The officers consider that the following item or items contains exempt information as provided for in the Local Government Access to Information Act and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The Committee is recommended to agree the necessary resolutions excluding the public from the meeting during consideration of these items. At the time this agenda is published no representations have been that this part of the meeting should be open to the public.

A recommendation was made that the public is excluded during consideration of the items of business.

Decision

To exclude the public during consideration of the following items which involved consideration of exempt information relating to the financial or business affairs of particular persons, and public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

The report of the Head of Planning, Building Control and Licencing is attached.

The Applicant attended and was not legally represented.

The Committee listened to representations from the Principal Licensing Officer from the Licensing Unit and from the Applicant.

The Committee was made aware the Applicant had previously been granted a Hackney Carriage Licence between 2010 and 2016. During this period he had received seventeen complaints relating to his conduct.

He had been referred to the sub-Committee as a result of this and his licence suspended for a period of 21 days. he was referred back in 2016 whereupon he received a warning regarding his conduct and again in 2016 due to a continuation of the same conduct resulting in the revocation of his licence.

In 2017 he submitted an Application for a Hackney Carriage licence which was refused.

A schedule detailing the complaint history and responses was annexed to the Application for the information of the Committee.

The Applicant advised the alleged complaints were not made up of anything serious or violent and often was as a result of misunderstandings and sometimes a language barrier.

He was asked questions regarding the complaints but the Committee were of the opinion the Applicant was evasive and when pressed further minimised or disputed his involvement as follows. -

15.9.11           He accepted he was driving and that he was a new taxi driver at that time and not necessarily familiar with all of the routes.

8.12.11           Accepted he was driving but doesn’t remember the incident.

24.1.12           Accepted he was driving but disputed spitting. He stated the female requested a lift to Rochdale Road and told him to drop her in the Crown Plaza Car Park – he stated she was malicious, told him she had family in the Town Hall unit, he would lose his licence and have to go back to where he came from. He denied spitting on her.

26.3.13           Accepted he was driving but disputed making any discriminatory comments stating he was being ironic.

2.5.13             Accepted this was him.

13.5.13           Disputes this was him. States it was a family member who was driving.

11.6.13           Accepted he was driving. Couldn’t find receipts.

30.6.13           Disputes this was him.

9.7.13            Accepts this was him. Initially he stated he didn’t smoke. He then accepted he had paid the FPN and did smoke but was not a chain smoker. The Applicant stated it was unfortunate because he had taken a cigarette from a friend and got into and driven his cab. He finally accepted he had been smoking.

15.11.13         Denied it was him.

22.12.14         Disputed it was him.

7.4.15             Disputed this was him.

8.9.15            Accepted this was him and there had been an issue regarding the 40p barrier charge but maintained he had explained this to the passenger.

7.3.16             Disputed this was him.

10.3.16           Accepted he was the driver but disputed the conduct.

The Applicant submitted a certificate regarding a course completed in Equality & Diversity in the Workplace. This was completed in April 2018 (BTEC).

He submitted a medical examination form which stated he had previously been anxious,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.