Agenda and minutes

The Chair drew attention to the safety information.

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm as a correct record for signing by the Chair.

RESOLVED – that the minutes of the meeting of 15^th October 2019 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

Any member of the public or Councillor may participate in Public Forum.  The detailed arrangements for so doing are set out in the Public Information Sheet at the back of this agenda.  Public Forum items should be emailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk and please note that the following deadlines will apply in relation to this meeting:-

Questions - Written questions must be received 3 clear working days prior to the meeting.  For this meeting, this means that your question(s) must be received in this office at the latest by 5 pm on 11 December 2019.

Petitions and Statements - Petitions and statements must be received on the working day prior to the meeting.  For this meeting this means that your submission must be received in this office at the latest by 12.00 noon on16 December 2019.

Please note, your time allocated to speak may have to be strictly limited if there are a lot of submissions. This may be as short as one minute.

There were no public forum statements.

Recommended – that having regard to the quasi-judicial nature of the business on the Agenda, those Committee Procedure Rules relating to the moving of

motions and the rules of debate (CMR10 and 11) be suspended for the duration

of the meeting.

RESOLVED – that having regard to the quasi-judicial nature of the business on the Agenda, those Committee Procedure Rules relating to the moving of motions and the rules of debate (CMR10 and 11) be suspended for the duration of the meeting.

Recommended – that under Section 11A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972

the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the ground that involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1of Schedule 12A to the Act, as amended.

RESOLVED that under Section 11A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the ground that involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act, as amended.

The Driver was in attendance.

The Witness, CEO 2, was in attendance.

The Neighbourhood Enforcement Officer introduced the report and drew attention to the following:

·         The Neighbourhood Enforcement Team (NET) had carried out an investigation following an allegation about the Driver by a Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO) in August 2019;

·         The Driver held a  Private Hire Driver’s licence since 2014  and the current licence was due to expire in August 2020;

·         On the 6 August 2019, an email was received by the NET from the Witness, CEO 2;

·         The Witness alleged the Driver objected to being issued with a ticket; grabbed CEO 1; obstructed both CEOs and called them “terrorists”;

·         CEO 1 called the police and an audio recording of the call was available for the Committee to hear;

·         CEO 1 was not able to attend the meeting to give a witness statement due to family circumstances;

·         The NET had awaited the outcome of a police investigation before deciding on a course of action;

·         The Licence Holder was bailed pending further inquiries and following these inquiries, no further action was taken by the police;

·         The police had taken the view that it was not possible to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the assault had happened due to a lack of independent witnesses;

·         The Committee was asked to make a decision as to whether the Driver was a fit and proper person, on the balance of probabilities, after considering the evidence of both parties.

The Committee listened to the audio recording of the CEO call to the police

The Witness, CEO 2, gave the following evidence:

·         She had dropped off CEO 1 to check for cars parked illegally while she parked her car in a car park;

·         She drove back to the scene on hearing shouting and she saw the driver grab CEO 1’s arm and push him into the wall and grab his hand as he was trying to take photographs of the illegally parked taxi;

·         She told CEO to stop taking photographs and get in her car;

·         The Driver refused to move from the front of their car;

·         Another driver intervened and advised him to let her move the car and park properly so she was not obstructing the road and at this point the Driver allowed her to move the vehicle and park safely.

In response to questions the Witness confirmed:

·         She was CEO 1’s Supervisor and was working alongside him on the day in question;

·         CEO 1 had found the taxi parked on double yellow lines with passengers but no driver;

·         She understood the passengers were the Driver’s family and that the children had started crying when their mother had left the vehicle to find her husband;

·         There was a 5 minute countdown before a ticket was issued after entering a vehicle’s registration number.  If a driver returned to their vehicle and could prove they had been loading/unloading the ticket could be cancelled, but once the 5 minute period had passed, a ticket would be issued and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

The Applicant was not in attendance and it was agreed that the application be determined in his absence.

The Licensing Officer introduced the report and drew attention to the following:

·         The Applicant was applying for a PHD Licence and seeking an exemption from taking the Knowledge Test which was a departure from Council Policy;

·         He had previously held a Licence between February 2012 and February 2014;

·         He had taken previously taken the Knowledge Test in 2012 where he scored 81%;

·         On reapplying for his PHD Licence in 2017, he had requested an exemption from taking the Knowledge Test and this was refused by the Committee;

·         The Committee was requested to refuse the application in accordance with Council Policy, but if minded to grant, this would be subject to the Applicant carrying out the following steps:

a.      Gold Standard training;

b.      Knowledge test (if exemption not granted)

c.       an Immigration Right to Licence check;

d.      a DVLA Mandate;

e.      an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check;

f.        A group 2 standard medical;

g.      The licence fees.

The Committee adjourned to consider the application and the Licensing Officer withdrew from the meeting.  She returned to hear the decision.

RESOLVED – that the application be refused on the grounds that the Committee was not satisfied that the applicant should be treated as an exception to Council Policy and thereby could not be considered a fit and proper person to hold a PHD licence in accordance with section 51 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.