A report from the Executive Director (Operations) is attached.
Minutes:
The Executive Director (Operations) submitted a report relating to an application for the grant of a private hire vehicle licence contrary to current Council policy.
The Applicant and a family member who acted as his representative, attended the meeting.
The Chair made introductions and the Council Solicitor outlined the procedure to be followed and clarified that all those present had read the report. The report, which was accepted by the Applicant and presented by the Licensing Unit Manager, set out the reasons the application had been brought before the Committee.
The Licensing Unit Manager reported that the Common Minimum Licensing Standards for Vehicles had been agreed and adopted by the Council in November 2021. This included a requirement in relation to vehicle standards regarding the age of vehicles, namely that for private hire vehicles, only those under 5 years of age were to be allowed onto the fleet and vehicles would not be allowed to remain on the fleet from 10 years of age.
The Licensing Unit Manager went on to explain that following the introduction
of this standard the Licensing Service sent an email to all licence holders on
the 3rd December 2021 informing them of the new changes that had been
implemented and giving the link to the Council’s website to enable licence
holders to view the changes.
On 1st April 2022, the Licensing Service received an email from the Applicant advising that he had tried to complete an online application to licence a private hire vehicle but had not been able to. Enquiries of the Applicant revealed that the vehicle had been involved in an accident in November 2021 and as a result, its licence had been suspended by a Licensing Enforcement Officer on 30 November 2021 following severe damage to the front and rear offside doors, front off side wheel arch and rear off side door sill. The vehicle had previously been licensed by the Applicant from 9 November 2017, but it had expired on 8 February 2022 and a renewal application had not been made.
The Applicant stated that the vehicle had been repaired and was ready for use on 23 March 2022. However as he was unable to apply for a new licence on line he stated he had tried to telephone the Licensing Service on 25th and 28th March but there was no answer. He did state that he had left a voicemail but the Service advised there was no record of this. He then stated that he had managed to speak to an advisor on 29th March and received the link to apply on 30th March. On 1st April he then tried to apply but due to the vehicle being over 5 years old at that time, a new application could not be made as the online application system is set to automatically reject any application that does not meet the age policy. At that date, it was over 5 years old as its date of registration is 31 March 2017.
The Applicant explained to the Committee that he had no knowledge of the new standards policy relating to the age of a vehicle and the reasons for delays were in relation to receiving insurance money to repair the vehicle. He also stated that the repairs to the vehicle had taken some time, that the vehicle was in good condition, had a valid MOT and that the vehicle was only 8 hours outside the age policy. It was admitted that the Applicant had not read the original suspension notice which required works to be completed within 2 months or the licence would be revoked. It was also accepted that the email address used by the Licensing Service for the Applicant was correct and that the Applicant had not spoken to the Licensing Service about the delay in the repairs to the vehicle being undertaken.
Members were provided with clarity from the Licensing Unit Manager that the vehicle had an MOT but had not been through the Council’s compliance checks in relation to his application for the grant of a hackney carriage licence
Delegated decision:
The Committee carefully considered the report, and oral representations by the Applicant and his representative and after giving due consideration to the application the Committee resolved, to refuse to grant the vehicle licence application.
The reasons for the Committee’s decision were as follows:
· The application was contrary to Council policy of Common Minimum licensing standards.
· The standards had been implemented in order to ensure public safety at all times and that vehicles on the fleet where of a high standard.
· The Applicant had let his licence expire and had made no effort to keep the Licensing Service informed from the time of the accident in November 2021 to the end of March 2022.
· It was the Applicants responsibility to comply with the requisite standards, ensure all communications from the Licensing Service were read, noted and adhered to and he had failed to do so.
· The alleged attempts to contact the Licensing Service could not be validated.
· The Committee did not accept the explanations made by the Applicant and his representative.
· The private hire vehicle licence had lapsed due to the vehicle not being repaired within two months of the suspension notice.
Supporting documents: