Agenda and minutes

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

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Barry Parsons.

There were no Declarations of Interest.

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

RESOLVED – that the minutes of the above meeting 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 5pm on Wednesday 12^th January 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 17^th January 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

There were no Public Forum items.

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.

PC Patrick Quinton (Avon and Somerset Police) attended for this item.

The Sub-Committee considered whether action should be taken against KA, the holder of a Hackney Carriage Driver Licence and Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licence.

Wayne Jones, Neighbourhood Enforcement Officer, introduced this report and made the following key points:

·       KA was granted a hackney carriage drivers’ licence in April 2006. His current HCD licence is due to expire on 22nd June 2022 and his HCV licence on 28^th July 2022

·       The Neighbourhood Enforcement Team received a statement from PC Quinton, Taxi Compliance Officer, on 14 October 2021 in reference to KA

failing to use the meter, overcharging and subsequent Section 50 issues on 19^th September 2021 at 22:42 Hours

·       Attention was drawn to PC Quinton’s statement which stated that whilst conducting static road checks following on from Tokyo World festival, he had cause to stop a Bristol City Council licensed hackney carriage vehicle  due to a possible faulty roof sign. When asked if there was a problem with the meter, KA stated that the passengers had requested a destination, then changed their minds to go to motion nightclub. In addition, four passengers wanted to go to Motion nightclub and were quoted a price of £25. They confirmed they had not spoken of any other destination. As it was busy, PC Quinton had informed KA that the matter would be discussed at another time and KA then left the area.

A copy of the above incident had been recorded by PC Quinton and was shown to the Sub-Committee.

·       At a pre-arranged inspection at Sandy Park on 13^th October 2021, the following issues were identified – (i) Failing to display interior (side) plates

(ii) There were no restraining belts to secure wheelchairs – KS explained that they had accidentally been left at home as he was cleaning the vehicle out

ready for inspection and a photo of the corrected issue was sent the next

day (iii) Failing to produce a Certificate of Insurance which was rectified the next day) (iv) A badge not clearly displayed which was immediately moved to a better location (v) Damage to a rear bumper not reported to the Licensing Authority

·       Whilst there were no existing endorsements on KA’s existing licence, it was noted that there were two previous endorsements as follows:

(i)Sunday 25th October 2009 at 02:40hrs, allegation of refusal of fare from a

taxi rank. KA was interviewed following on from the complaint and advice given

(ii) 19 October 2020, official warning for failing to display rear plates correctly

On questioning. PC Patrick Quinton confirmed that failure to display name plates was not that unusual as was a failure to report damage. Whilst a failure to include restraining belts for wheelchairs was extremely unusual, the driver had explained that this was taken out while the vehicle was being cleaned. It was, however, very rare not to have vehicle insurance, although this was rectified soon after.

KA made the following points to the Sub-Committee:

·       If  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

NA did not attend for this hearing and, with his agreement, it was deferred until a future Sub-Committee meeting.

The Sub-Committee considered an application by FA to renew a Private Hire Driver Licence.

Graham Lange, Licensing Officer, presented this report and made the following comments:

·       On the 16 September 2021 FA applied to renew his PHD licence. His licence expired on 24 August 2021. He has held a PHD licence since 22

April 2004

·       The following endorsement was listed on his licence - Date of offence 27 September 2020, Date of conviction 30 April 2021, Offence IN10 Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks, Penalty Points 6

·       The following additional historic endorsements on the licence were also noted –

(i)                  Date of offence 30 September 2012, Date of conviction 02 May 2013

Offence SP50 Exceeding speed limit on the motorway, Penalty Points 4, Fine £265.00

(ii)                Date of offence 25 September 2003, Date of conviction 23 October 2003, Offence MW10 Contravention of special roads regulations

(Excluding speed limits), Penalty Points 3, Fine £55.00

(iii)              Date of offence 30 June 2003, Date of conviction 30 October 2003,

Offence TS10 Failing to comply with traffic light signals, Penalty Points 3, Fine £30.00

FA made the following comments in relation to this application and in relation to questions from the Sub-Committee:

·       The 2020 offence of driving without insurance had taken place while using the vehicle privately not whilst undertaking his work

·       Normally every year the insurance company sends me a letter concerning my renewal of insurance. However, they never sent me any letter as this was during lockdown. Instead, they had sent an e-mail which he did not see and he believed was insured. Next year he renewed it himself to avoid this problem. He was not aware until sometime later that he needed to declare that there had been a period when he had no insurance

·       FA had been driving for a period of approximately 1 month without insurance before he became aware of this

·       FA cannot confirm whether or not he declared this offence within 24 hours as he had no records of this

·       This problem had only occurred due to lockdown and would not take place again

All parties then withdrew from the meeting at the request of the Chair to allow the Sub-Committee to make its deliberations. Upon their return, the following decision was announced:

Decision:

Members have carefully considered everything said by the applicant and the licensing officer.

Driving without insurance is a serious driving offence especially for a professional driver such as yourself.

Members were also concerned that you failed to declare this conviction to the Council as is required by your licence conditions. You have held a licence since 2004 and should therefore be aware of your duty to notify.

RESOLVED (unanimously) – that your application for a licence is therefore refused.

(Whilst further Committees cannot be bound by anything said today, I would advise that you do not apply again for a period of 6 months.)

The Sub-Committee considered an application by JSM for the grant of a Hackney Carriage Vehicle (HCV) licence seeking departure from Council policy.

Graham Lange, Licensing Officer, introduced this report and made the following points:

·       On 26 November 2021 Mr Mohamed submitted a grant renewal form in respect of his vehicle

·       The vehicle previously held a HCV licence which expired on 04 January 2021

·       The vehicle was first registered on 08 June 2018 and first licenced as a Hackney Carriage Vehicle on 05 July 2018

·       The vehicle is fitted with a diesel engine

·       JSM has requested an exemption to policy in respect of a new Hackney

Vehicle application due to being out of the country from October 2020 until October 2021. Members’ attention was drawn to an appendix in the report which set out the time period and reasons for being outside the UK during the period that the renewal was required

·       It was noted that the application to renew had been made more than 10 months after expiry.

·       It was also noted that all applicants must provide certificate of good character if coming from abroad and none had been provided from Somalia which was the country in question for this application

JSM made the following points:

·       He explained that he had been driving a taxi for more than 7 years

·       His mum who lived in Somalia seemed sick. Whilst he initially thought he would not need to travel back to Somalia to help her, it became clear that he needed to do so as her illness could be COVID-19 related

·       He had a ticket to return in  December 2020 but had to stay in Somalia longer than anticipated as his Mum was still unwell.

·       His mother had died in March 2021 and, due to travel restrictions, he was unable to get back to the UK for another 2/3 months.

·       Before 2018, JSM had a diesel taxi. He did not have the money to change this for a euro taxi as the car was only two years old at the time.

·       JSM had explained the situation to Bristol City Council and that this is why it was longer than 10 months until I reapplied.

·       JSM had not been working in December 2021 and was not currently working which was causing financial problems

In response to questions from the Sub-Committee, JSM made the following points:

·       He had fingerprints taken by the Avon and Somerset Police who had sent them to Somalia. Following this, he had obtained a certificate of good character which he produced for the Sub-Committee. The Licensing Policy Adviser confirmed that this seemed correct but would be subject to a background check

·       Whilst there were opportunities to make an online application in Somalia, he has faced a very difficult situation there as his mother was unwell and the security situation was poor due to the number of deaths that were taking place.

·       The mileage on the vehicle was just under 30 miles and that, since it was a Euro 6,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

The Sub-Committee considered a report by JS to seek consideration of an application to renew a Private Hire Driver (PHD) Licence.

Graham Lange, Licensing Officer, introduced this report and made the following points:

·       On the 01 November 2021 JS applied to renew his PHD licence which had expired on 07 November 2021. He has held a PHD licence since 16 April 2004

·       A search was carried out on JS’ DVLA licence which revealed the following

endorsement  - date of offence 21 May 2020, date of conviction 03 December 2020, Offence MS90 – Failure to give information as to identity of

driver Penalty Points 6

·       Upon renewal on 01 November 2021, JS falsely declared that he has not

been convicted or received a caution, reprimand or warning for any

offence(including criminal, benefit fraud and driving offences)

·       On the renewal submitted on 26 October 2020, JS stated that he had not

received a criminal or driving conviction, caution or reprimand during the

licensable period up to 07 November 2020. The DVLA check carried out on 18

November 2020 did not list the offence from 21 May 2020

·       Whilst conditions on JS’ PHD licence state that declarations are made to the

Council in writing by the next working day following a conviction of a motoring offence or the imposition of any penalty points upon the DVLA licence held by the licensee. No such notification was received from JS informing the Council of the offence, conviction and the points imposed.

·       A check of the Council’s records reveals the following historic offences on JS’ record

(i)                  Date of offence 07 August 2017, Date of Expiry 07 August 2020, Offence TS10 Failing to comply with traffic light signals, Penalty Points 3

(ii)                Date of offence 01 May 2016, Date of Expiry 01 May 2019, Offence TS10 Failing to comply with traffic light signals, Penalty Points 3

(iii)              Date of offence 11 February 2012, Date of Conviction 03 September 2012, Offence SP 30 Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public

Road, Penalty Points 3

(iv)              Date of offence 27 November 2009, offence TS50 Failing to comply with traffic sign (excluding ‘stop’ signs, traffic lights or double white lines, Penalty Points 3

(v)                Date of offence 19 May 2008, Offence PC20 Contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations with moving vehicle, Penalty Points 3

JS made the following points in relation to this case:

·       He explained that he had been flashed by a speed camera going down the M5 but had not received the documents for this in January 2021

·       He confirmed that his licence had been held since 1997 not 2004 and had never jeopardised anyone’s safety or public liability.

·       The suggestion that he had  failed to declare any offence in 2017 was not credible as it would not have affected his application since it was his only offence at the time. He believed it had been handed in to a member of the Licensing Team and that the error lay with them. However, he acknowledged that his records  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

The Sub-Committee heard an application by KS concerning a report for the grant of a Private Hire Driver Licence. The hearing took place in the absence of KS.

Carl Knights, Senior Licensing Officer, introduced this report and made the following points:

·       KS applied for the grant of a new Private Hire Driver Licence on 06 January2016. A Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate was submitted on 08 June 2016 which did not reveal any relevant convictions.

·       However, subsequent information received by the Licensing Department in 2019 from Avon and Somerset Police indicated that KS was under investigation. Further information provided to the Council in July 2021 revealed that after this investigation, KS was charged with and convicted of a number of offences relating to possession of explicit images and videos of minors.

·       In March 2021, following an investigation, KS was charged with the following offences:

- Possession of 3 x Category A Videos

- Making of 1 x Category B Video

- Possession of 1 x Category C Video

- Distribution of 1 x Category A Video

- Possession of 6 x Extreme Pornography Videos.

·       On 14 May 2021 KS appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty

to the above offences and on the 15 June 2021 Mr Singh was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court to the following

- 12 Months Custody suspended over 2 years

- SHPO (Sexual Harm Prevention Order) for 5 years

- Notification requirement for 5 years

- 200 hours unpaid work requirement to be completed within 12 months

- 40 RAR ( Rehabilitation Activity Requirement) days.

- Costs Order

- Forfeiture and destruction of phone.

In the absence of KS, the Sub-Committee were unable to ask any questions in relation to this case.

The Chair asked CK to withdraw from the hearing to allow the Sub-Committee to make its deliberations  and upon his return gave the following decision:

Decision

The Sub-Committee finds that KS not a fit and proper person to hold a PHD licence.

RESOLVED  (unanimously) – that KS is not a fit and proper person to hold a PHD licence.

The next meeting is scheduled for 10am on Tuesday 15^th March 2022.

The next meeting is scheduled for 10am on Tuesday 8^th March 2022.