual carriageway.  D was disqualified from holding a DVLA driving licence for a period of four months.

 

The Panel noted that, according to paragraph 8.10 of the Council’s Guidelines Relating to Applicant Suitability and the Relevance of Criminal Convictions (Annex A of the Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy), “applicants who have been disqualified from driving will not normally be granted a licence unless they have held a licence for at least 12 months following the expiry of the period of disqualification without receiving any further penalty points”. The Panel also noted paragraph 1.7, which indicates that “these guidelines will apply equally to existing drivers as they do to new applicants in determining suitability. Therefore, if a new applicant would be refused on the basis of their individual circumstances, a revocation would be an appropriate sanction for an existing driver under the exact same circumstances”.

 

The Panel was satisfied that there was a general expectation that, in accordance with the Council’s policy, D’s licence would be revoked and no licence would be granted before January 2019. However, the Panel noted that, in accordance with paragraph 1.1 of the Council’s Guidelines Relating to Applicant Suitability and the Relevance of Criminal Convictions, “each case will be considered on its individual merits and, where the circumstances demand, the committee or officer may depart from the guidelines”. The Panel was therefore asked to consider whether or not the specific circumstances of D’s case would justify a departure from the general policy.

 

The Panel considered an email from North Yorkshire Police’s Disclosure Officer which provided additional details of the offence.  D confirmed to the Panel that the details in the email accurately described the incident in question. The Disclosure Officer confirmed that D was recorded as travelling at a 122mph on a dual carriageway on 19th March 2017.

 

Although the Panel acknowledged that the incident occurred in D’s private vehicle (as opposed to a licensed vehicle), the Panel  ...  view the full minutes text for item LAHP.18