Agenda and minutes

Licensing and Community Safety Sub Committee A - Thursday, 29th October, 2020 11.00 am

Venue: Virtual - Online meeting. View directions

Note: This will be a virtual meeting and will be conducted in line with The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020. Please be aware that when you take part in a virtual meeting your phone number and/or your email address will be visible to councillors and officers of North Devon Council attending the committee but will not be visible to members of the public or others. This is required to allow you to be identified on Microsoft Teams, the software used by the Council to hold virtual committees, and will not be used for any other purpose by the Council. For more information, or to exercise your rights, please see www.northdevon.gov.uk/privacy.

Items

No.

Item

Virtual meeting procedure - briefing and etiquette

Chair to report.

Minutes:

The Corporate and Community Services Officer outlined the virtual meeting procedure and etiquette to the Sub-Committee and attendees, as well as confirming who was present.

Declarations of Interest

(Please telephone Corporate and Community Services to prepare a form for your signature before the meeting. Interests must be re-declared when the item is called, and Councillors must leave the room if necessary).

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest announced.

Exclusion of Public and Press Restriction of Documents

(Confidential Restricted Information).

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

(i) That under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following items as they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended from time to time), namely information relating to any individual.

(i) That all documents and reports relating to the following item be confirmed as “Not for Publication”.

Application for the Grant of a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver's Licence- Ref PFND0010

View the reasons why item 8. is restricted

Report by the Acting Lead Officer Licensing. (Attached).

Minutes:

Also present: Applicant and Representative of Applicant.

The Chair introduced himself and those present. The Senior Solicitor outlined the process of the hearing.

The Acting Lead Officer (Licensing), gave a summary outline of his report (circulated previously), regarding an application for the grant of a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver’s Licence (Ref PFND0010) and confirmed that the application had been properly made.

The Applicant’s Representative addressed the Sub-Committee, she explained the nature of the work she carried out and that the Devon Wide programme the Applicant was part of was funded in part by the National Lottery. They were a Social Enterprise organisation and helped people overcome barriers and move into employment. In relation to the Applicant the Representative gave the Sub-Committee a background of the Applicant’s previous lifestyle and reasons for circumstances leading to the numerous convictions. She went on to explain her own personal experience of the Applicant as his support worker and the progress and resilience he had demonstrated to get to where he was today.

The Applicant requested that the three references written in support of his application be read out to the Sub-Committee, which the Sub-Committee were happy to hear.

Members of the Sub-Committee questioned the Applicant and Applicant’s Representative and in response to their questions the following responses were given:

· His most recent employment was physically demanding and a knee injury meant he was struggling to continue that line of work

· His application process to become a taxi driver had started in February 2020 just before the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown had halted plans

· The reason for the most recent conviction was due to a minor disagreement and advice from a legal representative to plead guilty

· His new lifestyle meant that he led a much quieter life and rarely drank alcohol. His commitment to family meant he was in a better environment that didn’t involve drinking

· The offer of work he had had from a local company would involve a lot of student contracts to colleges and schools, this was particularly in demand as a result of Covid-19 and the need for more social distancing.

The Acting Lead Officer (Licensing) summed up.

The Applicant and Applicant’s Representative summed up.

RESOLVED, that everyone be excluded from the meeting with the exception of Members, the Senior Solicitor and Committee Clerk in order for the Sub-Committee to receive legal advice in accordance with paragraph 5 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

RESOLVED, that everyone be re-admitted to the meeting.

The Chair requested that the Corporate and Community Services Officer read the proposed decision, which was voted upon and agreed.

RESOLVED, that the Application for the Grant of a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver’s Licence (reference PFND0010) be granted.

The Sub-Committee had given this very difficult application careful consideration and appreciated the references written in support of the Applicant. They considered the 18 convictions horrendous but felt they believed that the Applicant had made strenuous efforts to turn his life around in ... view the full minutes text for item 8.