Non-attendance Discipline
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THIS is no new subject. It is, in fact, one that has been current almost as long as licensing itself. It is the case of the applicant for a carrier's or for a road service licence who fails to turn up for the hearing of his application. He leaves the Licensing Authority or Traffic Commissioners, as the case may be, sitting in court together with all their officials, the objectors, their counsel and their witnesses. A parallel is the case of the objector who fails to turn up for the hearing that he has, to a large extent, brought about.
Each year the Licensing Authorities and the Traffic Commissioners waste an inordinate amount of time as a result of this downright rudeness. There is not a great deal that can be done by way of discipline. Mr. H. J. Thom, the South Eastern Licensing Authority, has for some time now been asking for three clear days' notice of non-appearance. Failing this, he has said, he will have to list more cases each day, which would result in inconvenience and additional expense for applicants whose cases cannot be disposed of on the date fixed.
Something more tangible might be for the Minister to empower his Licensing Authorities to impose costs on applicants and objectors who do not show up and cannot give a satisfactory reason for their absence.