Agenda item

The Applicant was in attendance assisted by an interpreter.

The Licensing Officer outlined the background to the application as follows:

·         The application had been made for the renewal of a private hire driver’s licence.

·         The Applicant had not declared his endorsement points on his application of the 3^rd September 2018 as he had ticked the box for “I confirm that I haven’t received a criminal or driving conviction, caution or reprimand since my last licence was issued (including DVLA points)”.  A new licence had commenced on 11^th October 2018.

·         The Applicant had telephoned and emailed the office on the 5^th March to inform them of the 9 points on his licence.

·         A further three points may be awarded following an upcoming court appearance.

The Applicant made the following points in support of his application:

·         He had worked as a taxi driver since 2010.

·         When applying for renewals to his licence he had not understood the question or why he was ticking the box.

·         He had been confused about ‘included’ and ‘excluded’.

·         He had always informed the DVLA of any points received and had not known whether to inform the Licensing Office.  He had misunderstood the procedures.

·         He didn’t realise there was a problem so had not asked anyone to check he had correctly completed the form.

·         Following a consultation about his upcoming court appearance he had been advised by a lawyer to go to the Licensing Office to inform them of the points on his license.

·         One incident of speeding had occurred on the M32 which had changed from 60 to 40mph and he had not realised.

·         For one offence he was only over the limit by a few miles per hour and he had asked the police for more information and proof but had not been able to challenge the points.

In response to questions, the Licensing Officer and Legal Officer clarified:

·         The Applicant had filled out the form seven times in total.

·         In October 2018 the officers had checked with the DVLA but only six points had shown at that time which meant a Sub Committee hearing had not been triggered.  It was not known why all 9 points had not shown when checked.

·         Advice could be sought in person via the office if requested but officers would not routinely go through forms with applicants when submitted.

·         The Sub Committee would not consider points that could be awarded at an upcoming court case and it had not yet taken place.

The Applicant and the Licensing Officer then withdrew while the Committee considered the application and subsequently returned to hear the decision.

Members considered very carefully all of the written and verbal evidence presented to them.

RESOLVED: that the license be REVOKED for the following reason:

The Committee noted their policy that where more than one offence was committed within the last two years preceding the date of the application, a licence would be refused.  The Committee considered that there was a failure to declare on renewal, failure to declare at the time of the offences and also demonstrated a pattern of behaviour.