Agenda and minutes

As a Councillor, you are reminded of the requirements under the Council’s Code of Conduct to register interests and to disclose interests in a meeting. You should refer to the requirements set out in the Code of Conduct which are summarised in the notes at the end of this agenda frontsheet.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chair 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 Chair 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 Chair introduced panel members and officers and explained the procedure for the hearing.

The sub-committee heard representations from the appellant and Licensing Officer, based on the written report.

The Sub-Committee panel decided on the balance of probabilities to Grant the Private Hire Driver Licence for one year on the condition that the driver took an appropriate advanced driving course in liaison with the Licensing department.

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 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 previous convictions on more than one application.

·       The panel accepted however, that it needed to be made clear to applicants that they would need to email the Licensing department with any additional convictions. It was commented that this was not an intuitive process.

·       The appellant had not received any convictions or driving offences since January 2019.

·       Due to an example of previous dangerous driving, the appellant would be asked to take an appropriate advanced driving course to demonstrate his improved skill, care on the road and reapply after one year.

·       The appellant had not provided any evidence of steps taken to address previous incidents.