Present at the meeting:
- Councillor P Prescott (Chairman)
- Councillor W Rotherham
- Councillor S C Barnes
- Councillor Mrs J Beswick
- Councillor J Eccles-Churton
- Councillor J Hilton
- Councillor Mrs J Hurst
- Councillor P A Liptrot
- Councillor Mrs J M Peet
- Councillor W J Wilkes
Officers in attendance
- Peter Hibbert – Principal Officer, Licensing
- Alan Blundell – Head of Regulatory and Community Services
- Tony Tuffin – Licensing Officer
- Peter Hassett – Principal Solicitor
- Diane Adshead – Committee Services Officer
28 Apologies for absence: Councillors J S Birch, W Carney, Dr C M Cottam, G A Fairhurst and Mrs Y Klieve.
29 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on 24 July 2009 were approved as a correct record.
30 Exclusion of the public – section 100a Local Government Act 1972: Resolved: The public is excluded from the meeting when the Committee discusses the following items for the reasons set out below:-
| Agenda Item No. |
Title of the Report |
Minute No |
Description of Exempt Information by reference to Paragraph Number in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 |
| E1 |
Application for a licence to drive private hire vehicles |
33 |
1 (Information about any named person) |
| E2 |
Application for a private hire vehicle licence |
34 |
3 (Information about the financial or business affairs of any person or organisation, including the council) |
| E3 |
Application for a licence to drive private hire vehicles |
35 |
1 (Information about any named person) |
31 Land at Brocstedes Road Ashton – application for lease of land: Resolved: This item was deferred to allow for the appropriate consultation process to take place. Previous consultation had only included public notices displayed on site and had not been displayed in the local newspaper for two consecutive weeks as legislated in the Local Government Act 1972.
32 Food Standards Agency (FSA) audit of Wigan Council: The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Environmental Services, Martin Kimber, presented by Head of Regulatory and Community Services, Alan Blundell, which advised Members of the findings of the recent external audit of the Council’s arrangements for food safety regulation.
The FSA audit findings were generally good and required no significant change to services, but did suggest several minor areas for improvement.
Resolved: The Committee notes the report and ratifies the proposed action plan.
33 Application for a licence to drive private hire vehicles: The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Environmental Services, presented by the Principal Officer, Licensing, which advised Members of an application for a licence to drive private hire vehicles. The applicant had previously attended the meeting of this Committee, Minute 22 refers, and the application was deferred to allow the applicant to obtain a correct Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) record.
The applicant and his representative attended the meeting and answered questions.
Resolved: The Committee grants the licence with a severe warning regarding the applicant’s future conduct.
34 Application for the grant of a private hire vehicle licence: The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Environmental Services, presented by the Principal Officer, Licensing, which advised Members of an application for a private hire vehicle licence.
The applicant attended the meeting and answered questions.
Resolved: The Committee accepts the evidence provided by the applicant that the alterations made to the vehicle are such that the vehicle is suitable to be licensed and the Committee therefore sets aside the policy guidelines and grants the licence.
35 Application for a licence to drive private hire vehicles: The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Environmental Services, presented by the Principal Officer, Licensing, which advised Members of an application for a licence to drive private hire vehicles.
The applicant attended the meeting and answered questions.
Resolved: The Committee does not consider the applicant to be a fit and proper person to hold such a licence and refuses to grant the licence.
Chairman
