Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman will read the following statement:

The report contains information which the officer recommends should be exempt from publication and also that the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the appeal, in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act).

The Chairman will ask the Sub-Committee the following:

Does the Licensing Appeals Sub-Committee agree that the public interest is outweighed by the recommendation to exclude the press and public for this agenda item?

The press and public were excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Act).

The Chair of the Sub-Committee will welcome those present and introduce him/herself; the remaining members of the Sub-Committee and the officers will then introduce themselves.

A copy of the Sub-Committee appeals procedure is attached.

The sub-committee heard representations from the licence holder and Licensing Officer.

The Sub-Committee decided on the balance of probabilities to approve the refusal of the grant of a private hire licence to the appellant.

Reasons:

In making its decision the sub-committee considered the following:

·       Statutory provisions: S51,61 & 77 Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions Act) 1976

·       Statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards issued by the Department of Transport in July 2020

·       South Cambridgeshire District Council Private Hire and Taxi Policy

·       Report of the Licensing Enforcement Officer

·       Advice from the Council’s legal adviser

·       Evidence as referred to above.

The sub-committee made its decision for the following reasons:

·       The appellant had not declared that he had previously held a licence with South Cambridgeshire District Council.

·       This licence had been revoked as upon his application to renew his licence in January 2018, it became apparent that he no longer had a Right to Work in the UK, which had expired on 8 December 2016. The appellant had an obligation to inform the Licensing Authority about this, immediately.

·       The appellant had not informed the Licensing Authority of his change of address during the previous lifetime of his licence with South Cambridgeshire District Council. He had an obligation to inform the Licensing Authority of this.

·       These issues demonstrated a lack of engagement with the Licensing Authority.

·       The appellant had the opportunity to seek help and advice with the application in December 2021 but failed to do so.

·       The appellant had assumed that South Cambridgeshire District Council already knew information about him rather than answering the questions accurately, as he was obliged to do.