Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room, Town Hall, Bexhill-on-Sea

Contact: Louise Hollingsworth 

Items
No. Item

TLP21/1

Appointment of Chairman

To appoint a Chairman for the Panel hearing.

Minutes:

Councillor Mier was duly appointed as Chairman of the Panel for this hearing.

TLP21/2

Minutes

To authorise the Chairman to sign the Minutes of the meeting of the Taxi & Private Hire Licensing Panel held on 20 April 2021 as a correct record of the proceedings.

Minutes:

The Chairman was authorised to sign the Minutes of the last Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Panel held on 20 April 2021 as a correct record of the proceedings.

TLP21/3

Exclusion of Press and Public (Exempt Information)

The following item includes material which is exempt from publication by virtue of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, and it is recommended that the press and public be excluded.  The relevant paragraph of Schedule 12A indicating the nature of the exempt information is stated after each item and is reproduced in full at the end of the agenda.  In all the circumstances of each case, it is considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the press and public be excluded whilst the matter containing exempt information, as prescribed by Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended and relating to Minute TLP21/04 was under consideration. The report submitted in connection with this item that contained information exempt from publication by virtue of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act shall remain confidential if and so long as, in all the circumstances of the cases, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. 

TLP21/4

Licensed Dual Driver - Consideration of Grant of Licence (Paragraphs 1, 3 and 7)

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed and introduced all present to the meeting and advised on the remit of the Licensing Panel in determining the matter as detailed in the confidential report of the Head of Service Environmental Services, Licensing and Community Safety.

 

The Panel had to determine whether the driver was a fit and proper person to continue to hold a Dual Driver’s Licence.

 

The confidential report stated that in the process of renewing his dual driver’s licence, the driver had submitted an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate as part of that process.  The certificate showed that on 2 October 2019, the driver had been convicted (a plea entered) at Sussex Eastern Magistrates’ Court of  an offence under section 2A(1) of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, namely “stalking without fear/alarm/distress” and had been sentenced to a Community Order with an 80 hours unpaid work requirement (to be completed by 15/10/2020) under the supervision of the Probation Service.  A Restraining Order (on conviction) was also made.  The Council had no written record confirming that the driver reported the offence, or the arrest, or the conviction to the Council.  The driver’s renewal application, dated 6 November 2021, indicated that he had no convictions; the renewal process also found that he had failed to notify the Council of the change of his address. These issues raised questions as to whether the driver was a ‘fit and proper’ person.

 

The Panel heard from the Environmental Health Licensing Assistant, who provided further details of the matters for consideration.  The Panel were advised of the options available to them, namely: Grant the Dual Driving Licence; Grant the Dual Driving Licence with appropriate sanctions (penalty points); or Refuse to grant the Dual Driving Licence.  The Panel were reminded that the offence leading to the conviction was not under discussion, but the driver’s failure to adhere to certain conditions of his licence.

 

The Panel then heard from the driver who explained that he had met with the previous Licensing Officer after his arrest and had understood from the conversation that the matter would not affect his Dual Driver’s Licence. The driver advised the Panel that he had never had any complaints from customers in the past and there had been no breaches of his Restraining Order (that was imposed on conviction for the original criminal offence in Oct 2019).  He went on to explain that at the time of completing the section of the application form, (to renew his licence), requesting details of any criminal offences, he believed this to related to motoring offences only.

 

Finally, the Panel heard from the driver’s representative who managed the taxi firm the driver had worked for.  She confirmed that she had been made aware of the incident which led to the conviction by both the driver and the Licencing Officer.  She advised that the driver was well liked by customers and colleagues and had very high standards and had no concerns with the driver working for the company.

 

The Chairman  ...  view the full minutes text for item TLP21/4