Middlesbrough licensing committee REJECTS private hire driver application over drink-driving conviction

Middlesbrough Council’s Licensing Committee has refused a private hire vehicle driver licence application after determining the applicant did not meet the authority’s fitness and propriety requirements due to a drink-driving conviction.

The decision was taken at a Licensing Committee meeting on 15 December 2025, following consideration of a report submitted by the Director of Environment and Community Services. Councillors were required to review the case because of a conviction that had not been declared at the time of application.

The applicant appeared before the committee and confirmed that he understood the contents of the report. Licensing officers told members that the applicant had been interviewed in November 2025 after the conviction came to light and that the offence had not been disclosed on his application form.

According to the report, the applicant was convicted on 30 December 2019 of driving a motor vehicle with excess alcohol. He was fined £120, ordered to pay £85 in costs and a £32 victim surcharge, and disqualified from driving for 14 months. The ban was later reduced by 14 weeks following completion of a drink-driving awareness course.

Councillors say policy leaves no discretion as applicant remains within seven-year exclusion period

During the hearing, the applicant explained that he believed the declaration question on the application related only to convictions within the previous five years. He said the omission was a genuine mistake and that he had not intended to mislead the council. Licensing officers confirmed that this explanation had been recorded during interview.

The applicant also outlined the personal circumstances surrounding the offence, telling councillors he had been dealing with medical issues, including a hip replacement, unemployment and family difficulties at the time. He said he had consumed two cans of high-strength beer before driving and was stopped by police while travelling at 40mph in a temporary 30mph zone. A breath test recorded 50 micrograms of alcohol, above the legal limit of 35.

Members were told that the applicant pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and had not consumed alcohol since the incident. He told the committee that he wanted to provide for his wife and two children and that private hire work would allow flexibility around family life.

Despite these representations, the committee concluded that the application could not be granted under the council’s Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Policy 2022.

The policy states that applicants convicted of drink driving must demonstrate at least seven years free from conviction following completion of any sentence or driving ban before an application will be considered.

Councillors noted that the required rehabilitation period would not expire until November 2027. They also expressed concern that the offence involved both excess alcohol and speeding, which they considered particularly serious in the context of public safety.

In its decision notice, the committee said there were no good or exceptional reasons to depart from the policy and that granting a licence would not be consistent with the council’s duty to protect the public. Members therefore ruled that they were not satisfied the applicant was a fit and proper person to hold a private hire driver licence.