Consideration of David Brown's Taxi Operator's Licence.
A Special Meeting of the Highland Council was scheduled take place tomorrow (Tuesday 4 August) to further consider the decision by the Licensing Committee on 23 June 2026 to take no action in relation to two taxi operator’s licences held by David Brown.
The decision by the Chief Officer for Legal and Corporate Governance to refer this item for further consideration on the grounds of “contravention of law” or “maladministration leading to injustice” was an extremely unusual step to take and reflects the seriousness and urgency with which the Council is treating this matter.
Today, Monday 3 August 2026, The Highland Council was notified of the decision by David Brown to surrender his two taxi operator’s licences. These licences were subsequently handed in to the Council’s headquarters. As a result, there is no legal basis to consider the decision by the Licensing Committee. However, the Special Meeting tomorrow will proceed at 11am, where members will be asked to consider an urgent motion from the Convener. This item will be heard in public.
The text of the motion is as follows, and has been directly circulated to members:
"This Council supports the decision of the Chief Officer Legal and Governance to bring the decision taken by Licensing Committee on 23 June 2026 to a special meeting of the Highland Council for further consideration. The surrender of these licences today (3 August 2026) means that they immediately ceased to have effect and consequently there is no decision for the special Council to reach today. We nevertheless wish it to be made known that this unprecedented action was justified."
Convener of The Highland Councillor, Cllr Bill Lobban said: "Today, David Brown surrendered his taxi operator licences, meaning there is no longer a legal basis to proceed with tomorrow’s Special Meeting of The Highland Council. Had the item gone ahead, I am confident the full membership of the Council would have made the right decision based on the information before them. Personally, having considered the papers submitted for the special meeting originally to be held tomorrow, I find it impossible to understand how the Licencing Committee reached their original decision. The meeting of the Council tomorrow will now instead consider an urgent motion from myself."