Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Audrey Forrest, Daniel Hampsey, Fiona Howard, Mark Irvine, Paul Kennedy, Liz McCabe, Dougie Philand and Peter Wallace.

There were no declarations of interest.

Report by Head of Legal and Regulatory Support

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 audio call and Conor Morris joined the meeting by telephone along with Jason Stedman.

 

Police Scotland also opted to proceed by way of audio call and Sergeant Ben Rusden joined the meeting by telephone.

 

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

 

APPLICANT

 

Mr Jason Stedman, spoke on Mr Morris’ behalf.

 

Mr Stedman advised that Mr Morris suffered from ADHD and had difficulties in his younger life which led to his convictions.  He advised that Mr Morris had now gained employment and that his employer and co-workers were very supportive of him and thought he was an asset to the business.  He said that this was a turning point in Mr Morris’ life; to gain meaningful employment, contribute to the community, and put his convictions behind him and move on.

 

He said that the job would give Mr Morris responsibility, and this would be important to him.  He explained that Mr Morris had difficulty in understanding how to fill out the application form correctly and had nowhere to go for help with this, which resulted in him omitting to declare his conviction.  He said his employer’s first language was not English and he could not help with the application form.  He advised that the mistakes made in the application form were down to a misunderstanding and he asked the Committee to take this into consideration and process the application so that the business could help Mr Morris grow in himself.

 

POLICE SCOTLAND

 

Sergeant Rusden referred to a letter dated 30 June 2025 from the Divisional Commander which advised of a conviction, in respect of 3 offences, that the Applicant had failed to declare on his application form.  He explained the circumstances in respect of these offences which led to Mr Morris being convicted at Court on 29 January 2025.

 

MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS

 

Councillor Hampsey sought and received confirmation from Mr Stedman that Mr Morris’ boss had been unable to help Mr Morris fill out his application because there was a language barrier, with English not being his first language, and because he had no time due to being extremely busy with the business.

 

Councillor Kain sought and received confirmation from Sergeant Rusden that Police Scotland had submitted their letter of representation as the Applicant had failed to disclose his conviction on his application form and they wanted the Committee to be aware of the offences.

 

Councillor Kain sought and received confirmation from Sergeant Rusden that Mr Morris was 16 years old at the time of the offences.

 

Councillor Brown sought and received confirmation from Mr Stedman that Mr Morris was applying for a Street Trader’s Licence for his current employment.  He advised that the business was looking to grow with vans sited in multiple locations.  They were looking to invest in Mr Morris so that he could manage food and trade from one of these vans.  He advised that Mr Morris was currently employed under supervision.  He explained that Mr Morris needed to have his own licence.

 

Councillor Brown asked Mr Morris if he could explain his circumstances at the time of the offences.  Mr Morris advised that there were reasons for his past mistakes.  He said he was drinking heavily and that it was not a good time for him.  He said that he had changed a lot since then.  He advised that he did not drink anymore and that he had cut communication with most of his friends.  He said that he only spoke to his family now and that all he had was this job.

 

Councillor Blair asked Sergeant Rusden if Mr Morris was complying with the terms and conditions of his conviction set by the Sheriff.  Sergeant Rusden said that there was nothing to present that he has not been complying.

 

Councillor Blair sought and received confirmation from the Legal Manager that applications have been submitted with errors by others in the past.

 

Councillor Blair sought and received confirmation from Mr Morris that he was aware of how lucky he was to have employers and colleagues that were supporting him.  Mr Morris advised that if his application was processed, he would be very excited as he enjoyed cooking.  He confirmed that he would stay away from trouble which, he said, he had been doing for a while now.   Mr Morris confirmed that he understood the responsibility that would be placed on him by his employer.

 

Councillor Armour sought and received confirmation from the Legal Manager that to work in the van, which had a licence at the moment, Mr Morris would still need his own licence to operate, even as just a worker.

 

Councillor Green sought and received confirmation from Mr Stedman that Mr Morris would operate from the Kinloch Park/Kinloch Green area of Campbeltown.  He said it would be just the one location and that Mr Morris would not be required to move the van.

 

Councillor Green sought and received confirmation from Sergeant Rusden that none of the victims of the offences were from Campbeltown.

 

Councillor Brown referred to Mr Stedman advising earlier that there were plans to work in various locations across Campbeltown, but he was now saying that Mr Morris would work at the one location.  Mr Stedman explained that Mr Morris would work in one location and that the business was looking to expand with more vans which would lead to more workers each with their own street trader’s licence.

 

Councillor Green sought and received confirmation from the Legal Manager that if it was determined that an application was intentionally completed falsely it would be for the Police to determine whether any action should  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.