Council defends appeal by taxi driver over refusal of licence because of 2012 caution

A former taxi driver has failed in an appeal over Buckinghamshire Council’s decision to refuse to grant him a hackney carriage and private hire driver licence due to a caution he received in 2012 for sexual assault.

The local authority said Basit Ali’s licence was revoked at the time and subsequent applications for new licences were refused in 2015, 2016 and 2018.

Ali applied once again in 2023 but he was refused a licence by Buckinghamshire on the basis that he could not be considered fit and proper.

Buckinghamshire said it takes a firm line on conduct of a sexual nature and a caution is treated in the same way as a conviction under the policy.

Ali’s appeal against the refusal was heard at Wycombe Magistrates Court in December.

The appellant argued that too much weight had been given by the council to his previous caution and insufficient weight to the subsequent passage of time and his positive conduct since the caution.

Buckinghamshire said the magistrates found that the council had been correct to make the decision based on its policy and there were no exceptional circumstances in Ali’s case.

The appeal was dismissed, and Ali was ordered to pay Buckinghamshire’s costs in the case of £5,740.56.

Mark Winn, Buckinghamshire’s Cabinet Member for Homelessness and Regulatory Service, said: "The safety and wellbeing of the public is of paramount importance to Buckinghamshire Council. It is in the best interests of the taxi trade that the public have confidence in the safety of taxi vehicles and of those driving them and we therefore remain committed to applying our policies robustly and this includes ensuring that only those individuals who are deemed fit and proper are granted licences.”