Lists of Accessible Taxis under S167 Equality Act 2010
Doug Paulley made this Freedom of Information request to South Lakeland District Council as part of a batch sent to 312 authorities This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.
Dear South Lakeland District Council,
1) Please advise if you have produced, or currently intend to produce, a list of wheelchair accessible:
a) taxis
and
b) private hire vehicles
under the powers set out in S167 of the Equality Act 2010.
2) Please identify how many a) taxi and b) PHV drivers have applied for medical / physical impairment exemption under S166 of the Equality Act 2010 since S166 was commenced. If you've created a list under S167, please identify how many of the exemptions were in place before S167 and how many have been put in since.
3) Please state whether you voluntarily compiled a list of accessible taxis and private hire vehicles following the Department for Transport's guidance of 15th September 2010, which stated, in relation to section 167, “although the list of designated vehicles will have no actual effect in law until the duties are commenced, we would urge licensing authorities to start maintaining a list as soon as possible for the purpose of liaising with the trade and issuing exemption certificates”. If you did produce such a voluntary list, please indicate when you did so, and provide the current list.
If you have produced a list of wheelchair accessible taxis and/or private hire vehicles under S167, or are going to, please tell me the following.
4) The date the list was instated or by which you intend to do so.
5) The accessibility requirements of a taxi for it to appear on the list.
6) How you intend to enforce drivers' compliance with S165.
7) The list.
Yours faithfully,
Doug Paulley
Information Request
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Yours sincerely,
Paul Mountford | Principal Performance & Intelligence Officer
South Lakeland District Council, South Lakeland House, Lowther Street,
Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4DQ
Tel: 01539 733333
Email: [1][South Lakeland District Council request email]
Website: [2]www.southlakeland.gov.uk
References
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Dear Doug,
I am writing in respect of your recent enquiry for information held by the
Council under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. You asked
the following:
1) Please advise if you have produced, or currently intend to
produce, a list of wheelchair accessible:
a. taxis, and
b. private hire vehicles, under the powers set out in S167 of the
Equality Act 2010.
2) Please identify how many
a. taxi and
b. PHV drivers have applied for medical / physical impairment
exemption under S166 of the Equality Act 2010 since S166 was commenced. If
you've created a list under S167, please identify how many of the
exemptions were in place before S167 and how many have been put in since.
3) Please state whether you voluntarily compiled a list of accessible
taxis and private hire vehicles following the Department for Transport's
guidance of 15th September 2010, which stated, in relation to section 167,
“although the list of designated vehicles will have no actual effect in
law until the duties are commenced, we would urge licensing authorities to
start maintaining a list as soon as possible for the purpose of liaising
with the trade and issuing exemption certificates”. If you did produce
such a voluntary list, please indicate when you did so, and provide the
current list.
If you have produced a list of wheelchair accessible taxis and/or private
hire vehicles under S167, or are going to, please tell me the following.
4) The date the list was instated or by which you intend to do so.
5) The accessibility requirements of a taxi for it to appear on the
list.
6) How you intend to enforce drivers' compliance with S165.
7) The list.
I can confirm the following:
1) See attached, please note individual operators contact details
have been removed as they are personal data exempt under section 40 (2) of
the Act and do not show on our Public Register, we have retained the
location they are based.
2) a) & b) none
3) not known
4) not known
5) Must be capable of carrying a wheelchair. Accessibility either by
lift of ramps, as appropriate
6) Amendment to taxi licensing policy to require all Taxi licensed
WAVs to have a wheelchair accessible space available at all times. Please
note - we have very few ‘Black Cab’ type vehicles. Most are converted 8
seat MPVs
7) I refer you to point 1
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Lakeland District Council request email] or write to Paul Mountford,
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refer the matter directly to the Information Commissioner.
Further information is available from the Information Commissioner at:
Information Commissioner's Office,
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Water Lane
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Cheshire
SK9 5AF
[3]www.ico.org.uk
Yours sincerely,
Emma
Emma Nichols | Community Engagement Officer
South Lakeland District Council, South Lakeland House, Lowther Street,
Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4DQ
Tel: 01539 733333 | Direct Tel: 01539 793268 | Email: [4][South Lakeland
District Council request email]
Website: [5]www.southlakeland.gov.uk
South Lakeland District Council Making South Lakeland the best place to
live, work and explore
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[south%20lakeland%20district%20council%20request%20email]
2. https://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/media/1...
3. http://www.ico.org.uk/
4. mailto:[south%20lakeland%20district%20council%20request%20email]
5. http://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/
Dear Nichols, Emma,
Please may I request clarification?
I asked:
"1) Please advise if you have produced, or currently intend to produce, a list of wheelchair accessible:
a) taxis
and
b) private hire vehicles
under the powers set out in S167 of the Equality Act 2010."
Your response - "See attached, please note individual operators contact details have been removed as they are personal data exempt under section 40 (2) of the Act and do not show on our Public Register, we have retained the location they are based." - doesn't provide the information I am asking.
The DFT's statutory guidance has this to say about S167: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/sy...
"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."
The list you sent doesn't appear to be clearly marked as "designated for the purposes of section 165 of the Act"
Do you have a list clearly marked "designated for the purposes of section 165 of the Act", is it published, does it include the make, model, license type (taxi or PHV) and the name of the operator? If you do then you have a S167 list. If you don't then you don't have such a list.
If you have a S167 list then the response to "4) The date the list was instated or by which you intend to do so" can't be "not known". It's a definite date, on or after the 6th April 2017. If you don't have a S167 list, please indicate whether you intend to have one and if so by when.
A S167 list is different from a voluntary list. Any list held before 6th April 2017 is a voluntary list, which may or may not have been converted into a S167 list after 6th April 2017, depending on whether it meets the above requirements (being clearly marked 'designated for the purposes of section 165 of the Act' and so on.) So your response to Q3 "not known" doesn't make any sense.
Yours sincerely,
Doug Paulley
Dear Doug
Thank you for your email request for clarification.
I have checked with the Licensing Team and they have confirmed that at the
moment there is no intention to provide such a list to members of the
public.
I apologise for any confusion.
Yours sincerely
Emma
Emma Nichols | Community Engagement Officer
South Lakeland District Council, South Lakeland House, Lowther Street,
Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4DQ
Tel: 01539 733333 | Direct Tel: 01539 793268 | Email: [1][South Lakeland
District Council request email]
Website: [2]www.southlakeland.gov.uk
South Lakeland District Council Making South Lakeland the best place to
live, work and explore
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