Minutes:
At the invitation of the Chairman, the Environmental Health Manager presented her report.
The report was for Members of the Panel to review the Licence Holders continued suitability to hold a combined driver’s licence following complaints of aggressive behaviour and smoking in a licensed vehicle.
The Environmental Health Manager circulated two additional documents to the Panel and the Licence Holder; a timeline of events and a character reference.
The Environmental Health Manager provided the Panel with details of an incident which had occurred, complaints received and other matters. She referred to the appendices which had been included within the report.
The Panel was informed that the Licence Holder had been referred to a Panel of the Licensing and Appeals Board on one previous occasion as he had carried five passengers in a Hackney Carriage Vehicle licensed to carry four passengers. The Panel’s decision was to take no further action.
The Licence Holder had no questions for the Environmental Health Manager at this time.
The Environmental Health Manager provided the Panel with video footage, which had been provided by another member of the trade, which showed the Licence Holder parked in his Licensed Vehicle, putting his hand to his mouth, flicking ash out of the vehicle and then flicking the cigarette but onto the ground out of the window. The licence plate and registration plate was visible in the footage.
The Environmental Health Manager then provided the Panel with CCTV stills of the incident which had occurred in June 2015 and had been provided by the British Transport Police. The stills showed the Licence Holder and other Licensed Drivers. The Environmental Health Manager read out the statement provided by the British Transport Police whilst the Panel were viewing the CCTV images. The statement, which was also appended to her report, stated that the confrontation between the Licence Holder and another Licenced Driver was initiated by the Licence Holder.
The Environmental Health Manager called her first witness who provided his version of events of the incident which occurred in June 2015.
The Licence Holder questioned the witness. The Chairman of the Panel reminded the Licence Holder that he would have the opportunity to present his case later on in the Hearing and questions should be relevant to the evidence provided by the witness. The Licence Holder disagreed with the witness on the time the incident occurred. He also stated that he did not touch the first witness.
The Environmental Health Manager asked the witness to expand on some of the information he had provided in his statement. The witness explained that he was aware that members of the public were in the vicinity during the incident but did not take notice of whom. The witness stated that he was shocked that the Licence Holder was so aggressive towards him.
There were no questions from the Panel for the first witness.
The first witness left the hearing at 1.40pm.
The Environmental Health Manager called her second witness who provided his version of events of the incident which occurred in June 2015. The witness read out his email which had been included in the agenda. The witness stated that the other taxi driver involved in the incident with the Licence Holder was not to blame, he was just defending himself and had remained calm during the incident.
The Licence Holder questioned the witness. The Legal Advisor advised the Chairman that the Licence Holder’s questions were deviating from the evidence produced by the witness and the Chairman reminded the Licence Holder that questions should be relevant to the evidence provided.
The second witness stated that he did not want to see the Licence Holder lose his job, but he felt he should be reprimanded for his actions.
The Panel had no questions for the second witness.
The second witness left the hearing at 1.50pm
The Environmental Health Manager called her third witness who provided his version of events of the incident which occurred in June 2015. He confirmed that there were other drivers present during the incident, but he could not remember who. He confirmed that there were also members of the public present and stated that a woman had pulled her husband out of the way as she feared for his safety. Another member of the public had also told the Licence Holder to mind his language.
The Licence Holder questioned the third witness. The Chairman stated that the questions were irrelevant and should be restricted to questions about the evidence available at the Hearing.
The third witness left the Hearing at 1.55pm
The Environmental Health Manager called her fourth witness who provided his version of events of the day after the incident when he had been approached by the Licensed Driver. The witness explained that he had advised the other driver involved in the incident the previous day to report it to the Licensing Department at the Council as the Licence Holder had reported it to the Police.
The Licence Holder questioned the fourth witness. He stated that he had never sworn at the witness and had no issues with him.
The Chairman questioned the witness and the witness provided details of his working relationship and arrangements with other members of the trade.
The witness stated that he did not want to see any of the Licensed Drivers involved in the incident lose their job.
The fourth witness left the Hearing at 2.05pm.
The Environmental Health Manager called her fifth witness who provided information on his personal dealings with the Licence Holder. He provided the Panel with details of an incident which happened last summer. He stated that he had no previous history with the licence Holder.
The Licence Holder disagreed with the witnesses evidence.
The fifth witness left the Hearing at 2.10pm.
At the request of the Licence Holder the Chairman adjourned the
meeting at 2.10pm
The Hearing reconvened at 2.15pm.
The Environmental Health Manager called her sixth witness, the Senior Licensing Enforcement Officer, who provided an overview of her dealings with the Licence Holder and the incident which had occurred in June 2015. The Senior Licensing Enforcement Officer referred to meetings and telephone calls, all of which had been documented and included within the agenda.
The Licence Holder stated that he was upset after he had spoken to the Senior Licensing Enforcement Officer as he thought she had told him he would lose his job. The Senior Licensing Enforcement Officer stated that she had advised that it was in the Licence Holders best interest to attend the Hearing and put forward to his case as it was unlikely that his Licence would be renewed with outstanding matters on his file.
There were no questions from the Panel to the Senior Licensing Enforcement Officer.
The Senior Licensing Enforcement Officer left the Hearing at 2.35pm.
The Environmental Health Manager called her seventh witness, the Licensing Enforcement Officer. The Licensing Enforcement officer provided a full account of his dealings with the Licence Holder, which had been included as a written statement in the agenda.
The Licence Holder questioned the Licensing Enforcement Officer and explained that he felt that there was an error on page 76 of the agenda. He also felt that there was a discrepancy in the CCTV stills provided by the British Transport Police, he felt that the time delay in between the stills did not provide a full picture of the incident and pointed out that they could have been manipulated and the order changed.
The Panel had no questions for the Licensing Enforcement Officer.
The Licensing Enforcement Officer left the hearing at 3.00pm.
At the request of the Licence Holder, the Environmental Health Manager read out one of the file notes which included information provided by another member of the taxi trade. The file note had been included in the agenda.