The teams within our regulatory and licensing services are sending out a clear message that action will be taken against businesses breaching their responsibilities.
Two recent court cases highlight the wide variety of regulations and licensing that are monitored by our teams to make sure businesses are running safely and in line with the rules in place.
Following a case in Barnsley Magistrates Courts, our licensing team and legal services have been successful in removing the license of a local taxi driver following misconduct.
Mr Zubair Warraich had his license to drive both taxis and private hire vehicles removed by the General Licensing Regulatory Board in March 2023. Following an appeal by Mr Warriach, the decision of the board has since been upheld by the courts in March 2024.
The court reviewed evidence from 14 witnesses. Complaints ranged from consistently overcharging fares to aggressive behaviour within and around the taxi rank, creating challenges for taxi marshals, and instances of passengers being left stranded.
The court found Mr Warraich unfit to hold a license and upheld the council's decision to revoke this. Mr Warraich was ordered to pay £3,101.79 in costs.
In another case concerning food safety, a Worsbrough trader has been fined over £800 for selling unsafe food. Mr Mohanarajh Krishnaratnam, 39, of Allendale Court Worsbrough, was found guilty after an appearance at Barnsley Magistrates Court of selling perishable food beyond its use by date.
The court heard that Mr Krishnaratnam had failed in his responsibilities to make sure unsafe food was not available for sale in his shop. Despite previous advice regarding the importance of date checks, when Trading Standards visited in October 2023, they found 21 individual items with expired use by dates. Use by dates are only applied to high-risk food that could make people ill if they ate it after the expiry of its date.
Taking into consideration Mr Krishnaratnam’s previous good character and earnings, the court ordered him to pay a total of £810 at the rate of £100 per month.
Anna Hartley, Executive Director for Public Health and Communities, said: “I want to thank our regulatory service and legal teams for their hard work in gaining a successful outcome in both of these cases.
“These examples are just a small snapshot of the excellent work and collaboration taking place behind the scenes to make sure businesses in our borough are trading safely and following the rules.
“As a council, we’re committed to keeping our residents safe – the work of our regulatory services teams to carry out checks on local businesses and traders, offer guidance and support, and when necessary, take action against those breaching the rules is one of the many ways we’re able to fulfil this.”
For further information on compliance, businesses can contact the regulatory services team at regulatoryservices@barnsley.gov.uk and details for licensing can be found on our website at barnsley.gov.uk/licensing.
