Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members in accordance with the code of conduct.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2019.

Members agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2019.

To receive reports on business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

There were no items of Chair’s Urgent Business.

The Committee will be provided with the results of the judgement on appeal cases that went to Court.

Members were advised of a recent appeal that had gone through the Crown Courts; the Council was successful.

To consider passing a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and the public from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it (they) involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph(s) 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Agreed that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Acct 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

To confirm the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2019.

Members agreed the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2019.

The Director of Public Health will submit a report for the application for the grant of a Private Hire Driver’s Licence.

The Committee:

The Committee agreed to act outside its policy and grant the applicant’s application for a private hire driver’s licence. This was subject to the successful completion of:

(There is a private part to this minute)

The Director of Public Health will submit a report for the application for the grant of a Restricted Private Hire Driver’s Licence.

The Committee:

The Committee agreed to act outside its policy and consider the application without a certificate of good conduct. It was agreed that the application for a Restricted Private Hire Driver Licence would be granted subject to the applicant successfully completing a VRQ  in transporting passengers by taxi and private hire (or equivalent) within 12 months of the licence being granted and also completing the Plymouth Ambassador course within the same time period.

(Under this item Councillors Mavin, Mrs Pengelly and Rennie declared a personal interest as the applicant’s current employer was known to them as a previous senior employee of the Council)

(There is a private part to this minute)

The Director of Public Health will submit a report for the application for the grant of a Private Hire Driver’s Licence.

The Committee:

The Committee took all of the above and the report into consideration and also considered the Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy and in particular its Guidance on Relevance of Convictions and Conduct.

The Committee had considered the application on its own merits and, in light of concerns raised (which are relevant under the Council’s licensing objectives of safety and health of drivers and public and also, prevention of crime and disorder and protection of consumers) the committee were not satisfied that the applicant was a fit and proper person to hold a private hire driver licence. Members of the committee had asked themselves the question, set out in their policy, as to whether they would allow someone they cared about to get into a vehicle driven by the applicant, and the answer was no. Therefore the application was refused.

(There is a private part to this minute)

The Director of Public Health will submit a report for the Review Status of Private Hire Driver Licence.

The Committee:

The Committee had considered the application on its own merits and considered that safeguarding was a major priority for the City to ensure the protection of its vulnerable children and adults. Taxi drivers were able to provide crucial information on potential safeguarding issues and therefore it was essential that all drivers were trained to recognise potential signs and to know what to do with that information. Failure to engage in this process raised concerns under the Council’s licensing objective to protect children and other vulnerable adults from harm.

The failure of the driver to attend this course and to fail to engage with officer’s attempts to contact him did not demonstrate a commitment to work with the Council. This was a relevant consideration under the Council’s licensing objective of Prevention of crime and disorder and protection of consumers.

In light of the above, the driver’s private hire driver’s licence would be suspended until the driver produced a certificate to confirm his successful completion of the Council’s Safeguarding course. This was in accordance with Section 19(1)(b) of the Plymouth City Council Act 1975.