Availability of Wheelchair Accessible Taxis/PHVs

The request was successful.

Dear South Holland District Council,

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE TAXIS/PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES (“WAVs”)-AVAILABILITY
This study is concerned with actual rather than notional availability of wheelchair accessible taxis and PHVs (“WAVs”). Individuals and some organisations can have great difficulty obtaining WAVs when and where required. As a generality, in rural/semi-rural areas or at schooltimes, on some evenings and on Sundays. This seeks to begin to clarify why this occurs and what does and does not work to improve the situation.
1. TAXI STATISTICS : How many a)wheelchair accessible taxis; b) other taxis c) wheelchair accessible phvs d) other phvs do you have licensed? This is to update the 2015 DfT statistics, the 2017 update is due shortly.
2. TAXI POLICY & PUBLIC SECTOR EQUALITY DUTY : FACTORS AFFECTING AVAILABILITY:
Typical factors affecting availability in a given licensing area are:
a) whether individual licensing authorities require a fully or substantially WAV fleet;
b) LA (eg SEN, schools, social care) and NHS (eg goods, staff ,NEPTS etc ) contracts;
c) not making all WAV operators booking/ contact details publically available;
d) operators refusal of prebookings;
e) operators refusal to carry wheelchairs;
f) drivers medical exemptions (wheelchair and assistance dog);
g) significantly more people relative to resident population eg commuters, tourists, passengers in transit;
h) private contracts, driver rest, vehicle repair and maintenance etc;
Please say if and how your taxi policy takes into account each of a)-h) above, or anything else relevant to try to ensure that sufficient WAVs are available to meet demand .*
3. CONTACT INFORMATION:*
To enable further research into accuracy, reliability, consistency and completeness of public and commercial information please provide a list/ spreadsheet/link etc showing the business contact details for all WAV operators with which your authority has dealings (eg as a Licensing Authority or contracting party including for Unitary Authorities, SEN, social services etc. In two-tier authorities please also state the contracting authority).
4. RAIL INDUSTRY : *
To obtain approval by the rail regulator, of their Disabled Persons Protection Policies (“DPPPs”) in order to meet the requirements of their operating licences, station and Train Operating Companies (“TOCs”) should know about WAV availability both for their own needs (rail disruption etc) and to inform passengers.
What arrangements if any have you made to inform them or to ensure that licensed WAV operators do so?
5. INFORMATION FOR TOURISTS , AIR/SEA/RAIL etc PASSENGERS IN TRANSIT ;*
Does your authorities information (including websites & social media) clearly tell the public:
a) the contact details for all WAVs licensed by your authority? If not, why not?; b)if and when WAVS are likely to be hard to obtain?;
c) that TAXI/PHV operators may charge extra etc to carry wheelchairs? (ie unless and until s167 is formally commenced).
6. COMPETITION.
Large authorities responsible for schools/SEN Transport can typically spend around £10m-£11m annually on taxis, including many WAVs .
Have you carried out or collaborated with any value for money studies on this? With what outcome?

Having discussed this matter with the ICO I wish to draw the following to your attention:
1. RE-USE OF INFORMATION PREVIOUSLY SUPPLIED
To minimise duplication I intend to re-use information on wheelchair accessible taxis/PHVs recently provided by your authority to Mr Doug Paulley in response to his Freedom of Information Request. This is for possible use by anyone interested in any way in disability and transport , including government, and is NOT for commercial gain.
2. *If providing the information in exactly the form requested is onerous, but is available in another easier to provide form (eg in a report or printed document) please say so as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully,
dick fowler

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Fowler,

 

Thank you for your request for information from South Holland District
Council.  Please find attached the Council’s letter of acknowledgement.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Diana Bowie

Statutory Information Officer

Breckland Council and South Holland Council

(Breckland): 01362656390

[1]www.breckland.gov.uk  | [2]www.sholland.gov.uk

 

 

From: dick fowler [mailto:[FOI #426177 email]]
Sent: 19 August 2017 15:31
To: FOI <[South Holland District Council request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Availability of Wheelchair
Accessible Taxis/PHVs

 

This message originated from outside your organization

Dear South Holland District Council,

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE TAXIS/PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES (“WAVs”)-AVAILABILITY
This study is concerned with actual rather than notional availability of
wheelchair accessible taxis and PHVs (“WAVs”). Individuals and some
organisations can have great difficulty obtaining WAVs when and where
required. As a generality, in rural/semi-rural areas or at schooltimes, on
some evenings and on Sundays. This seeks to begin to clarify why this
occurs and what does and does not work to improve the situation.
1. TAXI STATISTICS : How many a)wheelchair accessible taxis; b) other
taxis c) wheelchair accessible phvs d) other phvs do you have licensed?
This is to update the 2015 DfT statistics, the 2017 update is due shortly.
2. TAXI POLICY & PUBLIC SECTOR EQUALITY DUTY : FACTORS AFFECTING
AVAILABILITY:
Typical factors affecting availability in a given licensing area are:
a) whether individual licensing authorities require a fully or
substantially WAV fleet;
b) LA (eg SEN, schools, social care) and NHS (eg goods, staff ,NEPTS etc )
contracts;
c) not making all WAV operators booking/ contact details publically
available;
d) operators refusal of prebookings;
e) operators refusal to carry wheelchairs;
f) drivers medical exemptions (wheelchair and assistance dog);
g) significantly more people relative to resident population eg commuters,
tourists, passengers in transit;
h) private contracts, driver rest, vehicle repair and maintenance etc;
Please say if and how your taxi policy takes into account each of a)-h)
above, or anything else relevant to try to ensure that sufficient WAVs are
available to meet demand .*
3. CONTACT INFORMATION:*
To enable further research into accuracy, reliability, consistency and
completeness of public and commercial information please provide a list/
spreadsheet/link etc showing the business contact details for all WAV
operators with which your authority has dealings (eg as a Licensing
Authority or contracting party including for Unitary Authorities, SEN,
social services etc. In two-tier authorities please also state the
contracting authority).
4. RAIL INDUSTRY : *
To obtain approval by the rail regulator, of their Disabled Persons
Protection Policies (“DPPPs”) in order to meet the requirements of their
operating licences, station and Train Operating Companies (“TOCs”) should
know about WAV availability both for their own needs (rail disruption etc)
and to inform passengers.
What arrangements if any have you made to inform them or to ensure that
licensed WAV operators do so?
5. INFORMATION FOR TOURISTS , AIR/SEA/RAIL etc PASSENGERS IN TRANSIT ;*
Does your authorities information (including websites & social media)
clearly tell the public:
a) the contact details for all WAVs licensed by your authority? If not,
why not?; b)if and when WAVS are likely to be hard to obtain?;
c) that TAXI/PHV operators may charge extra etc to carry wheelchairs? (ie
unless and until s167 is formally commenced).
6. COMPETITION.
Large authorities responsible for schools/SEN Transport can typically
spend around £10m-£11m annually on taxis, including many WAVs .
Have you carried out or collaborated with any value for money studies on
this? With what outcome?

Having discussed this matter with the ICO I wish to draw the following to
your attention:
1. RE-USE OF INFORMATION PREVIOUSLY SUPPLIED
To minimise duplication I intend to re-use information on wheelchair
accessible taxis/PHVs recently provided by your authority to Mr Doug
Paulley in response to his Freedom of Information Request. This is for
possible use by anyone interested in any way in disability and transport ,
including government, and is NOT for commercial gain.
2. *If providing the information in exactly the form requested is onerous,
but is available in another easier to provide form (eg in a report or
printed document) please say so as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully,
dick fowler

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Diana Bowie,

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Fowler,

 

Further to your request for information from South Holland District
Council, please find attached the Council’s response.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Diana Bowie

Statutory Information Officer

Breckland Council and South Holland Council

(Breckland): 01362656390

[1]www.breckland.gov.uk  | [2]www.sholland.gov.uk

 

 

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Dear Diana Bowie,
South Holland DC ref SF01-003250
Request for internal review. Please clarify your replies to Q1, 2, 3 and 5a
Q1. Statistics. SHDC responded 39 WAV taxis and 21 WAV PHVs . The PDF you supplied at Q3 showed 35 WAV taxis and 11 WAV PHVS, TOTAL 46, not 60. I appreciate that this pdf may be superceded by your s167 designated list following your consultation.
Q2 . This is about factors other than just numbers affecting WAV availability which you may or may not have considered in your taxi/phv policy or as part of your Public Sector Equality Duties (PSED). Unfortunately LAs sometimes overlook the PSED.
SHDC have a fully WAV taxi policy. SHDC have not said if they have conducted an unmet demand study (UDS) or similar and I have been unable to find one on the internet. At Q2d, SHDC said regarding ‘operators refusal of prebookings’, “ The policy states that an operator must accept a booking for a private hire vehicle if the booking is requested by or on behalf of a disabled person.” Whether this applies to prebooking WAV Hackney Carriages is unclear.
While UDS use standard methods eg ISUD and comparators, in relation to wheelchair access, there are three very common factors which tend to impact negatively on WAV availability:
Schools/SEN and Social Services Contracts which means WAVs are not available to other Wheelchair users at key times. SHDC state “The policy does not take into account contracts”. Lincolnshire County Council have 8 contracts with 1st Choice Royal Taxis and Smart Cabs have 10 contracts . I have also made an FOI request about contracts to Cambridgeshire CC.
The effect on WAV availability of Medical Exemptions (0, at the time of Doug Paulleys earlier survey on s167 commencement) do not appear to have been considered. It is unclear whether WAV drivers with medical exemptions can delegate responsibility for operating lifts/ramps, restraints etc to Personal Assistants where provided.
Contact information . These were my Q3 and Q5a:
Q3 is about WAV Taxi/PHV business contact information which you hold. Whether this business contact information is made public is addressed separately at question 5a.
At Q5a I asked “Does your authorities information (including websites and social media) clearly tell the public : a) the contact details for all WAVs licensed by your authority?”
I examined SHDCs taxi /PHV application forms which clearly request contact information and Proprietors/operators name so you clearly hold some of the information for both taxis and PHVs.
I discussed this with the Information Commissioners Office . What is required please is to state whether the information regarding the WAVs is held or not, then either supply the information and/or state whether you are refusing to supply a) some of it or b) all of it , and on what specific exemptions you are relying.

Some LAs withhold contact information citing the Data Protection Act , or more specifically, s40 DPA , the personal data exemption. However, the basis for this is somewhat confused. Some LAs appear to be withholding information where the data subject is not a named individual but an employee of a business, or is working under a business name. A personal name could be omitted or redacted. I analysed your pdf list. Of 35 WAV taxis, 22 proprietor names are companies and all 11 PHV proprietor names are companies.

Please also bear in mind that most taxi and phv operators openly publicise contact details variously on vehicles, on business cards, on commercial lists or websites and on social media. A key part of my study is to compare contact information from LAs, which should be reliable and up to date, with commercial sources which often are not, with many defunct or wrong entries on commercial listings.

Yours sincerely,

Dick Fowler

Diana Bowie,

Thank you for your message.  If you message relates to a Complaint or a
request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004 or the Data Protection Act
1998, please re-send your message to [email address]

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Diana Bowie,

Dear Mr Fowler

I am writing to confirm receipt of your message dated 31 October 2017, and to let know that an Internal Review of your request is being conducted. We expect to be able to respond to you by 28 November.

Yours sincerely

Diana Bowie
Statutory Information Officer
Breckland Council and South Holland Council
(Breckland): 01362656390
www.breckland.gov.uk | www.sholland.gov.uk

Disclaimer: If you are not the intended recipient of the email please do not disclose, copy or distribute the information held within. If you have received this email in error please reply informing the sender then delete the email. Any views expressed by the sender of this message are not necessarily those expressed by the local Authority. Communications may be automatically logged, monitored and/or recorded for legal reasons.

Dick Fowler left an annotation ()

SHDC have acknowledged my request for internal review.

Diana Bowie,

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Fowler,

 

Further to your request for a review of the response which South Holland
District Council sent to you in relation to your request for information,
 a review has now been undertaken by a senior officer and the Council’s
response is attached.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Diana Bowie

Statutory Information Officer

Breckland Council and South Holland Council

(Breckland): 01362656390

[1]www.breckland.gov.uk  | [2]www.sholland.gov.uk

 

Disclaimer: If you are not the intended recipient of the email please do
not disclose, copy or distribute the information held within. If you have
received this email in error please reply informing the sender then delete
the email. Any views expressed by the sender of this message are not
necessarily those expressed by the local Authority. Communications may be
automatically logged, monitored and/or recorded for legal reasons.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.breckland.gov.uk/
2. http://www.sholland.gov.uk/