Thank you for your request for information which was received by this office on 6 November 2017.

Your request is being considered and we will contact you as soon as we can and not later than 20 working days following the date on which your request was received. That means we will respond to you no later than 1 December 2017.

The Freedom of Information Act defines a number of exemptions, which may prevent release of some or all of the information you have asked for. If this is the case we will write to advise you and also inform you of your rights of appeal.

In some circumstances we may make a charge for this information. This will be considered and we will tell you if a fee is payable. If a fee is payable, it must be paid before the information is processed and released. The 20 working day time limit allowed for our response will be suspended until receipt of the payment. Payment must be made within three months.

Nicola Stevens
PA/Management Secretary
And Freedom of Information Administrator

Thank you for your email.
I am currently away from my desk, returning on Friday 8December 2017.
Thank you.
Kind Regards
Nicky Stevens

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Good Afternoon

My sincere apologies for the delay.

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
[1]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 a similar request to you in April 2017. 6+ months
later, I am repeating the request with some variations. I am repeating
because the Statutory Guidance states "We would expect these arrangements
to take no more than a maximum of six months to put in place, following
the commencement of these provisions" - "these provisions" having been
commenced on 6th April.

In response to my previous FOI request on similar matters in April 2017,
you indicated that you did not have a Section 167 list and were currently
undecided whether to create such a 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 changed your position since
April, such that you do now have 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?

A - The Council's position hasn't changed since April 2017, however the
Council is still considering the implications of the EA 2010, with the
full intention of introducing a suitable list in due course.

2) If you do now have such a list, please provide information in response
to the following questions 2a) to 2j):

a) On what date was it put in place?

A - N/A

b) 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?

A - N/A

c) 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?

A - N/A

d) 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?

A - N/A

e) 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?

A - N/A

f) 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?

A - N/A

g) 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.

A - N/A

h) 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?

A - N/A

i) 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?

A - N/A

j) 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?

A - N/A

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

A - The Council is considering the introduction of a list and officers are
currently working and liaising with the Council's legal officers on how
this can be achieved.

4) If you don't have a S167 list but do intend to produce one, please
provide information in response to questions 4a) and 4b) below.

a) Please indicate when you intend to have the list in place.

A - It is intended that the matter will be considered by the Council's
Executive Committee early in the new year, from there work will be
undertaken to put a list in place asap.

b) Where you have already made relevant decisions, please indicate whether
you intend to comply with the elements of the statutory guidance set out
in 2b) to 2f) above.

A - The Council will make every effort to comply with the requirements of
the EA2010

5) 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."

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

A - No exemptions have been applied for or granted by the Council under
S166 of the EA2010 to date.

b) 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?

A - Yes

c) 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?

A - No, the Council policy states that drivers must undergo and pass a
Group 2 Driver Medical, undertaken by any suitably qualified GP

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

A - An application form has been prepared and will be used once the
provisions of the Act have been agreed by the Council – please see
attached.

e) 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?

A - No appeals have been made in respect of a refusal to issue a S166
exemption to date.

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

A - N/A

6) 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?

A - No - Although a full list of licensed vehicles (including details of
makes and models) is available to view on the Council's website, via the
public access pages.

If you have any concerns about the handling of your enquiry, you should in
the first instance contact Meesha Patel, Legal Services Manager, at
Malvern Hills District Council either by email
[2][email address]  or in writing to The Council House,
Avenue Road, Malvern, Worcs. WR14 3AF.

If however, she is unable to resolve your concerns, you may then wish to
make an appeal directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF.

Nicola Stevens

PA/Management Secretary

And Freedom of Information Administrator

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References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/sy...
2. mailto:[email address]