Council 'not told' Carlisle taxi driver was banned

The details of the disturbing case remain shrouded in secrecy but The Cumberland News has established that council licensing officials were initially unaware that the man had been convicted of an offence and banned.

It is not known how long he drove without a licence.

The City Council's licensing panel - which is responsible for overseeing and regulating all local taxi drivers - has now resolved to write to Cumbria's Chief Constable Michelle Skeer expressing "dissatisfaction" at the current lack of any clear procedure for ensuring that the council is told about driving bans imposed of those motorists who may be involving in transporting the public.

A Council report outlined how members of the authority's licensing panel considered the taxi driver's case on December 4.

The man's name is protected under current regulations but the document shows that he did not attend the meeting. Councillors considered the man's driving history dating back to 2005 and offences he has previously committed, together with what officials said was his "current offence."

The document says: "The regulatory panel were dissatisfied with the lack of notification regarding the driver's offence from Cumbria Constabulary and stressed the importance of notifying the Licensing Department of any matters that concerned licensed taxi drivers and the potential impact the lack of information could have on fare-paying members of the public."

The meeting then heard that the driver involved had not applied to the DVLA to get back his licence at the end of his suspension period. "The panel's decision was to revoke the Hackney Carriage Driver's Licence with immediate effect."

The document then lists the reasons for the decision, which were:

"Under the circumstances and as the driver was not legally permitted to drive a vehicle the Regulatory Panel had not option but to revoke the driver's Hackney Carriage Driver's Licence.

The Panel felt that the driver was an immediate danger to the public and therefore revoked the licence with immediate effect.

That that Licensing Manager write to the Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary expressing the Regulatory Panel's dissatisfaction that there was not a clear procedure to ensure that any issues with regards to licensed taxi drivers were reported directly to the Licensing Office in a timely manner.

Belah Carlisle city councillor David Morton, who is vice chairman of the authority's licensing committee, said he had never previously encountered an occasion when a banned driver continued to operate a taxi. "It's very concerning," said Mr Morton, a former Carlisle police officer.

"There appears to have been a gap in the liaison between the police and our Licensing Department. But it's not unreasonable to expect that the Licensing Department should be notified by the police if there are circumstances like this because the police surely have an interest in who is driving taxis."

Councillor Jo Ellis-Williams, Chair of Carlisle City Council’s Licensing Committee and Regulatory Panel, said: “The safety and welfare of the taxi travelling public is of paramount importance to us.

"We are committed to ensuring that all operators, vehicles and drivers meet the required standards and that they are operating within the law.

"When signing up to be a private hire or hackney carriage driver licence, drivers are aware that they need to notify the licensing team if there any changes to their licence or their medical health.

"We check licences at the application stage and on annual basis, however if anyone is aware of any information regarding a driver’s licence, we urge them to contact us at 01228 817523.

“In this instance, as soon as it came to our attention that the driver was disqualified we immediately suspended his Hackney Carriage Driver licence.

"We are working in partnership with Cumbria Police to ensure that we receive information at the earliest opportunity, so that action can be taken without delay.”