Agenda and minutes

Venue: By Microsoft Teams

Contact: Fiona McCallum, Committee Services Officer Tel. No. 01546 604392 

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Minutes:

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Audrey Forrest.

2.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Minutes:

Councillor Paul Donald Kennedy advised that he held a Taxi Driver’s Licence and operated in the Helensburgh and Lomond area.  He stated that as this application was for the Bute and Cowal area he felt this would not prevent him from taking part in this hearing.

3.

CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982: APPLICATION FOR GRANT OF A TAXI DRIVER LICENCE (K OLIPHANT-SMITH, DUNOON)

Report by Head of Legal and Regulatory Support

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.  In line with recent legislation for Civic Government Hearings, the parties (and any representatives) were given the options for participating in the meeting today.  The options available were by video call, by audio call or by written submission. 

 

For this hearing the Applicant opted to proceed by way of video call and joined the meeting by Microsoft Teams.  Police Scotland opted to proceed by way of audio call and Sergeant David Holmes joined the meeting by telephone.

 

The Chair outlined the procedure that would be followed and invited the Applicant to speak in support of his application.

 

APPLICANT

 

Mr Oliphant-Smith referred to the 2008 conviction which had not been declared on his application form and advised that he had not been aware that he had to declare it as he thought it was spent.  He said that before submitting his application to the Council he had attended Dunoon Police Station and took all his files with him.  This included his Disclosure Certificate which detailed his convictions.  He advised that a Police Sergeant had informed him that he did not think it would be necessary to add this conviction to the application form but in the interests of transparency suggested that he should add a code.  He said that he did not know the code and that the Police Sergeant had obtained this for him and added it to the form.  He advised that he had been surprised that an objection from Police Scotland had been received.  He said that he now had a clean driving licence with no points and that he had no disqualifications. He said that he had received no other convictions, cautions or reprimands over the last 9 years.  He advised that he held a Taxi Driver Licence for the Isle of Man and presented a copy of this for the Committee to view.  He advised that he’d had no problems, cautions or reprimands while holding this licence. He said that it was his intention to move to Dunoon to be close to family and to contribute to Dunoon and Argyll and Bute.  He referred to Argyll and Bute Council actively seeking people to come and live and invest in the local area and that he was trying to do that.  He advised that he had previously worked in government in 5 separate departments.  He referred to working in local hospitals during Covid on the Isle of Man on various wards, looking after vulnerable patients.  He said he was also undertaking a Law Degree through the Open University which would take 5 or 6 years to complete and that this was very much his future idea.  He also advised of previously being elected as a local authority Councillor on the Isle of Man in 2016 in which he was a member of several Committees.

 

POLICE SCOTLAND

 

Sergeant Holmes advised that the submission by Police Scotland was not an objection.  He said it was a representation to allow the Committee to make an informed decision in respect of this application.

 

He referred to the letter from the Divisional Commander dated 18 October 2022 which advised that the Applicant had 2 convictions dated 16 December 2008 and 8 April 2014.  Both of these convictions related to being in charge of a motor vehicle whilst over the prescribed alcohol limit.

 

MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS

 

Councillor Brown referred to Mr Oliphant-Smith’s conviction in 2014 which resulted in him being banned from driving for 6 years.  She sought and received confirmation from Mr Oliphant-Smith that this ban was lifted in 2020 and that he had only been driving regularly for the past 2 years and that this would be 3 years in April 2023.

 

Councillor Kain sought and received confirmation from Mr Oliphant-Smith that he received his Taxi Driver Licence for the Isle of Man last year.

 

Councillor Kennedy asked Mr Oliphant-Smith why he had not declared his 2008 conviction on his application form.  Mr Oliphant-Smith said that he had been confused between English and Scottish legislation regarding spent convictions.

 

Councillor Kennedy pointed out that Mr Oliphant-Smith had been charged twice for being in charge of a vehicle but not for driving.  He commented that these sentences appeared quite severe for these charges.  He asked Mr Oliphant-Smith to explain why he was banned from driving for so long.  Mr Oliphant-Smith advised that Isle of Man laws were a lot stricter and came down harshly on any crimes.  He said that in respect of the 2008 conviction, he advised that even though it stated ‘in charge of a motor vehicle whilst over the prescribed alcohol limit’, he was driving.  He said that he had been just over the limit as he had not eaten all day.  He advised that the Sergeant who breathalysed him had said that if he had eaten a sandwich during the day he would have been under the limit.  Mr Oliphant-Smith confirmed that in respect of the 2014 conviction he was not driving and that he was in the back seat of the vehicle.  The Police Officers who charged him made the decision that this was a crime and the Courts followed the process that for 2 alcohol related offences within a 5 year period they had to issue the toughest sentence they could give.

 

Councillor Kennedy queried the difference between Scottish and English alcohol limits and asked which limits the Isle of Man used.  Mr Oliphant-Smith said he believed that the Isle of Man had its own limits.  He said that based on the limit of 35 micrograms of breath, the reading for his first conviction was 36.4 micrograms.

 

Councillor Kennedy referred to the cost of car insurance for taxi driving and suggested Mr Oliphant-Smith’s might be quite high as a result of these convictions.  Mr Oliphant-Smith said that his driving licence was clear with no penalty points and that car insurers did not consider convictions that were more than 5 years ago.

 

Councillor Hume asked Mr Oliphant-Smith what his breathalyser reading was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.