BOLTON COUNCIL REFUSES PRIVATE HIRE LICENCE OVER UNDISCLOSED MOBILE PHONE OFFENCE

A prospective private hire driver has been refused a licence by Bolton Council after failing to declare a conviction for using a mobile phone while driving.

Details of the decision were made public in official minutes released ahead of the licensing committee's next meeting, following a behind-closed-doors hearing held at Bolton Town Hall on 28 July.

The council’s Director of Place, Jon Dyson, presented a report outlining why the local authority considered the unnamed applicant not to be a "fit and proper person" to hold a driver's licence.

The official meeting minutes noted: "The conviction from April 24, 2025, of breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle mobile phones etc. was a major traffic offence under council’s statement of fitness and suitability and a conviction date of less than three years would generally mean that an application would be refused."

The minutes added that "the applicant also failed to declare the above conviction in accordance with the conditions of his licence," concluding that "therefore, there is reasonable cause to refuse to grant the private hire drivers’ licence."

The applicant attended the Town Hall meeting alongside a representative to state his case, with all parties given 15 minutes to present to the committee.

Following the presentations, committee member Councillor Martin Donaghy proposed that the application be refused, a motion seconded by Councillor Anne Galloway. Committee members voted unanimously to reject the licence application, with no abstentions recorded.

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