Minutes:
The Licensing Officer introduced the report and drew attention to the following:
· ZO applied for a new licence 4 March 2021. He had previously held a licence which expired on 24 November 2020. He was first licensed in 2009.
· A DBS check has shown a conviction for battery in 2018. He did not notify the council of the offence at the time, nor was it declared on his application.
· ZO has been given two warning letters regarding his behaviour at the Citizen Service Point.
· BCC policy is that a conviction for a violent offence means a licence should not be granted until 10 years has elapsed.
The appellant gave the following evidence:
· At the time of the offence, ZO was recovering from an operation and was suffering from several medical conditions, including high blood pressure.
· The incident happened while ZO was fasting, adding to his blood pressure issues and making him stressed and angry.
· This was a one-off incident and ZO does not consider himself an aggressive person normally. This is his only offence over a 14-year career.
After questioning from the sub-committee, the following information was confirmed:
· ZO has no other complaints or convictions apart from the ones set out in the report.
· He has always worked as a driver, holding a taxi licence since 2009 and working as a delivery driver before this.
· In 2017 he had an operation that made it difficult to work. In 2018 he renewed his licence and this incident happened after the renewal. The Covid lockdown came into force afterwards, causing more disruption.
· He did not declare this offence on his application. He was unable to give an explanation to the committee for this.
· He has received warning letters due to his conduct at the Citizen Service Point in 2018. He said he was in pain due to his operation and dissatisfied with the poor service.
· He claimed to have not received the letters due to a change in address. His current address was confirmed in the committee. Officers reminded ZO that it is a condition of his licence to tell the council if his address changes.
The applicant was given the opportunity to sum up, then parties left the room while the sub-committee deliberated.
Decision
That the application for the grant of a PHD Licence made by ZO be refused on the ground contained in section 51 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 in that the committee could not be satisfied he was a fit and proper person to hold such a licence.
Reasons
The Applicant had failed to declare that he had been found guilty of an offence of battery in October 2018 on his application form. He was not able to provide any explanation for this omission. Any failure to notify the Council of proven offending conduct may, by itself, result in a review by the Council as to whether the licence holder is a fit and proper person.
Importantly, a failure by a licence holder to disclose any offending conduct that the Council is subsequently advised of might be seen as behaviour that questions honesty and therefore the suitability of the licence holder regardless of the outcome of the initial allegation.
The policy starting point is that offences involving violence require a period of 10 years free of conviction. The Committee had heard nothing from the Applicant to satisfy them that he should be treated as an exception to Council policy without undermining it or the reasons that underlie it.
There was also an incident in January 2018 where he received two warning letters about his conduct towards Council staff at the customer service point. Although he denied receiving the letters, the conduct complained of was concerning.
The committee also noted that the applicant had changed address, on a number of occasions, as he put it, since 2018 and had failed to notify the Council of his change in circumstances as is required by the Conditions of PHD licence.
Taking into account all of the above factors the Committee could not be satisfied that the applicant was a fit and proper person to hold a PHD licence.