Dear Mr Heaton,

Freedom of Information Act 2000 Enquiry

Thank you for your Freedom of Information enquiry. You have asked for the following information.

1. What arrangements you make to ensure that taxi drivers licensed by the council do not refuse to carry a passenger who has a registered assistance dog (you will I hope be aware that this extends substantially beyond Guide Dogs).

2. How many instances you are aware of where there have been such refusals, and the reasons why.

3. How many complaints you have had about this and how you have dealt with them.

4. How your council meets its obligations in this respect under Disability Discrimination legislation, to ensure that people with a registered assistance dog are not refused by taxi drivers.

I wish to assure you that the Council takes its responsibilities and those of the taxi drivers very seriously.

On receipt of an application for a Private Hire Driver's Licence or Hackney Carriage Driver's Licence the Council issues a handbook entitled `Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Licensing Handbook' to each applicant. The council also issues an information leaflet issued by the Department for Transport entitled `Carriage of Assistance Dogs in Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles - Advice for Operators and Drivers'. A .pdf version of this document is attached to this email for your information.

Alternatively the document can be downloaded from the DfT's website on the following link

http://www.dft.gov.uk/adobepdf/259428/323526/19558ExemptionofDogs-6ppDL.pdf

The Licensing Handbook gives detailed information on what the Council expects from its licence holders in terms of the service they provide to passengers with disabilities. Pages 1.9 to 1.11 specifically deal with these issues. Also attached to this email are a Microsoft Word copy of the relevant pages from within the handbook and a .pdf version of the entire handbook.

You may be pleased to learn that in Sandwell all Hackney Carriages must be either purpose built London style taxis or certain approved Eurobuses, as such every licensed Hackney Carriage in Sandwell is wheelchair accessible.

Over the last five years the Council has received three complaints about taxi drivers refusing to carry passengers with assistance dogs.

The first complaint was an allegation that a driver had refused to pick up a couple who were both registered blind and had an assistance dog + wheelchair.  The driver was interviewed under caution and stated that he had attended to pick up the passengers. However on arrival he thought that his vehicle was too small to take 2 quite large passengers and a large assistance dog so he called for another vehicle from his base to attend which it did. The Council's Legal Department declined to prosecute as it concluded that a successful prosecution was unlikely due to insufficient evidence.

The second complaint was an allegation that a driver had refused to pick up a registered blind person and their assistance dog. The complaint was settled between complainant and the Private Hire Operator. The complainant then withdrew their complaint.

The third complaint was an allegation that a driver had refused to pick up a registered blind person and their assistance dog.  The driver was interviewed under caution. The driver claimed that he had arrived at the pick-up point but was immediately diverted to another job by the Private Hire Operator who sent another vehicle to pick up the disabled passenger. There was no evidence that the original driver had refused to pick up the passenger and the Operator's computer records confirmed the actions. The Council's Legal Department declined to prosecute due to lack of evidence.

I hope that I have answered all your questions, however please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any further assistance.

If you wish to request a review of the decision above, you can do so under section 17 of the FOIA, by writing to:

Service Insight Team

Freedom of Information Request

Sandwell Council House

Freeth Street

Oldbury

B69 3DE

You also have a right to approach the Information Commissioner, the independent body that enforces the Freedom of Information Act, for a decision as to whether the Council has handled your request in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. However, the Commissioner will normally wish to ensure that you have exhausted any internal process for review prior to considering any such request.

Yours sincerely,

Gary Hodgetts

Acting Licensing Manager

Highways & Environment

Licensing Office, Waterfall Lane, Cradley Heath, West Midlands B64 6RL

Telephone: 0845 359 7545 Fax: 0121 559 9359

Email: [email address]