[2024] UKUT 47 (AAC)

The Company’s licence

Documents obtained from Companies House show that the Company was incorporated on 12^th March 2021, on which date Mr. King was appointed as a director. He resigned on 9^th May 2021, five days after the visit to Ms. Groom and Mr. Brown, and Ms. Wallace was appointed. Mr. King was reappointed as a director on 12^th November 2021 and he and Ms. Wallace remained the directors at the date of the public inquiry. They live together and are both persons with significant control of the Company.

The Company applied for an operator’s licence on 10^th May 2021, the application being made by Ms. Wallace and Philip Ridgway being named as the (external) transport manager. As Mr. King had resigned the previous day, the application was technically correct in stating that no one named in the application, including directors and transport managers, currently held an operator’s licence. The link with Kevin King & Sons Transport was not disclosed. A standard operator’s licence (OC2045076) was granted with a start date of 18^th June 2021. As explained in paragraph 3 above, two days later Mr. King applied to surrender his licence.

In the event, on 12^th November 2021, the day on which he was reappointed as a director of the Company, Mr. King applied to be its (internal) transport manager. He stated in his application form that he was the licensed operator and that he had applied to surrender licence number OC1122141 as it was no longer in use. It appears from the case summary for the inquiry, however, that when he was interviewed by the DVSA the following week he stated that he would like to retract his application to surrender that licence.

The Company was also called to the public inquiry by a call-up letter dated 22^nd December 2022. We summarise the areas of concern as:

In addition a concern was raised that Mr. King as transport manager might not be exercising continuous and effective management of the Company’s transport activities.