Agenda Document Pack - Licensing Committee - 01/09/2026
South Lanarkshire Council · 1 September 2026
Back to Licensing Committee — 1 September 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Council Offices, Almada Street Hamilton, ML3 0AA Monday, 24 August 2026 Dear Councillor Licensing Committee The Members listed below are requested to attend a meeting of the above Committee to be held as follows:- Date: Tuesday, 01 September 2026 Time: 10:00 Venue: Hybrid - Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Almada Street, Hamilton, ML3 0AA The business to be considered at the meeting is listed overleaf. Yours sincerely Paul Manning Chief Executive Members Andy Carmichael (Chair), Maureen Devlin (ex officio), Margaret Cowie, Gladys Ferguson- Miller, Julia Marrs, Catherine McClymont, Kenny McCreary, Mark McGeever, David Shearer, Helen Toner Substitutes Robert Brown, Mary Donnelly, Davie McLachlan, Richard Nelson, Graham Scott 1
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BUSINESS 1 Declaration of Interests 2 Minutes of Previous Meeting Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 18 August 2026 submitted for approval as a correct record. (Copy attached) 5 - 10 Urgent Business 3 Urgent Business Any other items of business which the Chair decides are urgent. Exclusion of Press and Public 4 Exclusion of Press and Public It is recommended that the Committee makes the following resolution:- "That, in terms of Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it is likely that there will be disclosure of exempt information in terms of Paragraphs 6 and 14 of Part I of Schedule 7A of the Act." Item(s) for Decision 5 Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (As Amended) - Consideration of Suspension or Revocation of Private Hire Car Driver’s Licence No 101 and Private Hire Car Operator’s Licence No 1038 • Exempt information in terms of Paragraph 6 of Part I of Schedule 7A of the Act 6 Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (As Amended) - Application for Grant of Private Hire Car Driver’s Licence • Exempt information in terms of Paragraph 14 of Part I of Schedule 7A of the Act 7 Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (As Amended) - Application for Grant of Private Hire Car Driver’s Licence • Exempt information in terms of Paragraph 14 of Part I of Schedule 7A of the Act 8 Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (As Amended) - Application for Grant of Private Hire Car Driver’s Licence • Exempt information in terms of Paragraph 14 of Part I of Schedule 7A of the Act For further information, please contact:- Clerk Name: Carol Lyon Clerk Telephone: 07385370065 Clerk Email: carol.lyon@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 2
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LICENSING COMMITTEE Minutes of the meeting held via Confero and in Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Almada Street, Hamilton on 18 August 2026 Chair: Councillor Andy Carmichael Councillors Present: Councillor Margaret Cowie, Councillor Gladys Ferguson-Miller, Councillor Julia Marrs, Councillor Catherine McClymont, Councillor Kenny McCreary, Councillor David Shearer, Councillor Helen Toner Councillors’ Apologies: Councillor Maureen Devlin (ex officio), Councillor Mark McGeever Attending: Finance and Corporate Resources C Lyon, Administration Officer; D McLardy, Legal Services’ Adviser; K McMahon, Licensing and Registration Assistant; L Steele, Licensing Standards and Development Officer/Assistant Registrar; L Wyllie, Administration Assistant 1 Declaration of Interests No interests were declared. 2 Minutes of Previous Meeting The minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 23 June 2026 were submitted for approval as a correct record. The Committee decided: that the minutes be approved as a correct record. 3 Minutes of Special Meeting The minutes of the special meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 30 June 2026 were submitted for approval as a correct record. The Committee decided: that the minutes be approved as a correct record. 4 Civic Licence Applications Determined Under Delegated Authority – April to June 2026 A report dated 23 July 2026 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted on civic licence applications determined under delegated authority in the period April to June 2026. Applications for grant or renewal of licences under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (as amended) must be processed within statutory timescales. Delegated authority had been given to determine various types of civic licensing application, through the Council’s Scheme of Delegation. 2 5
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Delegated authority was limited and certain applications still required to come to the Committee for determination, for instance where there were certain objections or there was a representation from Police Scotland, depending upon the nature of the application in question. In the period between April to June 2026, there were 321 new licence applications granted, 9 refused and 195 renewed. As at 23 July 2026, there were 5,029 licences in operation. Details of the public register of applications made and licences issued under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (as amended) and miscellaneous licensing, which showed a summary of current licences and applications, were available on the Council’s website. The Committee decided: that the report be noted. [Reference: Minutes of 28 April 2026 (Paragraph 4)] 5 Delegation of Decisions under Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (As Amended) A report dated 9 July 2026 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted on a proposal that certain identified matters, which would normally come to this Committee for a decision, be delegated to the Head of Administration and Legal Services in consultation with the Chair and/or Depute Chair. The Licensing Committee was authorised to exercise all functions in relation to the licensing/regulation of a number of activities on behalf of the Council or any other activities relating to licensing in the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (as amended) and any new or subsequent amending legislation as outlined in paragraph 3.1 of the report. In terms of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (as amended), each application required to be dealt with on its own merits. The Council’s current Scheme of Delegation to Officers – Specific Provisions, determined what decisions could be made by officers under delegated authority and what decisions must be considered by the Committee. The volume of business currently scheduled for consideration by this Committee had increased significantly over the last 2 years and had necessitated the need for a number of additional Committee meetings. In light of this, it would assist the efficient administration of licensing functions and reduce the burden on the Committee if more decisions were able to be taken by officers under delegated authority. It was proposed that, until 30 November 2026, decision-making in relation to certain identified matters be delegated to the Head of Administration and Legal Services, in consultation with the Chair and/or Depute Chair. Those matters were in respect of the licensing of taxi and private hire car drivers and operators, as well as short-term let licensing. The matters suitable for delegation would include, but were not limited to, the determination of the following:- applications for the grant or renewal of a licence where irrelevant or minor/non-material representations were received (for example, a historic fixed penalty or minor conviction disclosed in a Police Scotland report) applications for the grant or renewal of a licence where representations were speculative in nature, such as concerns regarding potential future issues in relation to a short-term let licence, without any current substantiated objection or relevant considerations 6
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requests to lift a licence suspension where the licence holder had been suspended pending the outcome of a criminal charge and the individual had subsequently been found not guilty or the charge had been dismissed requests to lift a licence suspension previously imposed by the Licensing Committee (for instance due to a contravention of licence conditions), where the licence holder did not previously attend the initial suspension hearing when the matter had been considered and it was now considered appropriate to either confirm the suspension, lift the suspension, amend the duration of the suspension and/or issue a written warning having regard to all the circumstances and the written reasons put forward by the licence holder The business from 2025 was detailed in Appendix 1 of the report, along with the business from January to June 2026 that had been considered by the Committee but could have been determined under the proposed delegated authority. Scheduled hearings for the period August to December 2026 that could be determined under the proposed delegated authority were also detailed in Appendix 1. If approved, the Head of Administration and Legal Services, in consultation with the Chair and/or Depute Chair, would have authority to determine the following matters in respect of the licensing of taxi and private hire car drivers and operators, as well as short-term let licensing:- grant a licence (including renewals) grant a licence for a shorter duration (including renewals) grant a licence subject to conditions (including renewals) refuse a licence lift a licence suspension or refuse to do so Any licence granted under delegated authority would remain subject to review by the Committee, which included the potential for suspension should any relevant concerns subsequently arise. A report would be submitted to this Committee in early 2027 on the use of the delegated authority. Following discussion, members agreed that there should be a limit specified in terms of the number of objections received in respect of short-term let applications that could be dealt with under delegated authority. They also agreed that, in respect of requests to lift a suspension previously imposed by Committee, where applicants had not attended the initial hearing, those who had provided a valid reason for non-attendance in advance of Committee be given a further opportunity to attend Committee. The Committee decided: that authority be delegated to the Head of Administration and Legal Services, in consultation with the Chair and/or Depute Chair, to take decisions on certain identified matters, as summarised in paragraph 4.2 and 4.3 of the report, which would normally go to this Committee for a decision, for the period until 30 November 2026, subject to the following amendments:- that, in respect of short-term let applications, the threshold should be set at a maximum of 5 objections 7
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that, in respect of requests to lift a licence suspension previously imposed by the Committee, where applicants had not attended the initial hearing, those who had provided a valid reason for non attendance in advance of Committee be given a further opportunity to attend Committee 6 Urgent Business There were no items of urgent business. 7 Exclusion of Press and Public The Committee decided: that, in terms of Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it was likely that there would be disclosure of exempt information in terms of Paragraphs 6 and 14 of Part I of Schedule 7A of the Act. 8 Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (As Amended) - Consideration of Suspension or Revocation of Taxi Driver’s Licence No 112 and Taxi Operator’s Licence No 083 A report dated 17 July 2026 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted:- ♦ advising on action taken, in terms of Standing Order No 38(c), in view of the timescales involved and a serious threat to public order or safety, by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources), in consultation with the Chair and an ex officio member, to order the immediate suspension of taxi driver’s licence No 112 and taxi operator’s licence No 083 ♦ proposing that consideration be given to whether taxi driver’s licence No 112 and taxi operator’s licence No 083 be suspended or revoked The Legal Services’ Adviser intimated that the licence holder had advised that he would not be in attendance today as he was no longer working as a taxi driver or taxi operator. The licence holder had advised that he was content for his taxi driver’s licence to be suspended but had requested that he be allowed to transfer his operator’s licence to someone else. The Legal Services’ Adviser explained to members, that suspending the operator’s licence meant that he could not use it, but this would allow it to be transferred to someone else. The Committee decided: (1) that the action taken, in terms of Standing Order No 38(c), by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources), in consultation with the Chair and an ex officio member, to suspend taxi driver’s licence No 112 and taxi operator’s licence No 083, with effect from 17 July 2026, for a maximum period of 6 weeks, be noted; and (2) that taxi driver’s licence No 112 and taxi operator’s licence No 083 in the East Kilbride zone be suspended with immediate effect for the remainder of the period of the licence. 8
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9 Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (As Amended) – Consideration of Suspension or Revocation of Private Hire Car Driver’s Licence No 543 A report dated 17 July 2026 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted:- ♦ advising on action taken, in terms of Standing Order No 38(c), in view of the timescales involved and a serious threat to public order or safety, by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources), in consultation with the Chair and an ex officio member, to order the immediate suspension of private hire car driver’s licence No 543 ♦ proposing that consideration be given to whether private hire car driver’s licence No 543 be suspended or revoked In terms of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (as amended), the opportunity of a hearing had been offered to the licence holder who was present and heard in support of retaining his licence. A complaint had been received from Police Scotland and Sergeant Hinshelwood was heard. The Committee decided: (1) that the action taken, in terms of Standing Order No 38(c), by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources), in consultation with the Chair and an ex officio member, to suspend private hire car driver’s licence No 543, with effect from 17 July 2026, for a maximum period of 6 weeks, be noted; and (2) that private hire car driver’s licence No 543 in the Cambuslang and Rutherglen zone be not suspended or revoked. Councillor Shearer left the meeting after this item of business. In terms of Standing Order No 14, the Chair adjourned the meeting after this item of business at 11.31am. The meeting reconvened at 11.38am 10 Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (As Amended) – Consideration of Suspension or Revocation of Private Hire Car Driver’s Licence No 171 and Private Hire Car Operator’s Licence No 1488 A report dated 22 July 2026 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted proposing that consideration be given to whether private hire car driver’s licence No 171 should be suspended or revoked in terms of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (as amended). The Legal Services’ Adviser intimated that the licence holder had now surrendered both of his licences, therefore, there was no requirement for a hearing. The Committee decided to note that, as the licence holder had now surrendered both of his licences, there was no requirement for a hearing to consider this matter. 11 Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (As Amended) – Consideration of Request to Lift Suspension of Taxi Driver’s Licence No 319 A report dated 30 June 2026 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted proposing that consideration be given to whether taxi driver’s licence No 319 should be lifted. 9
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On 18 March 2025, the Committee had suspended taxi driver’s licence No 319 with immediate effect for the remainder of the period of licence. In terms of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (as amended), the opportunity of a hearing had been offered to the licence holder who was present and heard in support of his suspension being lifted. The Committee decided that the suspension of taxi driver’s licence No 319 in the Hamilton zone be lifted with effect from 18 August 2026. [Reference: Minutes of 18 March 2025 (Paragraph 6)] 10