PAPER B1

Purpose: For Decision

Committee: LICENSING PANEL

Date: 17 OCTOBER 2003

Title: TO CONSIDER WHETHER MR D MILLS IS A FIT AND PROPER PERSON TO CONTINUE TO HOLD A HACKNEY CARRIAGE/PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER’S LICENCE

REPORT OF THE HEAD OF CONSUMER PROTECTION

PURPOSE/REASON

1. To consider whether Mr Donald Mills is still a fit and proper person to hold a Hackney Carriage/Private Hire driver’s licence, and what action, if any, to take following his recent conviction.

DETAILS

2. On 31 July 2003, at the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court, Mr Mills was convicted of Actual Bodily Harm for assaulting another taxi driver, and was ordered to pay compensation of £75.00 to the driver concerned.

LOCATION & SITE CHARACTERISTICS

3. Not applicable to this matter.

RELEVANT HISTORY

4. Mr Mills has been a licensed Hackney Carriage/Private Hire driver since 1996.

5. A copy of an extract from the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court register of convictions is set out at Appendix 1.

6. The details of the incident leading to the conviction are set out in a statement made to the Hampshire Constabulary by the victim of the assault. The Panel may wish to consider this statement in private session. Mr Mills should have seen the statement when his case was heard in court.

COUNCIL POLICY

7. The Council’s policy is the Guidelines Relating to the Relevance of Convictions as issued by the Department of Transport and adopted as the Council’s policy. It shows that for an offence involving violence, a person should be able to show at least three years free of convictions.

FORMAL CONSULTATION

8. Not applicable to this matter.

THIRD PARTY REPRESENTATIONS

9. Not applicable to this matter.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

10. Broadly, Council expenditure on Licensing matters and, in particular, those which are administered and enforced through Consumer Protection, balances income received from licence fees.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

11. The Licensing Panel will be aware this is not a re-hearing of the Magistrates’ decision, as Mr Mills has already been convicted.

12. The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 Part 2 governs the licensing of Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Drivers, and Section 61 (1) is set out below:-

“Notwithstanding anything in the Act of 1847 or in this part of this Act, a district council may suspend or revoke or (on application therefore under section 46 of the Act of 1847 or section 51 of this Act, as the case may be) refuse to renew the licence of a driver of a hackney carriage or a private hire vehicle on any of the following grounds;

(a) that he has since the grant of the licence

(i) been convicted of an offence involving dishonesty, indecency or violence.”

13. Each case should be considered individually so as to comply with the rules of Natural Justice.

14. In arriving at their decision the Panel will have taken into account all relevant matters; and not taken into account any irrelevant matters.

IMPLICATIONS UNDER THE CRIME AND DISORDER ACT 1998

15. Without prejudice to any other obligation imposed on it, it shall be the duty of each authority to which this section applies to exercise its various functions with due regard to the likely effect of the exercise of those functions on, and the need to do all that it reasonably can to prevent, crime and disorder in its area.

IMPLICATIONS UNDER THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT

16. Members are advised that this matter must be considered against a background of the implications of the Human Rights Act 1998.

There are three convention rights which need to be considered in this context:-

a) In the case of article 8 there shall be no interference by a public authority

with the exercise of this right except as such in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic wellbeing of the country, for the prevention of disorder and crime, for the protection of health or morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

b) Article 1 of the first protocol states “no one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and the general principles of international law. The preceding provisions (of which articles 6 and 8 are but two) shall not however in any way impair the right of the state to enforce such laws as it deems necessary to control the use of the property in accordance with general interest or to secure the payment of taxes or other contributions or penalties”.

Article 1 has particular relevance in this matter, as a hackney carriage/private hire driver’s licence is deemed to be a possession.

c) The Panel needs to be clear as to the rights granted and the need to ensure that the reasons given for any interference are proportionate and in accordance with the Council’s legitimate aim.

OPTIONS

17. To issue a written warning to Mr D Mills with regard to his future conduct as a licensed Hackney Carriage/Private Hire driver.

18. To suspend Mr Mills’s Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s licence for a period to be determined by the Licensing Panel.

19. To revoke Mr Mills’s Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s licence as he is no longer considered to be a fit and proper person to hold such a licence, due to being convicted of an offence involving violence.

EVALUATION/RISK MANAGEMENT

20. Officers have considered the implications under the Human Rights Act and the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act Part II Section 61(1). Failure to take disciplinary action against Mr Mills could send the wrong message to the rest of the taxi trade and make the travelling public feel uneasy whilst in licensed vehicles.

21. Insofar as any risk to the Council is concerned, the issue of Crime and Disorder and Human Rights have been evaluated. Any resolution the Panel makes is within its delegated powers.

RECOMMENDATION

22. To revoke Mr D Mills’s Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s licence, as he is no longer considered to be a fit and proper person to hold such a licence, due to being convicted of an offence involving violence.

APPENDICES ATTACHED

23. Extract from Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court register of convictions - Appendix 1.

BACKGROUND PAPERS

24 Checklist for this report in relation to the Human Rights Act, Wednesbury principles, and proportionality.

Contact point: John Murphy, tel 823152

ROB OWEN

Head of Consumer Protection