Agenda item

SUSPENSION/REVOCATION OF HACKNEY CARRIAGE/PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER LICENCES

Report from the Executive Director (Operations) is attached.

Minutes:

Licence Holder 22/2020

 

The Executive Director (Operations) submitted a report relating to Licence Holder 22/2020 who did not attend the meeting.

 

The Licensing Unit Manager reported that the Licence Holder had requested that an adjournment be granted as it was reported that the Licence Holder had not had enough notice to instruct a legal representative due to the Christmas and New Year breaks. The request for adjournment was read out verbatim by the Licensing Unit Manager.

 

The Council’s legal representative at the meeting advised Members that the Licence holder had received all of the paperwork relating to the case on 17 December 2020 and it was felt that this was a reasonable amount of time to enable legal representation to be sought.

 

It was also reported that through his legal representative, the Licence Holder had been advised that the Panel would hear the case in absence if they agreed to proceed. They refused to attend in person.

 

The Panel Members voted and, it was agreed that the request for an adjournment be denied and the Panel proceed with the case in absence.

 

On 14th October 2020, the licensing service received notification from Greater Manchester Police that this client had been issued with a fixed penalty notice for driving with incorrectly displayed number plates. Greater Manchester Police confirmed that whilst the fine is not endorsable; this is an MOT failure which renders the vehicle unroadworthy and is a breach of Private Hire Vehicle condition 3 which states: Condition of the Vehicle a. You must make sure that the vehicle is kept in a good condition. We can inspect and test the vehicle at any time to make sure it reaches out standards. b. You must keep the inside and outside of the vehicle clean and safe. c. You must not alter the private hire vehicle in any way without first checking with us. d. Inside the vehicle: Seats must be properly covered and upholstered; Floors must be covered by mats, carpets or other coverings which are clean and in good condition; and Any damage to upholstery or carpets must be professionally repaired.

 

This client’s vehicle was subsequently seen by Licensing Enforcement Officers on the 15th October 2020 and again on 6th November 2020 with the illegal number plates still in place on the vehicle. When asked about the matter in interview the client claimed that he had been unable to change the plates because the current pandemic had meant shops who manufactured the plates were not open. Halfords; a nationwide vehicle accessories retailer and supplier of vehicle number plates was considered an essential retailer for the purpose of the recent lockdown and consequently remained open throughout. The client claims that he has now rectified this matter and his vehicle now displays road legal registration plates.

 

On 5th November 2020, the licensing service received a complaint of poor driving. The complainant described how on the 5th November at 10am she was travelling in a vehicle, owned by her, being driven by her friend, from Bolton to Little Lever and was on Bury Road.  After passing through a set of traffic lights, she noticed a white car coming up behind them at speed. She is a driving instructor so has rear mirrors fitted in the passenger side on the car. She described how even when she is not working it’s just natural instinct to always be checking in the mirrors. The driver also observed the car which was a white Jaguar with Bury taxi plates fitted. As the car got closer it moved over to the right and started to flash its lights. It was crossing over the central markings in the road. The complainant was approaching a pelican crossing and was concerned that the taxi was going to overtake and potentially put pedestrians at risk. As a driving instructor she states that she is aware that the Highway Code indicates that if a vehicle is tailgating, you should drop back to allow distance to separate yourself from the vehicle in front. They held their position and the vehicle continued to flash its headlights. Her friend indicated and pulled up on the left to allow the car to overtake. The vehicle then pulled up beside them blocking the road and an argument began. The driver of the taxi said we had been “braking illegally” and also suggested “cash for crash”.   The complainant’s vehicle is 6 weeks old and it would not be in her interest to have an accident as the vehicle is her livelihood, she also has dash cams fitted should an accident occur so it would be fully documented.  She stated that the taxi drove in front of them and kept putting his brakes on to deliberately slow them down. Unfortunately she didn’t download the front cam footage as she says it happened very suddenly and we were more aware of his actions behind us at first.   The complainant submitted the rear dash cam footage to the licensing service by email. The car could clearly be identified by its registration plate and is licensed by the client. The client was shown the dashcam footage during interview and asked why he was driving in the middle of the road. He stated that the complainant’s car was braking for no reason so his natural instinct was to swerve to the right.   On 20th November 2020 this client’s vehicle was seen in Bury Town Centre failing to display signage indicating which Operator he worked for. When interviewed in relation to this matter the client indicated that he had removed the Operator stickers as he had recently changed Operator and had taken the opportunity to detail his vehicle. He claims that he has now rectified this matter and the vehicle displays the correct signage.  Private Hire vehicle licence condition 5 states:

 

Signs

Vehicles must display the following signs at all times:

 

·         The name of the operator’s firm on the front windscreen at the top left-hand side. 

·         The name of the operator’s firm at the bottom of the back windscreen.

·         The name, phone number and logo of the operator’s firm on the two front door panels.

 

All signs, including phone numbers and logos, must be between 4cm and 7cm high. New signs must be checked with the Council’s licensing service before you use them. They must be affixed to the vehicle by means of a sticker.

 

When asked why he had left his previous Operator; the client indicated that it was due to a lack of work. His previous Operator was therefore contacted to confirm this assertion. An Office manager from his previous operator indicated that they took the decision to end their partnership with this client following receipt of two complaints that were emailed to them in October 2020. The two emailed complaints that were emailed to the private hire Operator. 

 

Complaint 1 is from a school headmaster who asserted that this client was belligerent, overly aggressive and harassed the school and its employees following an incident outside the school where a child was nearly run over. The school accept this client is not at fault for the near miss; however, they felt his subsequent actions were wholly unacceptable. In interview the client believed that he had not behaved inappropriately. He felt an employee of the school was abusive towards him so he was within his rights to demand an apology that has not been forthcoming. The second complaint was from a Superintendent within Greater Manchester Police who emailed this client’s operator to complain that this client had overtaken at speed a line of cars and gone straight ahead from a right turn only lane and then travelled along Bury & Bolton road overtaking at speed. The Superintendent stated that had he been in a marked vehicle the clients driving would have warranted a ticket. When asked about this incident the client does not believe that he was speeding and stated that he had intended to turn right at the lights but changed his direction of travel when he received a job from his Operator whilst stationary at the traffic lights. 

 

On the 15th December 2020; the licensing service received a telephone call from this client who wished to make a complaint about a parking warden operating within Bury town centre. He was advised that the licensing service could not help with such a query and was directed to the correct Council department. The client then became combative and aggressive towards the licensing advisor who gave the client ample warning before terminating the telephone call.

 

Delegated decision:

 

The Panel carefully considered the report, and taking into account the Council’s Conviction Policy and Guidelines and in accordance with the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, as amended by the Road Safety Act 2006, resolved, on a majority basis, to invoke Section 52 and to suspend the Licence Holder with immediate effect.

 

The Panel found as follows:

 

  • The Licence Holder received a fixed Penalty Notice for driving with incorrectly displayed number plates.
  • The Licence Holder continued to drive with illegal number plates even after being advised on two occasions to change them by a Licensing Enforcement Officer.
  • The Licensing Unit received a number of complaints from members of the public regarding poor driving and aggressive behaviour.
  • The Licence Holder has behaved aggressively towards a Licensing Advisor.
  • The Licence Holder was removed as a driver by  his previous operator due to  his behaviour.
  • The licence holders’ driving display and aggressive manner with members of the public was such that he posed a danger to the public

 

Licence Holder – 23/2020

 

The Executive Director (Operations) submitted a report relating to Licence Holder 22/2020 who attended the meeting with his legal representative. The Chair made introductions. The Legal Officer outlined the procedure to be followed and clarified that all those present had read the report. The report which was accepted by the Licence Holder set out the reasons for the Licence Holder being before the Panel.

 

The Licence Holder submitted an online application for the renewal of a Private Hire drivers licence on the 7th December 2020. This client’s private hire driver’s licence has been extended until the 7th January 2021.

 

As part of the application the applicant is asked to declare any convictions. The following conviction was declared by the applicant on his online application.

 

 

Offence

Offence Date

Expiry Date

Sentence

 

CD10 Driving without due care and attention,

 

 

6th January 2018

 

6th January 2021

Licence endorsed with 3 points Fixed Penalty Notice

 

 

The client’s history has been checked on the licensing computer system and there is no record of the applicant declaring this conviction. The applicant has therefore failed to declare this motoring conviction within the correct time frame as stipulated in the private hire drivers licence conditions. Condition 13 of this clients Private Hire Drivers Licence states:

 

Convictions – If you are formally cautioned for an offence or convicted of an offence you must tell us in writing, within seven days. Write to the Licensing Unit Manager, 3 Knowsley Place, Duke Street, Bury, BL9 0EJ.

 

This applicant was subsequently asked for the history behind the conviction and the reasons as to why he had failed to declare it in line with his conditions.

 

He explained that it was a mistake and that he was not aware of the condition that he had to declare the conviction to within 7 days. The conviction came about as a result of an incident where the applicant’s vehicle hit a pedestrian. The client assisted the pedestrian and took them to the walk in centre. He also reported the incident to the Police. He states that he was living in Dubai at the time and was due to fly out the next day to meet his family. He was sent a letter by the Police to attend an awareness course but when he came back from Dubai the offer for the course had been withdrawn and he instead attended Bolton Crown Court and was given 3 penalty points. The applicant was asked to email in his reasons for failing to declare the conviction.

 

Delegated decision:

 

The Panel carefully considered the report, the additional documentation and oral representations by licence holder 23/2020 and his representative and taking into account the Council’s Conviction Policy and Guidelines and in accordance with the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, resolved, to grant the renewal application and to admonish the licence holder as to future conduct.