Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Fonseca and Westley who were on other Council business.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business on the agenda.

Members were asked to declare any interests they may have in the business on the agenda.  No such declarations were received.

Further to consideration of this matter at the Committee’s meeting on 25 August 2015, the Director of Local Services and Enforcement submits a report containing details of the responses to the consultation on the proposal for mandatory child sexual exploitation awareness training.  This information was not available at the last meeting and Members requested that it be made available to them prior to making their comments on the proposal.

Members are now requested to give their views on the proposal, which will then be reported to the Assistant City Mayor with responsibility for taxi licensing, before a decision is taken on the proposal.      

Further to consideration of this matter at the Committee’s meeting on 25 August 2015, the Director of Local Services and Enforcement submitted a report containing details of the responses to the consultation on the proposal for mandatory child sexual exploitation awareness training. This information was not available at the last meeting and Members requested that it be made available to them prior to making their comments on the proposal.

Members were requested to give their views on the proposal, which will then be reported to the Assistant City Mayor with responsibility for taxi licensing, before a decision is taken on the proposal.

The Head of Regulatory Services introduced the report and stated that the ‘Officer Response’ to each response was contained in the report and it was felt that the responses received did not fundamentally change the reasons for introducing the proposal.

Members supported the proposal and felt that any additional responsibility placed upon the taxi drivers in undertaking the proposed training was far outweighed by the importance of introducing the training as an additional safeguard to protect children and other vulnerable people.  The training would also raise the awareness of the seriousness with which the Council viewed child protection issues and the measures it had introduced in response to them.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee supports the proposal to introduce mandatory Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) awareness briefing for taxi drivers for the reasons outlined above.

The Director of Local Services and Enforcement submits a report requesting the Committee to confirm that applicants who have been found to be dishonest during the application process have their application, and any subsequent applications during the succeeding twelve months, refused on the basis that their dishonesty means they are not a ‘fit and proper person’ to hold a licence.  

The proposal arises from a recent decision of the Licensing Enforcement Sub-Committee in relation to a review of a licence application where the applicant had been found to be dishonest when taking the topographical knowledge test.

The Director of Local Services and Enforcement submitted a report requesting the Committee to confirm that applicants who have been found to be dishonest during the application process have their application, and any subsequent applications during the succeeding twelve months, refused on the basis that their dishonesty means they are not a ‘fit and proper person’ to hold a licence.

The proposal arose from a recent decision of the Licensing Enforcement Sub-Committee in relation to a review of a licence application where the applicant had been found to be dishonest when taking the topographical knowledge test.

The Licensing Team Manager introduced the report and, in response to a question from a member, stated that, if the proposal was approved, the Head of Regulatory Services would determine whether to refuse an application; but only after the applicant had been given an opportunity to put forward their views.  All applicants whose applications were refused had the right of appeal to the Magistrates’ Courts.

Members supported the proposal and felt that it should be added to the Council’s Policy for licensing hackney carriage and private hires drivers.  The Chair referred to the case law of McCool v Rushcliffe Borough Council (1998) in relation to the test for a fit and proper person, which had been circulated to Members following the Licensing Enforcement Sub Committee’s decision on 1 September to refuse the applicant’s licence and debar him from applying for a licence for a period of twelve months.  He felt this was a reasonable test for determining whether someone was a ‘fit and proper’ person’.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee supports the proposal that applicants who have been found to be dishonest during the application process have their application, and any subsequent applications during the succeeding twelve months, refused on the basis that their dishonesty means they are not a ‘fit and proper person’ to hold a licence, for the same reasons as set out in the minutes of the Licensing Enforcement Sub Committee on 1 September 2015.

The Chair declared the meeting closed at 5.58 pm.