Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and drew attention to the safety information.

Apologies were received from Cllr Barry Parsons.

None received.

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

RESOLVED the minutes of the previous meeting 17 May were agreed as a correct record.

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 5pm on Wednesday 13^th July 2022.

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 Noon on Monday 18^th July 2022.

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

None 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.

RESOLVED – that Committee procedure rules CMR10 and CMR11 be suspended relating to the moving of motions and rules of debate.

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 that the press and public be excluded from the following items of business to allow consideration of items containing exempt information under Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12(A) of the Local Government Act 1972.

The driver was present.

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

·       This is not a licence application but a request for the committee to make an ‘in principle’ decision.

·       NY has an 8-seater vehicle which is 10 years old next year. He wants to purchase another 8-seater vehicle which will have a diesel engine (Euro 6) as there is no comparative petrol model for this. An electric model has a range of around 220 miles, which is not a viable alternative for NY’s work, which is mainly runs to Bristol and other airports.

·       The Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy states that Vehicles presented for licensing on the first occasion shall be petrol, petrol hybrid or an Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV, excluding diesel ULEV vehicles)

·       Exceptions to the requirement that vehicles will be petrol may be grantedby the Licensing Manager in respect of executive vehicles (including 8 seaters executive vehicles) as a result of these vehicles often only being available with diesel engines, however no such exemption applies for non-executive 8-seater vehicles

·        NY argues that this vehicle is essential to carry out his work.

The following points arose from questioning:

·       There are Euro 6 compliant diesel vehicles operating in the Bristol area as they can be licenced as a renewal application, but not a new application.

·       NY would like to purchase the vehicle as soon as possible as this is peak time for his usual airport work. He transports people considerable distances to Bristol Airport, so an electric vehicle is unsuitable.

·       Executive private hire vehicles are typically expensive and high spec. They are frequently diesel vehicles and are used for chauffer work. However, NY does not perform chauffer work.

·       A lack of petrol 8-seater vehicles, especially for airport journeys, could result in two regular vehicles doing the same journey which could have a greater environmental impact.

·       The proposed vehicle would be Clean Air Zone compliant.

Decision:

The Sub-Committee considered this request in principle to licence an 8-seater Private Hire Vehicle, a Mercedes Benz Vito, fitted with a diesel engine. The Sub-Committee decided to depart from its policy on this occasion due to 8-seater vehicles not being readily available with a petrol engine, and an electric vehicle of this size not being suitable for the type of work it is to be used for (i.e. predominantly airport work). 

The Sub-Committee does not have an application to consider, and NY has not yet purchased a vehicle, however in principle agrees to depart from policy if NY later applies for a Private Hire Vehicle provided that it is less than 3.5 years old at the time of application, is Bristol Clean Air Zone compliant (i.e. not subject to daily charges) and Euro 6 compliant as well as complying with all other aspects of the private hire vehicle specification in the Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy (which NY should carefully read to ensure that he knows what needs to be complied with).

The Sub-Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The driver and his representative were present. PC Quinton was present.

The Neighbourhood Enforcement Officer introduced the report and summarised it for everyone. At the time of the report being written PA had twelve points on his DVLA licence but was not disqualified. The Sub-Committee was informed that PA has since disqualified from driving for two months.

The applicant’s representative made the following points:

·       PA has admitted that his knowledge of the licensing policy is weak, and that he has fallen below the standards and he has taken steps to improve this recently. He is very apologetic and will report to the licencing authority immediately in future. This omission was due to ignorance not dishonesty.

·       He has been licensed for 17 years and has only 2 complaints about conduct during this time. PA has never been involved in a car accident and has committed no crimes of dishonesty or violence.

·       PA has very difficult personal circumstances. He has considerable outgoings to cover and is the main earner for the family. He has already served a 3-month suspension for the tyre incident.

·       The representative asked the committee to be proportionate and suspend the taxi licences in line with the DVLA driving licence. 

The following points arose from questioning:

·       The 5 July offence was not reported to the licensing authority. PA was last relicensed on 16 July. The officer recommendation is to suspend or revoke the licences.

·       PA’s understanding was that he only needs to declare offences on the renewal form, he did not understand he should notify the authority immediately.

·       PA’s DVLA driving licence has been revoked for 2 months and will be reinstated in September. PA can apply for a PHD and HCD licences as soon as he holds a valid DVLA driving licence, but the matter will be referred to the committee due to PA’s history.

·       PC Quinton stated that PA has been very polite and respectful throughout all his offences and has no other criminal behaviour on record.

·       A 6-month disqualification is the usual sanction for totting up of penalty points. PA only received a 2-month ban due to mitigating circumstances of exceptional hardship.

Decision:

To revoke PA’s Private Hire Driver licence and Hackney Carriage Driver licence in accordance with section 61 (1)(b) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, namely, any other reasonable cause, as the Sub-Committee is no longer satisfied that he is a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

Reasons:

In reaching this decision, the Sub-Committee considered there to be a pattern and frequency of motoring convictions which falls short of the standard expected of licenced drivers.  The Sub-Committee considered and applied its own policy on motoring convictions.

The Sub-Committee heard that PA had been convicted of five motoring offences in a 2-year period and had 12 points on his licence, and earlier this month was disqualified from driving for 2 months. Furthermore, PA failed to declare some of the driving convictions as required by the conditions on his licence and heard  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The next meeting of PSP B Sub-Committee is scheduled to be held at 10am on Tuesday 20^th September 2022 in a Committee Room, City Hall, College Green, Bristol.

The date of the next Public Safety and Protection Sub-Committee B meeting is on 20 September 2022.