To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors CM Bartrum, ME Cooper, PJ McCaull  and DC Taylor.

To receive details any details of Members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a Member of the Committee.

Councillor BA Durkin was appointed named substitute for Councillor ME Cooper and Councillor RC Hunt for Councillor PJ McCaull.

To receive any declarations of interest by Members in respect of items on the Agenda.

GUIDANCE ON DECLARING PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS AT MEETINGS

The Council’s Members’ Code of Conduct requires Councillors to declare against an Agenda item(s) the nature of an interest and whether the interest is personal or prejudicial.  Councillors have to decide first whether or not they have a personal interest in the matter under discussion.  They will then have to decide whether that personal interest is also prejudicial.

A personal interest is an interest that affects the Councillor more than most other people in the area.  People in the area include those who live, work or have property in the area of the Council.  Councillors will also have a personal interest if their partner, relative or a close friend, or an organisation that they or the member works for, is affected more than other people in the area.  If they do have a personal interest, they must declare it but can stay and take part and vote in the meeting. 

Whether an interest is prejudicial is a matter of judgement for each Councillor.  What Councillors have to do is ask themselves whether a member of the public – if he or she knew all the facts – would think that the Councillor’s interest was so important that their decision would be affected by it.  If a Councillor has a prejudicial interest then they must declare what that interest is and leave the meeting room.

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

To approve and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 7th April, 2009.

RESOLVED:            That the Minutes of the meeting held on 7th April, 2009 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To note the procedural arrangements for the meeting.

The Committee noted the procedural arrangements for the following items to ensure that Officers and applicants received a fair hearing.

To consider an application for renewal of a vehicle licence contrary to the licensing conditions.

The Licensing Officer presented an application by Mr LR Knapman for the re-instatement of an expired private hire vehicle licence outside standard condition 9.5. which stipulated that applications for the renewal of licenses after they had expired would be treated as new applications.  Despite a reminder being sent to Mr Knapman, he had not applied for renewal until 21 days after the expiry of the licence. 

Mr Knapman said that he was not aware that he had to apply to renew the licence before it had expired and said that he had also encountered difficulties in arranging for his vehicle to be inspected by the Council’s testing station within a reasonable timeframe.

The Committee carefully considered those matters brought before them.  The  Committee noted Mr Knapman’s explanation and decided that due to the particular circumstances involved, an exception could be made to policy and the application could be granted.  It was noted however that Mr Knapman had also been late in renewing his licence last year and he was strongly reminded that it was his responsibility to ensure that he was more timely in applying for the renewal of his licence in future. 

On the matter of the vehicle inspections, the Acting Regulatory Services Manager said that he had arranged to meet the manager of the vehicle testing centre to discuss what improvements could be made to improve the timescales involved to the advantage of the Council and the proprietors.

RESOLVED THAT:

an application from Mr Knapmanto deviate from the standard condition number 9.5, for the renewal of a private hire vehicle licence No. P009 in respect of Pugeot 406 be approved.

To consider an application for renewal of a vehicle licence contrary to the licensing conditions.

The Licensing Officer introduced a report about an application from Mr Bairkdar to transfer a licence to a vehicle which did not comply with the Council’s licensing conditions in respect of vehicles which have been converted from vans to mini-buses. He said that condition No20 regarding such vehicles stipulated that

Vehicles offered for approval must be constructed in accordance with M/M1

(b) Every new type of wheelchair accessible vehicle must comply in all respects with the following requirements: -

Motor Vehicle (Type Approval) Regulations 1980

Motor Vehicle (Type Approval) Regulations (Great Britain) 1984

And when in use with the following: -

Road Vehicle (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (C&U).

20.2          When offered for approval the vehicle must comply with British and European Vehicle Regulations and by type approved to the requirements of the M or M1 category of European Whole Type Approval 70/156/EEC as amended.  Those vehicles (e.g. van conversions) which have not been ‘type approved’ to M or M1 Categories must be presented with approved certification that the specific vehicle meets the requirements of one of those (i.e. M or M1) categories.   Most registration certificates issued since late 1998 should indicate the approval status of the vehicle.

At the meeting of the Regulatory Committee on 15th July 2008 it was agreed that the Council would only approve wheelchair access vehicles for hackney or private hire if they met the following criteria:-

i.                    the manufacturer must have a vehicle prototype that has passed the ‘VOSA –SVA Single Vehicle Approval Standard Test’, including class D (disabled) and class P (for import),

            or

ii.                   the manufacturer must prove to the Council that its vehicle has relevant safety standards and is able to demonstrate consistent manufacture to that standard.

Mr Bairkdarhad applied to transfer licence P406 from a Citroen car to a Renault Master Van. The vehicle was shown on the registration certificate as being in category N1, meaning that it has been converted from a panel van.  The vehicle was wheelchair accessible but no evidence had been produced to confirm that it had been converted by an approved manufacturer. 

Having considered the circumstances regarding the application, the Committee noted the Councils licence conditions and felt that there were possible ambiguities which could be interpreted in different ways.  The Acting Regulatory Services Manager said that the licensing conditions were currently being reviewed and that amendments could be made to address this.  In the meantime the Committee was of the view that consideration of the application from Mr Bairkdar should be deferred pending him obtaining the necessary certification to comply with the Council’s vehicle licensing conditions.

RESOLVED THAT:

consideration of an application from Mr Bairkdar to transfer a vehicle licence be deferred pending him obtaining the necessary certification to comply with the Council’s vehicle licensing conditions.

EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC AND PRESS 

In the opinion of the Proper Officer, the following items will not be, or are likely not to be, open to the public and press at the time they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 137.

To determine an application for a dual hackney carriage & private hire driver licence.

The Licensing Officer referred to agenda item No. 8 and provided the Committee with the circumstances which had given rise to the need for an application for a dual Hackney Carriage/Private Hire driver’s licence to be referred to the Committee.  He said that despite letters and phone calls to the applicant, he had failed to appear at the meeting to explain the circumstances regarding his convictions, or at two  previous meetings which had been held on 16th March and 7th April.  In view of this the Committee felt that it had no option but to refuse the application.

To determine an application for a dual hackney carriage & private hire driver licence.

The Licensing Officer referred to agenda item No. 9 and provided the Committee with the circumstances which had given rise to the need for an incident involving an application for a dual Hackney Carriage/Private Hire driver’s licence being referred to the Committee.  The applicant provided the Committee with details of the circumstances which had given rise to the incident and said that it was purely a domestic matter, out of character, and totally unrelated to work. 

Having considered all of the facts put forward about the incident, the Committee decided that the applicant was a fit and proper person under the meaning of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 and that he could be granted a Hackney Carriage/Private Hire driver’s licence.

To determine an application for a dual hackney carriage & private hire driver licence.

The Licensing Officer referred to agenda item No. 10 and provided the Committee with the circumstances which had given rise to the need for an application for a dual Hackney Carriage/Private Hire driver’s licence to be referred to the Committee.  He said that despite letters and phone calls to the applicant, he had failed to appear at the meeting to explain the circumstances regarding his convictions, or at two  previous meetings which had been held on 16th March and 7th April.  In view of this the Committee felt that it had no option but to refuse the application.

To consider a matter regarding a hackney carriage & private hire driver.

The Acting Regulatory Services Manager referred to agenda item No. 11 and provided the Committee with details of the circumstances which had given rise to the need for the Director of Environment and Culture to suspend a dual Hackney Carriage/Private Hire driver’s licence.  The Committee endorsed the approach that had been taken and decided that the licence should be revoked. 

To determine an application for a dual hackney carriage & private hire driver licence.

The Licensing Officer referred to agenda item No. 12 and provided the Committee with the reasons which had necessitated the need for an application for a dual Hackney Carriage/Private Hire driver’s licence being referred to the Committee.  The applicant provided the Committee with details of the circumstances which had given rise to his convictions and explained the reasons why he felt that he should be granted a licence. 

Having considered all of the facts put forward by the Licensing Officer and the applicant, the Committee decided that the applicant was not a fit and proper person under the meaning of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 and that his application for a Hackney Carriage/Private Hire driver’s licence should be refused. 

To determine an application for a dual hackney carriage & private hire driver licence.

The Licensing Assistant referred to agenda item No. 13 and provided the Committee with the reasons which had necessitated the need for an application for a dual Hackney Carriage/Private Hire driver’s licence being referred to the Committee.  The applicant provided the Committee with details of the circumstances which had given rise to his convictions and explained the reasons why he felt that he should be granted a licence. 

Having considered all of the facts put forward by the Licensing Assistant and the applicant, the Committee decided that the applicant was a fit and proper person under the meaning of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 and that he should be granted a Hackney Carriage/Private Hire driver’s licence.