Agenda and minutes

None.

To determine any other items of business which the Chairman decides should be considered as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

None.

Members are asked at this stage to declare any interests that they may have in any of the following items on the agenda.  The Code of Conduct for Members requires that declarations include the nature of the interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

None.

To pass the following resolution:

“That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded 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 I of Schedule 12A (as amended) to the Act.”

RESOLVED

That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded 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 I of Schedule 12A (as amended) to the Act.

This application had been withdrawn by the applicant prior to the meeting.

Present (remotely):  Applicant and Applicant’s Supporter

The Chairman introduced the Members of the Panel and Officers.

The Legal Advisor outlined the purpose of the hearing and explained the procedure for the meeting.  She reminded the Sub-Committee that the hearing was being conducted remotely via Zoom and must be conducted fairly and reasonably in line with the Applicant’s right to a fair hearing under Article 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998.  In the event of any participant leaving the hearing due to a technical issue, the hearing would not proceed until all parties were present.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report, which related to an application to drive Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicles in North Norfolk where authority to issue a licence can no longer be delegated to officers and merited further consideration by the Licensing Sub-Committee.  She updated the Sub-Committee with regard to an appeal case referred to in the report.  She emphasised that the hearing now in progress related to a new application to drive taxis in North Norfolk.

The Applicant’s supporter referred to documents appended to the report and to a response given by Licensing Enforcement Officer at a previous hearing stating that driving without vehicle tax invalidated vehicle insurance.  He asked the Licensing Enforcement Officer if she had evidence that this was the case in law or if it was something she believed to be the case.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer responded that it was her belief that under the Road Traffic Act, if a driver was not entitled to be on the road due to having no vehicle tax it had the potential to invalidate their insurance.  In the event of an accident, it would be up to the insurance company as to whether it would cover any claim.  She confirmed that this was how she had interpreted what she had read.

In response to questions by the Legal Advisor, the Licensing Enforcement Officer clarified the situation with regard to points on the Applicant’s DVLA licence and confirmed that she was not aware of any complaints against the Applicant other than an anonymous complaint that had preceded the review which was heard on 29 January 2020.

In response to questions by the Chairman, the Licensing Enforcement Officer explained that the Applicant’s vehicle was currently insured for his personal use.  He would need to insure the vehicle for hire and reward in the event of the Sub-Committee granting him a taxi licence and she would require proof that the appropriate insurance was in place.

The Chairman invited the Applicant’s Supporter to present the Applicant’s case.

The Supporter explained the background to the application and the previous hearings by the Sub-Committee in respect of the Applicant.  He explained in detail the reasons why he considered that driving an untaxed vehicle did not invalidate vehicle insurance as it was not an endorseable offence in law.  He referred to a number of documents that he had supplied to the Democratic Services Manager.  (These documents were made available  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.