Item 4b - DRAFT Minute of Special Licensing Committee - 8 May 2024 v3
West Dunbartonshire Council · 5 June 2024
Back to Licensing Committee — 5 June 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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LICENSING COMMITTEE At a Special Meeting of the Licensing Committee held in the Council Chambers, Clydebank Town Hall on Wednesday, 8 May 2024 at 2.09 p.m. Present: Councillors Gurpreet Singh Johal, Ian Dickson, Jonathan McColl, June McKay, Lawrence O'Neill and Chris Pollock. Attending: Michael McDougall, Manager of Legal Services; Sergeant Ben Rusden, Police Scotland; Robert Mackie, Senior Officer (Licensing Services); Lawrence Knighton, Licensing Standards Officer and Lynn Straker, Committee Officer. Apologies: Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Councillors Millar and Sorrell. Councillor Lawrence O’Neill in Chair STATEMENT BY CHAIR Councillor O’Neill, Chair, welcomed Members to the meeting and noted that the application detailed under Item 5 – Application for Grant of a Short Term Let Licence had now been withdrawn. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST It was noted that there were no declarations of interest in any of the items of business on the agenda. OPEN FORUM The Committee noted that no open forum questions had been submitted by members of the public. EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC The Committee agreed to approve the following resolution to exclude the press and public from the meeting to allow the following item to be heard:-
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“That under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1973 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it may involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Act.” HEARING REGARDING POSSIBLE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF A TAXI DRIVER’S / PRIVATE HIRE CAR DRIVER’S LICENCE A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration asking Members to consider a request from the Chief Constable of Police Scotland for the suspension of a Taxi Driver's/Private Hire Car Driver's Licence. Mr McDougall was heard, in introduction to the hearing, and advised Members the licence holder was properly cited but was not in attendance at the meeting. After discussion and having heard Sergeant Rusden, Police Scotland and the Manager of Legal Services in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, Members agreed to immediately suspend the Taxi Driver’s / Private Hire Car Driver’s Licence for the unexpired period of his licence on the grounds that he was no longer a fit and proper person to hold a taxi/private hire car driver’s licence as the carrying on of the activity to which the licence relates is likely to cause a threat to public order or public safety. DECIDED:- Members agreed to immediately suspend the Taxi Driver’s / Private Hire Car Driver’s Licence on the grounds that he was no longer a fit and proper person to hold a Taxi/Private Hire Car Driver’s licence as the carrying on of the activity to which the licence relates is likely to cause a threat to public order or public safety. The meeting closed at 2.20 p.m.