To appoint a Chairman for the Panel hearing.

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

To authorise the Chairman to sign the Minutes of the meeting of the Taxi & Private Hire Licensing Panel held on 20 January 2022 as a correct record of the proceedings.

The Chairman was authorised to sign the Minutes of the last Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Panel held on 20 January 2022 as a correct record of the proceedings.

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.

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 TLP21/08 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. 

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 hold a Dual Driver’s Licence.

The confidential report stated that the driver had made an application to Rother District Council for a Dual Driver’s Licence in February 2022 enabling them to drive both Hackney Carriage and Private Hire vehicles licensed by the Council, during which time several issues had come to light which may question whether they were a fit and proper person.  The enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate submitted by the driver showed that on 27 August 2003, the driver had been cautioned by Sussex Police for the offence of arson under the Criminal Damage Act 1971 S.1(3). On the driver’s application, dated 9 February 2022, they had indicated that they had no cautions or convictions, which raised questions as to whether the driver was being truthful when completing the application form.  The driver’s explanation for this omission was that the caution was over 20 years old and as they already held a Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence (from a regulated body), they did not consider it necessary to declare on the form. The driver had stated this was not a deliberate omission.

On the application form, the driver had provided details of two driving convictions dated 22 August 2019 and 5 December 2020, which were due to expire on 22 August 2022 and 5 December 2023 respectively. Both offences were SP30 – exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road.

The Council had received a supporting statement in April 2022 from the manager of a local taxi company, supporting the driver’s application and character and an additional statement received on the day of the hearing from a local security company for whom the driver had worked freelance.

The Panel heard from the Deputy Head of Environmental Health, 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; or to refuse to grant the Dual Driving Licence.  The Panel were reminded that the offence leading to the conviction was not under discussion, but whether the driver was a ‘fit and proper’ person to be granted a dual driver licence with the Council.

The Panel then heard from the driver who explained that they had been a carer for many years, worked in a school for children with special needs, for a local charity and in security for the past three years.  Previous roles had involved DBS checks and the SIA licence for security work had involved an enhanced DBS check.  The driver had never seen their DBS check before, as previous employers had dealt with direct, and as the caution had never been raised, had assumed it  ...  view the full minutes text for item TLP21/8