Licence holders shake-up denied

Emergency suspension powers stay within committee’s remit

Councillors have clung on to the power to impose the emergency suspension of Angus licence holders, such as cabbies, who are facing serious criminal allegations.

A narrow vote blocked a proposal which would have seen the authority’s legal chief and the top two figures on the council’s regulatory committee given the right to make an immediate decision if police raised a danger flag.

Instead, any such decision will have to go to a full committee for approval.

Arbroath independent councillor David Fairweather argued it would be unfair to take away someone’s livelihood prior to a court case and said there had been a number of cases in which charges had been subsequently dropped.

Montrose SNP councillor Bill Duff described the decision as “a balance of risk”.

“We have a responsibility to the public to ensure that when they get into a taxi the driver is a suitable person,” he said.

“Where would wehave been if we had taken licences away from taxidrivers who then had charges dropped against them?

COUNCILLOR DAVID FAIRWEATHER

Plans to delegate powers for the emergency suspension of taxi driver licences to a panel have been blocked by Angus councillors.

Legal chiefs had argued for the move, saying there was a need to make urgent decisions in the case of licence holders if allegations of a serious criminal nature came to light.

However, a narrow vote sunk the proposal to shift responsibility to the authority’s legal chief and the top two figures on the licensing regulatory body.

The civic licensing committee had previously agreed to delegate authority after the council’s head of legal services highlighted powers under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act to order the immediate suspension of a licence if its continuation would cause a “serious threat to public order or public safety”.

Councillor David Fairweather said: “I know they are emergency powers, but in my 10 years on civic licensing they have never been used.

“Time and again police put forward letters asking us as a committee to remove a licence because the holder is not a fit and proper person, but we have had situations where we have been asked to remove a licence, the matter has never even gone to court and as a committee we have deferred it on the basis that the person is not guilty until the charge is proven.

“Where would we have been if we had taken licences away from taxi drivers who then had charges dropped against them?” he said.

Montrose SNP member Bill Duff said he was happy that authority should be delegated.

“We have a responsibility to the public to ensure that when they get into a taxi the driver is a suitable person to be doing that job,” he said.

“If there is any question we should be erring on the side of safety.”

Concern was also raised about the authority being put at risk of a compensation claim if a driver’s licence was suspended and they were subsequently cleared in court or no action was taken.

Councillors voted 13-10 not to delegate the emergency suspension powers.