The Licensing Sub-Committee of North Somerset Council met on Tuesday 6 October 2026. The primary item scheduled for discussion was a review of a Private Hire Driver's Licence, Hackney Carriage Driver's Licence, Combined Driver's Licence, or Private Hire Operator's Licence, referred to as PHDL Review 26-27 Case 4. The meeting also included procedural matters such as the adoption of a hearing procedure and the potential exclusion of the public and press for certain discussions.

PHDL Review 26-27 Case 4

The meeting was scheduled to include a review of a Private Hire Driver's Licence, Hackney Carriage Driver's Licence, Combined Driver's Licence, or Private Hire Operator's Licence, designated as PHDL Review 26-27 Case 4. This item was detailed in a report from the Director of Healthy and Sustainable Communities. The procedure for such reviews was outlined, which typically involves the Licensing Authority's representative presenting the reasons for the review, followed by the licence holder's response. All parties would then have the opportunity to ask questions and sum up their arguments before the Sub-Committee withdrew to deliberate. The Chairperson, or Legal Adviser to the Sub-Committee, would then announce the decision upon the return of all parties. The specific details of this case were contained within exempt information, meaning the public and press were likely to be excluded from this part of the meeting.

Procedural Matters

Before addressing the substantive review, the Licensing Sub-Committee was scheduled to deal with several procedural items. These included the election of a Chairperson for the meeting, apologies for absence and notification of substitutes, and the declaration of disclosable pecuniary interests by members. Standing Order 39 requires members to declare any such interests related to agenda items, and if a declaration is made, the member is legally prohibited from participating in the debate and must leave the meeting.

The committee was also set to adopt a hearing procedure, as detailed on pages 5 and 6 of the public reports pack¹. A significant procedural point was the potential exclusion of the public and press. The Sub-Committee was invited to pass resolutions to exclude them from the meeting during the consideration of exempt information, as defined in Section 100I of the Local Government Act 1972. This exclusion would be based on the disclosure of exempt information by virtue of paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act. The agenda also noted the possibility of inviting members of the Council who were not part of the Sub-Committee to remain during these exempt sessions.

Finally, the agenda included a provision for the consideration of urgent business permitted by the Local Government Act 1972. For a matter to be deemed urgent, it must be demonstrated that significant harm to the public interest would result from delaying its consideration until the next meeting.