Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and drew attention to the Meeting procedure.

Apologies were received from Councillor Lucy Whittle.

None received.

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

The Minutes of the PSP Sub Committee A Meeting on 18^th August 2020 were agreed as a correct record.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item *Democratic Services Officer check time limit for your particular Committee*

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 *name deadline date*

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 on*name deadline date*.

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.

Nothing received. 

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.

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.

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.

SM was in attendance.

The Senior Licensing Officer introduced the report and summarised it for everyone.

SM put his case and answered questions highlighting the following:

·       He has been in contact with the Licensing Office

·       He had been granted a 3 months extension to his licence

·       He has not been able to work due to Covid 19

·       He has requested an extension totalling 6 months; 3months on top of the 3 months already granted

·       The original 3 months extension has now almost run out so he would like a 6 months extension from today

It was noted that he had been granted a 3 months extension from 26^th July 2020 and that he was required to submit an application for the extension by 25^th October 2020. It was confirmed that he had done this, although it appeared that initially SM had not been aware of this requirement. It was further noted that any extension granted had to run from 26^th July 2020 meaning that if a 6 months extension was granted it would expire on 25^th January 2021. Members could not agree to a 6 months extension from today as this would be a significant departure from Policy.

Decision

The Senior Licensing Officer and Applicant left the Meeting whilst the Members considered their decision and returned afterwards.

The Members noted all of the written and verbal evidence presented to them.

They noted their Policy.

They decided that SM should be granted a 6 months extension to his licence subject to the vehicle passing all of the required inspections and tests.

They agreed to depart from their Policy in this case as they noted the exceptional circumstances – that the vehicle is an 8 seater vehicle which helps with social distancing for those travelling in it and that these types of vehicles are rare in hybrid or electrical versions; that there had been some confusion in relation to the 3 months extension granted and that SM had not been able to work due to Covid 19.

It was therefore

RESOLVED (Voting 3 for, 0 against) – that SM be granted a 6 months extension to his Private Hire Vehicle Licence starting on 26^th July 2020 and expiring on 25^th January 2021, subject to the vehicle passing all of the required inspections and tests.

Councillor Tincknell joined the Meeting.

DL was in attendance.

The Senior Licensing Officer introduced the report and summarised it for everyone.

DL put his case and answered questions highlighting the following:

·         He was aware of the Policy

·         He was not able to afford a new car due to his income having been greatly reduced by the effects of Covid 19

·         He would like an extension to his licence to enable him to continue to work with a view to earning enough money to enable him to replace the vehicle

·         The vehicle needs a small amount of work done to it but it has passed the emissions tests

Decision

The Senior Licensing Officer and Applicant left the Meeting whilst the Members considered their decision and returned afterwards.

The Members noted all of the written and verbal evidence presented to them.

They noted their Policy.

It was noted that each decision had to be made on the merits of the case and that all decisions must be made on public safety grounds.

It was noted that drivers who required medicals but are unable to arrange these due to the present circumstances are being granted a 6 months extension on their licences.

Following very careful consideration it was suggested that DL be granted a 6 months extension to his licence due to the exceptional circumstances relating to this case and the fact that public safety would not be compromised by the extension.

On being put to the Vote it was

Resolved – (Voting 3 for, 1 against) that DL be granted a 6 months extension to his Private Hire Vehicle Licence.

SK was in attendance, accompanied by his solicitor SS.

The Neighbourhood Enforcement Officer introduced the report and summarised it for everyone.

SS put the case on behalf of SK and answered questions highlighting the following:

·             He was parked when approached by a member of public who wanted to travel to Temple Meads urgently

·             He advised the member of the public that he must book the journey with V Cars before he could take him

·             The member of the public got into the car and would not leave it

·             He was offered £20 for the journey but advised the member of the public that the fare was only £8

·             The member of the public used his phone and he could hear that the person on the other end was very agitated

·             Under pressure he made a bad choice and allowed the member of the public to travel

·             He was stopped shortly afterwards and admitted the offence

·             In future he would get out of the car and call the Police

PC Quinton advised that he had reviewed his body cam footage. He was unable to comment on any conversation that had taken place between SK and the member of the public as he was not in the car. The member of the public stated that a fare of £8 had been agreed. It was confirmed that SK had admitted the offences.

SS outlined SK’s family circumstances. He highlighted SK’s good driving record with no penalty points on his licence. He is safety conscious and law abiding until this one off incident. He has accepted the penalty and paid the fine. Bearing in mind his exemplary record it is clear that he has let himself, his family and the Licensing Authority down. The fare was very modest.

Decision

The Neighbourhood Enforcement Officer, Police Officer, solicitor and Applicant left the Meeting whilst the Members considered their decision and returned afterwards.

The Members noted all of the written and verbal evidence presented to them.

Members considered that their Policy stated that a period of 6 months should pass following an offence of plying for hire and driving without insurance before a licence be granted. They were however minded to depart from the policy in light of SK’s explanation of how the incident occurred, his previous completely clean licence, his immediate admission of the offences and payment of the fine. They resolved to suspend both his licences for a period of 1 month.

It was therefore

Resolved – (Voting 4 for, 0 against) that the Private Hire Driver’s Licence and Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence held by SK be suspended for a period of one month.