Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Catherine Hoyle and Beverley Murray.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any personal interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda. If the interest arises only as result of your membership of another public body or one to which you have been appointed by the Council then you only need to declare it if you intend to speak.

If the personal interest is a prejudicial interest, you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

Councillors Pat Haughton and John Walker declared a personal and prejudicial interest in respect of agenda item 4, and left the meeting for consideration of this item.

To consider the exclusion of the press and public for the following items of business on the ground that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph ** of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the ground that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

To receive and consider a report from the Director of People and Places (enclosed).

Following the adjournment of the General Licensing Sub-Committee on 28 April 2010, and a meeting of the Licensing and Public Safety Committee on 9 June 2010 when it was resolved to convene a special meeting of the Licensing and Public Safety Committee to consider a report from the Director of People and Places which sought Members’ instructions under Section 61 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 in light of information received which indicated that a taxi driver had failed to declare a driving conviction on his application to renew his Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence, namely that on the 19 June 2009 he had been found using a Private Hire Vehicle in an unroadworthy condition, and to take into account the driver’s previous history.

The driver and his representative (accompanied by the representative’s wife) attended the meeting to put forward representations.

The driver’s representative asked that the meeting be adjourned to a future date as a Public Protection Officer whom he felt was an essential witness was not present.  This request was refused by the Chair on the grounds that the Public Protection Officer who had compiled the report was present, and that it was not a legal obligation for a particular officer to attend the meeting.

At this time the driver’s representative did not feel that either the driver or himself should participate further in the meeting.  After a brief discussion the Chair suggested that there be a short recess to allow the opportunity for the driver and his representative to discuss the matter in private. 

After a short recess the driver and his representative (accompanied by the representative’s wife) returned to the meeting and agreed, against the representative’s advice, to participate fully in the meeting.

The Committee was presented with a report of the Director of People and Places which gave a detailed summary of the driver’s application history and the relevant convictions which had not previously been considered by the Committee, with direct reference to his conduct as a Private Hire/Hackney Carriage driver and previously as a Private Hire Operator.  The Members were requested to consider and determine, after assessing carefully the information within the report and any representations presented, whether the driver was a fit and proper person to continue to hold the driver licences.

The Director’s report highlighted and commented in particular on:

·         A comprehensive summary of the driver’s application history and conviction record since the original applications to Chorley Council for (i) a Private hire Vehicle Driver’s Licence on 2 January 2003 and (ii) a Private Hire Operator’s Licence on 5 August 2003.

·         The issue on 19 June 2009 of a vehicle suspension notice in respect of Private Hire Vehicle PHV 250 driven by the driver as a result of several faults with the vehicle being discovered on an inspection of the vehicle after it was stopped by the Police on 19 May 2009 during one of the Council’s days of action.

·         The driver’s failure to disclose on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.