Agenda and draft minutes

This meeting will be filmed for live and / or subsequent broadcast on the Council’s website.  The whole of the meeting will be filmed, except where there are confidential or exempt items, and the footage will be on the website for 12 months.  A copy of it will also be retained in accordance with the Council’s data retention policy.

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Due to technical difficulties the public part of the meeting was not Livestreamed.

The evacuation procedure was noted.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on 24 March and 2 April 2026.

The minutes were approved and signed as a correct record by the Chair.

Members were asked to consider and note an update report for the period 2025 – 2026 with regards to the decisions which officers had made utilising powers delegated to them by this Committee.

1.Certain powers have been delegated by the committee to officers, in consultation with the chair of the general licensing committee and committee legal advisor.

2.Since the last update several delegated decisions had been made which included:

•7 Licence suspensions (2 licences later reinstated by the general licensing committee, some later revoked)

•7 Licence revocations (5 following police disclosure)

•1 Request refusal and 1 request agreement to depart from policy on vehicle specifications

•2 Licence revocations and 1 licence refusal following a positive oral fluid drug sample

•1 Licence application (driver) refusal

3.A full list of 2025 - 26 delegated decisions and action taken, was contained within the officers report.

4.Members were aware the licensing service carried out oral fluid drug screening on licensed private hire and hackney carriage drivers since the proactive public safety measure was agreed in 2014.

5.In the same reporting period 47 screening tests were carried out on a random or intelligence led basis, the screening undertaken tested for six illegal substances.

6. Of those tested three screens returned a positive lab result, all samples contained THC (cannabis) two driver licences were revoked, and one new applicant had his licence application refused via the delegated decision process.  

7. For members information there had been three court appeals / prosecutions in the reporting period, as detailed within the officers report.

Members briefly discussed the report and commended Licensing Officers for the work they undertook keeping the Borough safe.

Agreed the report be noted.

RESOLVED that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Members were asked to consider and determine the continued fitness of

combined hackney carriage and private hire driver – 140597 due to the driver videoing a police incident involving a female which had been captured on Stockton Councils Public Space CCTV.

Combined hackney carriage and private hire driver – 140597 and his representative Mr Siddique attended the meeting and were given the opportunity to make representation.

Sergeant 2315 Smith, of Cleveland Police attended the meeting as a witness and was given the opportunity to make representation.

Committee papers and reports had been provided to all relevant parties prior to the meeting as well as additional documents submitted by Mr Siddique.

The report detailed the following:

- The CCTV referral

- a police officer witness statement

- a PCSO witness statement

- copies of dialogue between combined hackney carriage and private hire driver – 140597’s representative Mr Siddique and Licensing Officers

- notes relating to a phone call between Mr Siddique and officers

- a copy of a letter sent to combined hackney carriage and private hire driver – 140597 inviting him for an interview

- a copy of a complaint made against a police officer by combined hackney carriage and private hire driver – 140597

- a copy of a written response and e mail to interview questions

- a copy of a travel document to Saudi Arabia which was not signed by combined hackney carriage and private hire driver – 140597.

The Chair introduced everyone present and explained the procedure to be followed during the hearing.

Combined hackney carriage and private hire driver – 140597’s representative, Mr Siddique made an application for deferment of the Committee hearing until the outcome of combined hackney carriage and private hire driver – 140597’s ongoing complaint to Cleveland Police was known. Mr Siddique submitted that, in his view, the outcome of the complaint may change the weight that the Committee would give to the officer’s evidence.

The Committee felt that it was important to determine the matter, particularly as the licensing team’s investigation had begun in January 2026, and had not been resolved, despite extensive correspondence between Mr Siddique and the licensing team. The Committee noted that their focus was on combined hackney carriage and private hire driver – 140597’s conduct, and whether they deemed him to be a fit and proper person, rather than the conduct of a police officer. The Committee determined that the application for deferment should be refused and the hearing proceeded.

Combined hackney carriage and private hire driver – 140597 and his representative Mr Siddique appeared before the Committee for Members to determine what action to take and whether on the balance of probabilities combined hackney carriage and private hire driver – 140597 remained a fit and proper person to hold a combined hackney carriage and private hire drivers’ licence with this authority following the receipt of evidence indicating he had videoed a police incident involving a female and which had also been captured on Stockton Councils Public  ...  view the full minutes text for item GLC/12/26