Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Helen Crawford, Councillor Patsy Ellis and Councillor Philip Knowles.

None disclosed.

Minutes of the meeting held on 8 July 2025 were proposed, seconded and agreed.

It is anticipated that, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) the press and  public may be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business because of the likelihood that otherwise exempt information, as described in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Act (as amended) would be disclosed to them.

It was proposed, seconded and agreed to exclude the press and public in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 during consideration of the following items of business because of the likelihood that otherwise exempt information, as described in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Act (as amended) would be disclosed to them.

Report ENV912 from the Licensing Officer.

Decision

The Committee decided to depart from its policy in this instance bearing in mind the very specific domestic circumstances of the offence and the support and character references that the driver provided.

The Committee decided that the driver was a fit and proper person to hold a dual, Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver’s licence.

The Committee issued a warning to the driver in respect of their future behaviour.

The Chairman of the Committee introduced those present and confirmed the name of the driver present who was accompanied by their daughter.

The Licensing Officer present exempt report ENV912 which concerned whether a driver remained a fit and proper person to hold a Dual Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers Licence having failed to meet the requirements of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy regarding convictions.

The Licensing Officer referred the Committee to Appendix 1 of the report and the press article that the Licensing Team had been altered to.  On checking records the Licensing Team found that the person mentioned was a licensed taxi driver with South Kesteven District Council.  The online service DBS check for the driver was completed at the beginning of August but showed no change in status.  A check made later in the month stated that the certificate was no longer current and a new DBS check was required.

A disclose request of the offence was made to the Police.  The Police had not informed the Licensing Authority of the offence as it was not deemed as a significant risk to members of the public. The Police had previously confirmed that offences and allegations must be relevant and transferable to the workplace and that domestic incidents were not deemed transferrable unless the parties involved worked together and could carry on the potential risk whilst in the workplace and therefore put others at risk from their actions.

It was considered that based on the details of the incident and court notes published within the press, along with the fact that the Police had not deemed the incident as high risk, the driver was not a risk to the public and the matter could be referred to the Licensing Committee for determination.

Members were referred to the number of character references appended to the report at Appendix 2 together with the supplementary papers circulated.  Previous enforcement related to the driver was shown at paragraph 3.3.

The driver had not made any report to the Licensing Authority about the charge or conviction as required by the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy. The Committee were referred to Part 3 Convictions and Appendix D – Convictions Policy of the policy, these were reproduced within the report at paragraphs 3.4 – 3.5.

It was for the Committee to determine whether the driver remained a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

The driver then made their representation and spoke about the circumstances which led to the incident and the affect that it had made on their  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

To update the Licensing Committee on a decision to suspend the Street Trading Policy.

Back in public session

The Assistant Director (Leisure, Culture and Place) presented the report which concerned a decision to suspend the Street Trading Policy for a period up to six months.

The Council’s current Street Trading Policy was adopted by Cabinet in June 2022.  The policy replaced the previous policy and included the provision of an enhanced application process and this was outlined within the report.  The current period to process a street trading permit was six weeks from the date of application.

Due to the size and nature of the district, take up of permits had been low and was difficult to enforce.  Feedback received indicated that the street trading application process was overly complicated when compared to the process used in other districts and was not consistently applied.   

A decision was made by the Chief Executive using emergency powers as allowed for within the Constitution, to suspend the existing Policy for up to six months from 25 July 2025 to allow a review to be undertaken.  A refreshed draft Street Trading Policy would be presented for consideration to the Committee in due course.

A discussion on the issue followed with the following comments made:

·       Did stall holders on markets require a Street Trading permit – vendors on a market were covered by different legislation in respect of markets.

·       Loss of income whilst Street Trading was suspended

·       The possibility of registering food vendors for £1 to enable a working document to be in place giving the number of actual food vendors in the district.

·       That the refresh should be carried out sooner rather than later – it was noted that the suspension was up to six months, it was hoped that the refresh could be undertaken sooner but that any Policy needed to be enforceable .

·       Comments in respect of street traders in Stamford – Friday market covered by Market Charter.

·       Robust consultation would be undertaken and fees and charges amended accordingly during the budget consultation if required.

·       That fees should be equal across the district – it was noted that a daily premium was enforce in Stamford – it was suggested that this was an issue which could be addressed once the draft Policy had been refreshed.

Decision

1.       That the Committee notes the decision to suspend the Council’s Street Trading Policy and the work being done to refresh the Policy.

2.       That the Committee receive a draft revised Street Trading Policy for information within six months.

The Assistant Director (Leisure, Culture and Place) briefly updated the Committee on the work that was being undertaken in respect of taxi licensing as there had recently been concern raised about drivers working in the district from other areas.  Due to a legal “loophole” and less stringent processes to those undertaken by South Kesteven, this allowed drivers licensed in other areas to work within the district.  The Minister responsible for taxi licensing was being asked to look at how the “loophole” could be closed at a national level.

Other work that was being undertaken was monitoring the trade in all four towns and enforcing repeat offenders. Dialogue was also taking place with Lincolnshire County Council in respect of temporary taxi ranks and their location.  Fees and charges benchmarking was also taking place with neighbouring authorities.  Two workshops were being arranged for the taxi trade to attend, one in Grantham and one in Stamford for members of the trade to raise any issues they had. 

The Assistant Director (Leisure, Culture and Place) stated that there was a lot of hard work being done “behind the scenes” in respect of taxis and the problems being encountered and she wanted the Committee to be made aware of the positive work going on.

Questions were asked about the work being done and the Officers were thanked for the work being undertaken.

The Vice-Chairman of the Committee raised an issue which was linked to taxis and referred to an email that he had sent to South Kesteven Licensing Team as well as Melton Borough Council in respect of issues that he had witness in respect of unlicensed taxis picking up customers from the Forbidden Forest Festival that was located at Belvoir Castle which was situated on the boarders of Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.  The Vice-Chairman stated that he had major concerns in respect of the use of unlicensed taxis picking up customers at this location and he had seen instances of this happening over the years that the festival had been at Belvoir Castle.  He had done a lot of work with Melton Borough Council in respect of this issue and he asked for the Committees approval to continue to work with Officers from South Kesteven and Melton Borough Council to try and come to a solution to help address the problem.  Members noted the hard work that Councillor Leadenham had done and were happy for him to continue to look into the issue.

The meeting was closed at 12:46pm.