LICENSING AND REGULATORY SUB-COMMITTEE NO. 7
12TH FEBRUARY 2008
Present:
Councillor W S Davies; Chair
Councillors D N Bebbington, A Crawford and J
Lewis
In Attendance:
Mr S
Kidson Licence-holder
Mrs C M
Jones
Democratic Services Officer
60 DECLARATIONS
OF INTEREST
No Member made any declaration of interest in
respect of any item of business on the agenda.
61
MINUTES
RESOLVED: That the
minutes of the meeting of Sub-Committee No. 7 held on
18th December 2007 be accepted as a correct record.
62 LICENCE TO
DRIVE HACKNEY CARRIAGE AND PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES
The Sub-Committee considered the report of
the Strategic Manager (Community) which provided details in respect
of Sean Kidson, the holder of a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire
driver’s licence since June 2005.
Mr Kidson had been convicted on
25th June 2007 for possession of ammunition without an
appropriate certificate and had been given a conditional discharge
and ordered to pay £50 costs. He had appeared before
Sub-Committee No. 7 in November 2007 at which time the
Sub-Committee had decided to take no action in respect of his
licences.
Following the hearing on 20th
November 2007, Mr Kidson informed the Council (on 27th
November 2007) that he had been convicted on 7th
November 2007 of six offences of possessing various items of
clothing and goods, bearing a false trade mark. Full details
were provided in the report. It was noted that Mr Kidson had
been fined £200 for each offence (totalling £1,200), together with
costs of £4,136.36, forfeiture of £1,120.15 cash, his Ford Escort
car, and the counterfeit goods seized by Trading Standards.
The Sub-Committee was invited to consider if
any action should be taken in respect of Mr Kidson’s licences on
the grounds that his convictions rendered him unfit to hold the
licence.
Mr Kidson was in attendance throughout
discussion of his case.
A letter from Mr Kidson was read to the
meeting and he also spoke in support of his case. He was questioned
by Members of the Sub-Committee and the Legal Adviser, by way of
clarification, about the details surrounding the
offences.
Mr Kidson withdrew from the meeting whilst
the Sub-Committee reached its decision. The Committee Officer and
the Legal Adviser remained in the meeting.
Following the Sub-Committee’s determination,
Mr Kidson rejoined the meeting to be informed of the
Sub-Committee’s decision.
RESOLVED:
That Sean Kidson’s licence to drive
Hackney Carriage and Private Hire vehicles be revoked.
The Legal Adviser informed Mr Kidson of his
right of appeal to the Magistrates Court.
Reasons for the
Decision:
(1) The
Sub-Committee took into account –
(a) The
Council’s Statement of Policy about Relevant Convictions, in
particular, paragraphs 7 and 8 relating to the effect of
convictions and paragraph 12 relating to offences of
dishonesty.
(b) The report
of the Strategic Manager (Community).
(c) Mr Kidson’s
letter together with mitigation offered by him at the meeting.
(2) The
Sub-Committee was satisfied that Mr Kidson was not a “fit and
proper person” to continue to hold his licences.
……………………………….Chair