Agenda and minutes
Venue: By Microsoft Teams
Contact: Fiona McCallum Tel. No. 01546 604392
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors John Armour, Audrey Forrest, Mark Irvine and Andrew Kain. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
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CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982: APPLICATION FOR GRANT OF A TAXI DRIVER LICENCE (T JONES, LOCHGILPHEAD) 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 referred to a preliminary matter and advised that Police
Scotland had requested the Committee take account of a number of spent
convictions the Applicant had which were considered “protected” in terms of the
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. It
was noted that the Committee may take into consideration evidence relating to
spent convictions, protected matters, and similar where they were satisfied
that justice could not be done except by admitting such evidence. The Chair outlined the procedure that would be followed in this respect
and invited Police Scotland to address the relevancy of the protected matters
to this application. POLICE SCOTLAND Sergeant Holmes advised that there were various spent convictions that
were protected and that in line with public safety it was the Chief Constable’s
contention that justice could not be done in this case except by admitting this
evidence into the process so that the full facts were in front of the Committee
prior to determination of this application from Mr Jones. The Chair then invited the Applicant to ask Police Scotland questions
and to address the relevancy of the protected matters to his application. APPLICANT Mr Jones said he was not sure exactly what the protected matters were
but that he would have no problem with them being made available to the
Committee. He confirmed that he had no
questions for Police Scotland. The Chair then invited Police Scotland to comment on the Applicant’s
submission and Sergeant Holmes confirmed that he had nothing further to add. The Chair then invited the Members to ask questions and determine the
relevancy of the protected matters. MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS AND DEBATE Councillor Blair sought and received confirmation from Mr Jones that
all of his convictions were of a similar nature. Councillor Kennedy asked Sergeant Holmes why some convictions were
protected and some were not. Sergeant
Holmes referred to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and explained that
it depended on the time of a conviction, the age of the offender and the
disposal of a case. The Committee agreed that the protected matters should be taken into
consideration and a copy of the detail of these was circulated to the
Committee. A short adjournment was taken and the Chair then outlined the hearing
procedure that would be followed and invited the Applicant to speak in support
of his application. APPLICANT Mr Jones referred to the objection to his application due to his
previous convictions and advised that he would be happy to explain what these
were about. He advised that since the
last conviction he had lived in Ukraine but then had to leave at the start of
the war in 2022. He said that while in
Ukraine he taught English and had military training. He and his family moved to England in March
2022 just after the war started. He said
they lived in London for 4 months before moving to Ardrishaig
and then Lochgilphead and that he currently worked
for a breakdown recovery company. He
said that since moving to the area he had also worked in a local pub and that
he continued to teach English online. He
said his employer at the Stag Garage was very pleased with his work and that he
had received good reviews online. Mr Jones advised that it was suggested to him by various people in the
local community that he should apply to be a taxi driver. He said that he and his family had been
accepted by the community and that they had received a lot of help and that he
would like to put something back into the community and thought that this type
of work would benefit him, his wife and family, and the community. He referred to his past which, he said, he
could not deny and that he would be happy to answer any questions the Committee
may have. QUESTIONS FROM POLICE SCOTLAND Sergeant Holmes confirmed that he had no questions. POLICE SCOTLAND Sergeant Holmes referred to a letter from the Divisional Commander
dated 21 April 2023 which advised that the Chief Constable objected to this
application on the grounds that the Applicant was not a fit a proper person to
be the holder of a licence by virtue of five convictions dated 26 June 2008, 12
September 2012, 26 August 2013, 13 February 2014 and 13 March 2014 which he
explained the detail of. He also referred to a further letter dated 21 April 2023 which outlined
seven spent convictions which were considered “protected” in terms of the
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, which he also explained the detail of. QUESTIONS FROM APPLICANT Mr Jones advised that he had no questions. MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS Councillor Blair referred to the conviction dated 8 June 1988 which was
out of sync from the rest, which were in date order, and he received
confirmation from Sergeant Holmes that this was correct. Councillor Blair asked Mr Jones to confirm if he could guarantee that
since moving to Argyll things had calmed down for him and that he had since
changed his ways. He pointed out to Mr
Jones that as a Taxi Driver he would be driving members of the public on behalf
of the Committee and that the Committee wanted the very best people doing this. Mr Jones said that there had been a long gap between now and when things went wrong from him. He commented that his last conviction was in 2016. He advised that his life was troubled in England and ... view the full minutes text for item 3. |