Exempt Report of the Public Protection Officer (Specialist) is attached, marked 8.

            Contact Kate Roberts on 0345 6789026.

Consideration was given to an exempt report of the Public Protection Officer (Specialist) in respect of a review of a Private Hire Operator’s Licence. The Public Protection Officer (Technical) was also in attendance.

All parties were invited to ask questions of the Public Protection Officer (Specialist) but declined.

            Two applicants and their legal representative were in attendance and confirmed that they were agreeable to Members and Officers knowing their names.  The legal representative presented the case to the Sub-Committee providing background information and drew attention to the impending change to the regulations.

In response to questions raised by Members of the Sub-Committee and the PPO (Specialist), the legal representative confirmed that:

·         As the applicants had been licensed at two addresses they thought they could operate and take bookings from the one base;

·         Prior to 17 September 2014, the applicants had not been made aware that they could not operate as they had been doing;

·         Mobile phones had been used to take bookings for the Shropshire area; and

·         The offices based in the Shropshire Council area would be fully operational by 24 June 2015.

The Public Protection Officer (Specialist) summed up the application and the Chairman invited the applicant to make any final comments prior to the Sub-Committee making its decision.

Members of the Sub-Committee retired to consider the matter, in private, at 10.05 a.m. and reconvened at 10.35 a.m. to announce their decision.

RESOLVED:

That the Private Hire Operator’s Licence ("the Licence”) be suspended for six weeks commencing 19^th June 2015. 

The parties were advised that the decision would be confirmed in writing within 7 days of the date of the hearing.  Every party had the right of appeal against this decision to the Magistrates Court within 21 days of being notified of the decision.

Reasons

The Sub-Committee had read all of the documents submitted prior to the hearing and considered all the representations made by the parties at the hearing. The Sub-Committee was satisfied that there had been a material change in the circumstances of the operator on the basis of which the Licence was granted.

The Sub-Committee was concerned by the number of breaches of conditions of the Licence and that these breaches had been ongoing for some considerable time. Further the Sub-Committee was concerned that the Licence Holder had failed to take timely action to rectify the situation following notification of the breaches and advice given by the Licensing Authority.

The Sub-Committee took account of the representations made by the Licence Holder that measures were now being put in place to deal with the breaches of the Licence, namely that a dedicated telephone line was to be installed at the premises as detailed in the report and located within the administrative jurisdiction of Shropshire Council, that an operator was to be employed at the premises and that bookings and records would be kept separate and within the administrative jurisdiction of Shropshire Council. 

Whilst the Sub-Committee was aware of the impending changes to the current legislation, Members of the Sub-Committee were obliged to deal with this matter in accordance with the law at the date of the hearing.

Due to the serious nature of the breaches the Sub-Committee considered it appropriate to suspend the Licence for a period of six weeks. The suspension period would allow sufficient time for the Licence holder to put the appropriate measures in place to ensure future compliance with the Licence.