Taxi Driver Online

Taxi driver fails in licence suspension appeal



A TAXI driver has failed in an appeal against his licence being suspended and been ordered to pay almost £5,000 after he tried to pick up fares outside marked bays in Staines.

Spelthorne Borough Council suspended the licence of Abdul Matin Ghaznawi for 30 days on May 11 after he was seen parking outside taxi ranks near the town's railway station on four occasions.

The driver appealed against the ban but the council’s original decision was upheld at Staines Magistrates’ Court on September 17.

Ghaznawi was ordered to surrender his taxi licence and pay court costs of £4,449.51.

Gresham Road has been plagued by problems relating to illegal parking over the past six months and Councillor Robin Sider, chairman of the licensing committee, said the penalty should serve as a warning.

“This case demonstrates the council’s commitment to ensuring that taxi drivers keep to the rules,” he said.

“It is completely unacceptable to play fast and loose with the licensing laws in this way and I hope this will put down a marker for others that it will not be tolerated.”

suspended the licence of Abdul Matin Ghaznawi for 30 days

surrender his taxi licence and pay court costs of £4,449.51.




Errm the costs appear to be on the high side.

CC

Could he have been PH and the press mixed it up again
If he was hack whats the problem drivers up here pick up outside the rank all day long folk have even gone into tesco staff car park where we queue waiting to get onto the rank to get the cab they want

Even with PH the costs seem quite high, if he'd taken the 1 month suspension he could have saved himself £150 per day

The problem I have with this is that he is licensed on the basis of being 'fit and proper', the suspension basically says he will be 'fit and proper' in 30 days time.

The question is......how do they f*cking know?

CC

Just as a side point to this..... I was wandering if any hackney or private hire driver has managed to get into the Guinness Book of Records..... in a report to Sefton Licensing Committee it stakes that a certain Liverpool hackney driver has been prosecuted four times on the same day for illegally plying for hire in Sefton( Grand National day) he picked the same licensing officers up three times.... you just couldn't make it up.... only in the taxi trade..

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

MINUTES OF THE LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE
11 MAY 2009 AT 10.30 A.M.
Present:

R.W. Sider (Chairman)

Councillors: D.L. McShane and S.J. Rough

139/09 TO DETERMINE WHETHER MR A GHAZNAWI IS A FIT AND PROPER PERSON TO HOLD A HACKNEY CARRIAGE DRIVER LICENCE

The Chairman introduced Members and Officers present and welcomed Mr Ghaznawi to the meeting and asked if he would be represented and/or calling any witnesses. Mr Griffin introduced himself and stated that he would represent Mr Ghaznawi.

The Licensing Manager presented the report of the Head of Environmental Health and Building Control Services and outlined the matter before the Sub-Committee. The purpose of the hearing was to determine whether Mr Ghaznawi was a fit and proper person to retain a Hackney Carriage driver licence.

He had been licensed as a hackney carriage driver since 14 March 2006.

Complaints had been received from a private hire operator and residents of Gresham Road about the number of hackney carriages in the Gresham Road area at peak times. This had led to officers observing the Taxi Stand outside Staines Station and to take enforcement action where necessary.

Spelthorne Byelaw 7(b) required that hackney carriage drivers proceed to another stand if the stand was occupied by the full number of carriages.

The Gresham Road stand was limited to three carriages.

Mr Ghaznawi had been observed parked outside the markings of the stand and had been given oral and written warnings and had been called in for interview about his infringements of the Byelaw.

Despite the warnings, his car was again seen parked up outside the rank by an officer of the Authority observing the rank on 22 April 2009.

Accordingly the matter was referred to the Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee.

The Sub-Committee then listened to representations from Mr Griffin on Mr Ghaznawi’s behalf and asked questions in accordance with the agreed procedure.

The Sub-Committee then resolved to adjourn to consider its decision.
Upon reconvening the Chairman gave the decision of the Sub-Committee with reasons as follows:-

“This Sub-Committee has considered all of the evidence made available, and in doing so has listened to the representations made by the licence holder and his representative Mr Peter Griffin.

Complaints have been received and Mr Ghaznawi has been observed on three separate occasions by Council officers, relating to a persistent offence, outlined in the papers placed before the Sub-Committee, of having parked his taxi outside the markings of the stand in Gresham Road, Staines. As a result he has been given both oral and written warnings.

Mr Ghaznawi was therefore aware of the relevance of his actions with regard to his non-compliance with Byelaw 7(b) under the provisions of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847.

The Sub-Committee expects drivers to work openly and honestly with the licensing authority. Despite warnings he has persistently failed to comply with the provisions of the Act of 1847.

The Sub-Committee considered the representations made by Mr Griffin on behalf of Mr Ghaznawi, particularly in respect of the facts surrounding each alleged breach of the Byelaws. The Committee accepts that there is a high level of competition for work at this taxi rank but is of the opinion that this is no excuse for breaches of the Byelaws occurring.

The view of the Sub-Committee is that Mr Ghaznawi has fallen below the standards it expects for a fit and proper person to be a Hackney Carriage driver in the Borough of Spelthorne.

The Sub-Committee is persuaded by the evidence presented that Mr Ghaznawi had knowingly or recklessly failed to comply with the provisions of the Act of 1847.

The Sub-Committee then has to consider what is a proportionate sanction to impose.

The Sub-Committee is entitled to revoke or suspend his licence. A decision to revoke or suspend his Licence will affect the livelihood of Mr Ghaznawi.

On the other hand the Licenced Hackney Carriage trade needs to be reassured that drivers in Spelthorne are treated consistently and fairly and are expected to maintain such behaviour as befits a fit and proper person to hold such a Licence.

The interests of other licensed drivers also need to be balanced with the interests of Mr Ghaznawi.

Given the Sub-Committee’s findings earlier it feels that it is important to send a strong message to all Licensed Hackney Carriage drivers that the Council will safeguard their interests. In addition the public is entitled to expect Hackney Carriage drivers to be persons of trust and to work within the laws, regulations and rules governing their conduct as a Licensed Hackney Carriage Driver. A period of suspension at the least is something which sends a strong message to both licensed drivers and the public about the standards required, as well as warning Mr Ghaznawi as to his future conduct.

The Sub-Committee has therefore decided to suspend Mr Ghaznawi’s licence for a period of 30 days.

The Sub-Committee does not expect to see any further misbehaviour from Mr Ghaznawi which impinges on his fitness to hold a licence. However, the Sub-Committee asks the Licensing Manager to bring back any further concerns which are relevant to Mr Ghaznawi’s honesty and fitness to hold a licence.

The decision would not take affect for a period of 21 days following receipt of the Notice and during which time The Licence holder had the right to appeal this decision to the Magistrates Court under Section 300 Public Health Act 1936.

The applicant was advised that he would be notified in writing of this decision, within fourteen days of this meeting.

RESOLVED that the Licence issued to Mr A. Ghaznawi to drive a Hackney Carriage be suspended for a period of thirty days, on the grounds and for the reasons set out by the Sub-Committee in its decision.

The driver over ranked a few times.

Yes not within the law, but a £5,000 bill and loss of his license is far too extreme a punishment.

He needs to appeal the sentence and costs.

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IDFIMH

I agree.

I wonder how many taxis there are in the area....and how many rank spaces?

CC

Could the council be at fault if they don't provide enough rank spaces
FFS there they go bringing up a 162 year old law that was only meant for horse hacks

I wouldn't have thought so....there's nothing saying a council have to provide any rank spaces.

The likes of James Button doesn't help, because according to him it doesn't make any difference.

Personally, the HC trade in this area need to look at themselves, because going through the council licensing minutes, this driver isn't alone in being prosecuted for over ranking.

CC

http://www.gmb.org.uk/Templates/Interna ... deID=98844

Ell Tell is on the case

Good......hopefully he'll make progress, but as TF would probably say himself, its down to the drivers on the ground.

CC

This same council gave a PH driver, found guilty of touting, fined and given 6 penalty points on his DVLA license for no insurance a 30 day suspension earlier in the year.

In the context of that, how is over-ranking, a mere parking offence, worthy of the same 30 day suspension?

CC