Implementation of S167 lists of taxis - Previously D

The request was successful.

Dear Derbyshire Dales District Council,

I am writing this Freedom of Information Request in relation to your Council's compliance or otherwise with the Government's statutory guidance on implementation of S165-167 of the Equality Act, relating to taxi services for wheelchair users. All taxi licensing bodies are obliged under S167(6) to have "due regard" to the document "Access for wheelchair users to taxis and private hire vehicles: statutory guidance" at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/sy... . The questions I raise below should be interpreted as requests for recorded information under the Freedom of Information Act.

I have previously made two similar requests to you, one in April 2017 and one in November 2017. I am now requesting an update to assess the impact of implementing this legislation, 12 months after it was commenced. Please note: this request is not identical to my previous requests and in any case asks for updated information as of the time of sending the request. It is therefore not appropriate to respond simply "see previous answer" or "situation unchanged".

In response to my previous FOI request on similar matters in November 2017, you indicated that you were undecided whether to implement a S167 list.

1) The Government guidance states: "Whilst LAs are under no specific legal obligation to maintain a list under section 167, the Government recommends strongly that they do so. Without such a list the requirements of section 165 of the Act do not apply, and drivers may continue to refuse the carriage of wheelchair users, fail to provide them with assistance, or to charge them extra."
Please can you indicate whether you have now implemented a list of wheelchair accessible taxis under your powers set out in Section 167 of the Equality Act 2010, and/or a list of wheelchair accessible private hire vehicles?

2) If you do now have such a list, please provide information in response to the following questions 2a) to 2j):
2a) On what date was it put in place?
2b) The statutory guidance states "The Government therefore recommends that a vehicle should only be included in the authority’s (S167) list if it would be possible for the user of a “reference wheelchair” to enter, leave and travel in the passenger compartment in safety and reasonable comfort whilst seated in their wheelchair."
Is this the definition you have used for a taxi or PHV to be considered wheelchair accessible for the purposes of the list?

2c) The statutory guidance states: "Before drivers can be subject to the duties under section 165 of the Act, the LA must first publish their list of designated vehicles, and clearly mark it as ‘designated for the purposes of section 165 of the Act’. LAs should ensure that their designated lists are made easily available to passengers, and that vehicle owners and drivers are made aware. Lists should set out the details of the make and model of the vehicle, together with specifying whether the vehicle is a taxi or private hire vehicle, and stating the name of operator."
Have you published your list? Is it marked "designated for the purposes of Section 165 of the Act"? Is the make and model of each vehicle listed? Is each vehicle identified as a taxi or a private hire vehicle? Is the name of the operator of each vehicle given in the list? Have you made owners and drivers of vehicles on the list aware that their vehicle has been listed?

2d) The guidance states: "it would also be helpful to include information about the size and weight of wheelchair that can be accommodated, and whether wheelchairs that are larger than a “reference wheelchair” can be accommodated."
Does your list include information on each vehicle as to the size and weight of wheelchair that can be accommodated, and whether wheelchairs larger than a "reference wheelchair" can be accommodated?

2e) The guidance states: "We encourage LAs to provide drivers of taxis and PHVs who are not exempt from the duties with clear guidance on their duties with respect to the carriage of passengers in wheelchairs, either as part of existing driver-facing guidance, or as supplementary communication."
Have you provided non-exempt taxi/PHV drivers with such guidance?

2f) The guidance states: "We recommend that licensing authority rules for drivers are updated to make clear when a meter can and cannot be left running".
Have you updated such rules to make this clear?

2g) The guidance states: "Section 172 of the Act enables vehicle owners to appeal against the decision of a LA to include their vehicles on the designated list. That appeal should be made to the Magistrate’s Court, or in Scotland the sheriff, and must be made within 28 days of the vehicle in question being included on the LA’s published list."
Please tell me how many such applications have been made to the Magistrates Court, and how many have been successful.

2h) How many drivers has the authority prosecuted for discriminatory behaviour contrary to S165 of the Act? How many such prosecutions were successful? What were the sentences?

2i) How many drivers licensed by yourselves have been prosecuted by other people or bodies for failure to comply with S165 of the Act? How many such prosecutions were successful? What were the sentences?

2j) Where drivers have been prosecuted under S165 of the Act, thus affecting their standing as a "fit and proper person", what resultant disciplinary action have you taken in respect of their taxi or private hire vehicle drivers' licenses?

3) If you do not have a S167 list or lists now, please indicate if you still intend to produce such a list.

4) Irrespective of whether you have created a list or not or indeed whether you intend to create such a list, since 2010 you have been obliged to process applications under Section 166 of the Equality Act for driver medical exemptions from the duty to transport and not discriminate against wheelchair users. The Guidance states; "the Act allows LAs to grant exemptions from the duties to individual drivers. These provisions are contained in section 166, and were commenced on 1st October 2010."

4a) How many exemptions have you granted under S166 of the Equality Act 2010?

4b) The guidance states: "We understand that some licensing authorities have already put in place procedures for accessing and exempting drivers, and as an absolute minimum, we think that the evidence provided should be in the form of a letter or report from a general practitioner."
Do you accept or require a letter or report from a GP to process applications for driver exemption under S166?

4c) The guidance states: "The Government’s view is that decisions on exemptions will be fairer and more objective if medical assessments are undertaken by professionals who have been specifically trained and who are independent of the applicant. We would recommend that independent medical assessors are used where a long-term exemption is to be issued, and that LAs use assessors who hold appropriate professional qualifications and who are not open to bias because of a personal or commercial connection to the applicant"
Have you appointed independent medical assessors to determine applications for medical exemption under S166?

4d) Please provide a copy of your application form for driver exemption under S166.

4e) The guidance states: "Section 172 of the Act enables drivers to appeal against the decision of a LA not to issue an exemption certificate. That appeal should be made to the Magistrate’s Court, or a sheriff in Scotland, and must be made within 28 days beginning with the date of the refusal."
How many appeals against refusal to issue S166 exemptions have been heard?

4f) How many appeals against refusal to issue S166 exemptions were successful?

5) The guidance states: "We would therefore recommend that LAs also publish a list of vehicles that are accessible to passengers in wheelchairs who are able to transfer from their wheelchair into a seat within the vehicle. It should be made clear however that this list of vehicles has not been published for the purposes of section 165 of the Act and drivers of those vehicles are therefore not subject to the legal duties to provide assistance."
Do you currently publish a list of vehicles that are accessible to passengers in wheelchairs who are able to transfer from their wheelchairs into a seat within the vehicle?

6) I am interested in why some local authorities have not decided to create a S167 list, despite the Government guidance advising they do so. Please tell me why you have not as yet decided to implement a S167 list.

Yours faithfully,

Doug Paulley

FOI Team, Derbyshire Dales District Council

Thank you for emailing [Derbyshire Dales District Council request email].

Your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act
2000/Environmental Information Regulations 2004 has been received.

We will email you again shortly with a reference number once your enquiry
has been assigned to the relevant department.

Yours sincerely
FOI\EIR Team

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FOI Team, Derbyshire Dales District Council

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 received on 02/05/2018, which has been passed to the
relevant section.

We aim to respond to all requests in a timely and prompt way and the
latest date for our response to your request for information should be on
or before 04/06/2018.

If you have any queries about this request please do not hesitate to
contact [Derbyshire Dales District Council request email]. Please quote reference number
FOI/2822/18 in any future correspondence.
 
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to Derbyshire Dales District Council will be held and treated in
confidence in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. It will only
be used for the purpose it was given. Some personal data may be shared
with trusted partners such as Serco and Arvato to enable the Council to
respond your request.

Yours sincerely
FOI\EIR Team

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Dear FOI Team,

Why have you not responded to my FOI request "promptly, and within 20 working days" as required by the Act?

Please do so immediately.

Yours sincerely,

Doug Paulley

FOI Team, Derbyshire Dales District Council

Thank you for emailing [Derbyshire Dales District Council request email].

Your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act
2000/Environmental Information Regulations 2004 has been received.

We will email you again shortly with a reference number once your enquiry
has been assigned to the relevant department.

Yours sincerely
FOI\EIR Team

Sign up for email updates about special promotions and any changes to our services at www.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/enewsreg</>

The views expressed in this e-mail are personal and may not necessarily reflect those of Derbyshire Dales District Council, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
This e-mail, and any files transmitted with it, is confidential and intended for the sole use of the addressee. The unauthorised use, disclosure or copying of the e-mail is strictly prohibited.
If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, please notify the sender immediately and delete and destroy any copies as soon as possible.
All traffic may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation
Whilst Derbyshire Dales District Council tries to ensure that emails and attachments are virus free, this cannot be guaranteed and the Council cannot accept responsibility for situations where this is not the case.
The recipient is advised to ensure that they are actually virus free in accordance with good computing practice.
Information communicated to the council may be disclosed to the public under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

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FOI Team, Derbyshire Dales District Council

3 Attachments

Dear Doug Paulley

Thank you for your recent request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. The answer to your question is as follows:

Dear Mr Paulley

 

RESPONSE: Freedom of Information Request: FOI/2822/18

 

I must apologise for the delay in providing this information.

 

I do understand that you require specific answers to your questions, but I
must confirm that the situation in Derbyshire Dales has not really changed
from when I emailed you in December 2017.

 

You may recall that I told you that we were in the process of a carrying
out a complete review of our Taxi Licensing Policy. The Policy document
was considered by the Licensing Committee in March 2018 and then by the
full Council in April 2018 when it was adopted and brought into force with
effect from 1^st May 2018.

 

I am in the process of implementing the many changes, and updating the
taxi licensing pages on our website. This includes publishing a list of
WAVs, (although at present it won’t contain any entries as we do not have
any WAVs licensed as taxis or private hire vehicles). I am hoping to have
the updated information for drivers, operators and the general public
completed this by the end of June 2018.

 

All of our licensed drivers and operators were consulted on the proposed
changes to the Policy and the requirements and will receive a briefing
note about equalities and safeguarding issues when we provide awareness
training sessions – we will take this opportunity to ensure that they are
fully conversant with the requirements of section 167 of the Act –
although currently none of them have licensed WAVs, it will provide them
with advance warning should they wish to consider licensing one in the
future.

 

I have copied your questions to a WORD document and have added my
responses to them in blue type.  I hope that this is sufficient for your
needs.

 

I am also attaching a copy of the Council’s Taxi Licensing Policy which
came into force on 1^st May, and will be kept under review.

 

I apologise again for the late response, which was entirely my fault.
Unfortunately I was a way from the office the week before the deadline due
to illness and holiday, and didn’t manage to collate the information for
someone else to submit. I’m sorry for any inconvenience caused in you
having to chase this up.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Eileen Tierney

Licensing Manager

Regulatory Services

This response has been provided by Licensing (Regulatory Services),

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be
submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your
original letter and should be addressed to: Sandra Lamb, Head of Corporate
Services, Town Hall, Matlock Derbyshire DE4 3NN.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF.
 
[1]cid:image002.png@01D357B8.FA82EE40  All personal information provided
to Derbyshire Dales District Council will be held and treated in
confidence in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. It will only
be used for the purpose it was given. Some personal data may be shared
with trusted partners such as Serco and Arvato to enable the Council to
respond your request.

Yours sincerely
Caroline Leatherday

Freedom of Information Officer
Derbyshire Dales District Council
Town Hall | Matlock | Derbyshire, DE4 3NN
tel (01629) 761100 | fax (01629) 761148

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The views expressed in this e-mail are personal and may not necessarily reflect those of Derbyshire Dales District Council, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
This e-mail, and any files transmitted with it, is confidential and intended for the sole use of the addressee. The unauthorised use, disclosure or copying of the e-mail is strictly prohibited.
If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, please notify the sender immediately and delete and destroy any copies as soon as possible.
All traffic may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation
Whilst Derbyshire Dales District Council tries to ensure that emails and attachments are virus free, this cannot be guaranteed and the Council cannot accept responsibility for situations where this is not the case.
The recipient is advised to ensure that they are actually virus free in accordance with good computing practice.
Information communicated to the council may be disclosed to the public under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

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