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Public Protection Sub-CommitteeTuesday, 3rd December, 2024 6.15 pm
December 3, 2024 View on council websiteSummary
Blackpool Council's Public Protection Sub-Committee met on 3 December 2024 and considered two applications for private hire driver licences. The committee refused one application and approved the second subject to a warning. The committee also approved the minutes of their last meeting.
Private Hire Driver Licence Applications
The Sub-Committee considered two applications for new private hire driver licences. These applications were considered in a part of the meeting that is not open to the public because they contain information relating to the applicant's personal data. Under the UK's data protection law, the council is not allowed to make this information public.
RRA's application
The Sub-Committee considered an application for a private hire driver's licence from RRA.
RRA's application was refused.
When RRA applied for their licence they did not disclose to the council that they had been convicted of offences in the past. Blackpool Council's Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Convictions policy states that:
Where an applicant has a conviction for an offence of violence against the person, or connected with any offence of violence, a licence will not be granted until at least 10 years have elapsed since the completion of any sentence imposed.
Where an applicant has any conviction for an offence where dishonesty is an element of the offence, a licence will not be granted until at least seven years have elapsed since the completion of any sentence imposed.
RRA told the committee that they did not understand that they needed to tell the council about their convictions because English is not their first language. The committee decided that they were not satisfied that RRA was a fit and proper person to hold a private hire driver's licence because of the nature of the offences and how recently they were committed.
MSC's application
The Sub-Committee considered an application for a private hire driver's licence from MSC.
MSC's application was approved and a severe warning was issued.
MSC had four convictions for seven separate offences between May 2010 and March 2015. The council's licensing officer told the committee that the dangerous driving offences from 2015 were of particular concern. Blackpool Council's Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Convictions policy states that:
Hackney carriage and private hire drivers are professional drivers charged with the responsibility of carrying members of the public. It is accepted that offences can be committed unintentionally, and a single occurrence of a minor road traffic offence would not prohibit the granting of a licence. However, applicants with multiple motoring convictions may indicate that an applicant does not exhibit the behaviours of a safe road user and one that is suitable to drive professionally.
MSC told the committee that they accepted full responsibility for the offences and that the offences were committed during a different period in their life. They told the committee that their last offence was nearly 10 years ago and that they had been working as a private hire driver for a different council for two years without any problems.
Although they were concerned about the nature of the offences, the committee decided that MSC was a fit and proper person to hold a private hire driver's licence. The committee took into account the fact that a long time had passed since MSC's last offence and that they had been a licensed driver for a different council without any issues.
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