Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interests.

To pass the following resolution:

That in accordance with section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business as it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within paragraph 3 of schedule 12A to the act relating to the business affairs of particular persons.

Resolved:

That in accordance with section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the remaining items of business as they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within paragraph 3 of schedule 12 A of the Act relating to the business affairs of particular persons.

Consideration of the application was deferred to a future meeting.

The Chair invited the applicant (ZM) into the hearing, made introductions and outlined the procedure to be followed.

Elaine Moreton, Section Leader (Licensing), outlined report regarding application for a Private Hire Driver’s Licence, which had been circulated to all parties in advance of the meeting. The matter had been referred to the Sub Committee in accordance with Guidelines relating to Relevance of Convictions and Breaches of Licence Conditions specifically paragraph 5.1.7 (b).

All parties were invited to question the Section Leader (Licensing) on the report. No questions were asked.

The Chair invited ZM to make representations.

ZM stated that the conviction for supplying controlled drugs was now cleared from his record.  The Convictions 21 and 22 on his criminal record were not repeat offences because they were dealt with on the same day by the Courts. He provided a letter from solicitors, John Delaney supporting this view.

With the agreement of the Chair, there was a brief adjournment whilst the letter was copied and circulated to the Sub Committee and officers within the hearing for them to read.

Following the adjournment, the Section Leader (Licensing) confirmed that paragraph 5.1.7 (b) of the guidelines related to intent to supply and multiple offences.

ZM continued to make his representations.  He stated that he came from a good family group but because of peer pressure he started experimenting with drugs. This resulted in a spell of imprisonment. Whilst in prison he completed a lot of training. He left prison early on parole following which he carried out voluntary work. He was now married with four children, was drugs free and was a changed man. He understood why he was at the hearing. He provided a character reference from the chairperson of Deen Enterprises, a community forum based in Leeds which deals with a wide range of issues and where he undertook his drugs rehabilitation.

The Chair agreed to consider the character reference.

All parties were invited to question the applicant on his submission.

In response to questions ZM stated he was now a changed person to the one of several years ago and that everyone deserves a chance. People need help and once reformed they are better people. He accepted that previously he did have an anger problem but he had now a changed person. He would now walk away if he encountered problems with passengers.  If he could not walk away he would deal with the situation. He also explained that for work he had previously been a mechanic and delivered pizza. Regarding the failed test at Leeds, the test required drivers to give directions for different journeys. He failed on some of the points.  He also explained his reasons for planning to move to Birmingham; his reasons for applying for a licence with Wolverhampton; who he applied through; and the operators he was considering working for. He confirmed that he used to drink and he no longer takes drugs or ‘spliffs’ and he had been drugs free for seven years. He  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Chair invited the applicant (MH), his wife and his solicitor, Ms Ghinday, from Dennings Solicitors into the hearing, made introductions and outlined the procedure to be followed.

Jonathan Lloyd, Licensing Officer read out the summary of the licence history, convictions/offences and other information relating to MH’s Private Hire Drivers Licence set out in the report which had been circulated to all parties in advance of the meeting.

Elaine Moreton, Section Leader (Licensing) reported that the review hearing was as a result of information brought to the attention of the Compliance Team on a complaint relating to the conduct of a driver. The matter had been referred to the Sub Committee in accordance with the Guidelines relating to Relevance of Convictions and Breaches of Licensing Conditions, specifically paragraph 5.1.25 (a) conduct of hackney carriage and private hire vehicle drivers, proprietors and operators.

All parties were invited to question the Section Leader (Licensing) on the report.

In response to questions the Section Leader (Licensing) reported that the service became aware of the situation through an anonymous complaint.  Regarding completing the online application form, the form contained a question ‘Have you held or are you currently licensed to drive a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle with any other Council’. The applicant answered ‘No’ to the question.  If he had answered ‘Yes’ we would have investigated it.

MH’s solicitor had no questions to the Section Leader (Licensing) on the report.

The Chair invited MH’s solicitor to put the case on his behalf. She stated that MH had said that he did not submit the initial Private Hire Vehicle Driver’s licence application form. It was completed by a person at Falcon Cars without MH being present. He had provided Falcon Cars with the information to complete the application form. He is embarrassed about the Viagra and sexual enhancement drugs found in his vehicle. He cannot leave them at home because of his children and he cannot leave them in a cupboard at his home. The cocaine found in the vehicle was not his and he does not know how it got there. Regarding the tyre lever, he had a puncture and after changing the tyre he did not put the bar away in the boot. On the issue of non-disclosure, the application form was completed by someone else. MH did not feel that he needed to disclose the incident because he was not under investigation or convicted. She concluded by saying that MH finds it difficult without his licence to obtain work. He had bills and young children.

All parties were invited to question MH on his submission.

In response to questions MH through his solicitor stated the he regards himself as an experienced private hire driver; he understands basic or simple English but cannot understand legal or technical language.  He went onto explain how he changed the tyre using the lever. He accepted that he was naïve (in not checking the details on the online application) and trusted Falcon Cars to complete  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.