S167 List of Accessible Taxis: update after 6 months - E previous no intent

Doug Paulley made this Freedom of Information request to Fenland District Council as part of a batch sent to 84 authorities This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

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Dear Fenland 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 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 any Section 167 lists and did not at that time have any intent 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?

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 intend to produce such a list.

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.
4a) Please indicate when you intend to have the list in place.
4b) 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.

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."

5a) How many exemptions have you granted under S166 of the Equality Act 2010?

5b) 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?

5c) 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?

5d) Please provide a copy of your application form for driver exemption under S166.

5e) 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?

5f) How many appeals against refusal to issue S166 exemptions were successful?

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?

Thank you

Yours faithfully,

Doug Paulley

Dear Doug,

I acknowledge your request for information received on 4 November 2017,
which is being investigated.

The Act allows the Council 20 working days to comply with your request.
During this time, the Council will assess the information to establish if
any exemptions apply. If it is felt that any information may be exempt
from disclosure, this will be given careful consideration and the Public
Interest Test will be applied if appropriate. If it is determined that
any material is exempt, you will be notified of which information is not
going to be released and the reasons why.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the Corporate
Support Officers at Fenland District Council, or email
[1][Fenland District Council request email] . It would help us to help you if you could quote
the Information Request No quoted above on any correspondence.

Yours sincerely

Corporate Support Officers

Fenland District Council

01354 654321

[2][Fenland District Council request email]

Data Protection Act 1998

To provide you with our services we will need to record personal
information, such as your name and address. This information will be kept
securely and only accessed by approved staff. We will not share your
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Dear Doug,

Thank you for your request for information received on 4 November 2017,
which has been processed and the information detailed below.

Please use the following link to access the licensing public register.

[1]https://www.fenland.gov.uk/publicaccess/...

Then select the Advanced Tab.

From the FDC website home screen, select the Planning Register (top menu
bar).

Using the Search dropdown, select Licensing, and then Advanced.

Then from the grey menu bar select Licences.

You now have the ability to search for specific criteria:

To search for a Driver:

Use the category dropdown to select “Driver”, and then go to the bottom of
the screen and click on search.

This will display a full list of drivers licensed, you can select
additional filters by date etc., prior to clicking on search.

Data protection means that we are not allowed to give addresses.

If you require any further information regarding your request, you should
contact the Corporate Support Officers at Fenland District Council or
e-mail [2][Fenland District Council request email] .

Yours sincerely

Corporate Support Officers

Fenland District Council

01354 654321

[3][Fenland District Council request email]

Data Protection Act 1998

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2. mailto:[Fenland District Council request email]
3. mailto:[Fenland District Council request email]

Dear Fenland District Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Fenland District Council's handling of my FOI request 'S167 List of Accessible Taxis: update after 6 months - E previous no intent'.

The information you provided is not the information I requested and is irrelevant to the subject of my request, which is about the provision of a statutory list under S167 of the Equality Act in order to place taxi drivers under a criminal law obligation not to discriminate against wheelchair users.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

Doug Paulley

Dear Doug,

Thank you for your further request for information received on 14
November, which has been processed and the information detailed below.

We do not hold this data. We have sent you the website link for what
information we do have. Apologies for not having the data you need.
Therefore further to section 12 of the FOI act the cost of compliance
would exceed the appropriate limit due to the work that would be required
to capture the data. We are improving our software at the moment and it is
envisaged over a period of time we will be able to get the information
captured within our software to be able to report.

If you require any further information regarding your request, you should
contact the Corporate Support Officers at Fenland District Council or
e-mail [1][Fenland District Council request email] .

Yours sincerely

Corporate Support Officers

Fenland District Council

01354 654321

[2][Fenland District Council request email]

Data Protection Act 1998

show quoted sections

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2. mailto:[Fenland District Council request email]

Dear foi,

You are utterly clueless in your blithe and inaccurate assumptions about what data I requested and your legal obligations to hold such.

I have therefore complained to the Information Commissioner's Office on the following basis.

Dear ICO,

Please conduct a S50 assessment of this request:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

I asked the Council if they have a designated list of accessible taxis
under their powers set out in S167 of the Equality Act. Drivers of any
taxis on the list are subject to the criminal law duties set out in
S165 of the Equality Act, that being to carry people in wheelchairs in
relative safety and comfort and not to charge extra for doing so.
Local authorities are legally obliged to have due regard to the
Government's statutory guidance on this issue. Said guidance strongly
advises authorities to produce such lists. Given this, and the public
sector equality duty, councils are legally obliged to consider whether
or not they produce such a designated list of taxis.

This Council however appears to not know what S167 is or their duties,
powers or role in that respect. Therefore when I asked them if they
have a S167 list or intend to do so, they referred me to their online
register of taxis. This is not in any way relevant or a valid response
to my Freedom of Information Request, which was specifically and
solely as to whether they have a list of designated taxis under S167,
or intend to do so (councils are legally obliged to discuss such with
their licensing committee so there should be meeting papers expressing
this intent or otherwise.)

That is relevant to section 1-4 of my Freedom of Information Request.
Sections 5-8 are separate, also based on the Government's statutory
guidance (to which the Council is legally obliged to have "due
regard") but the Council has not responded to those elements of my
request at all, not even with irrelevant information.

I requested an internal review, after which the Council employed S12
on the basis that they don't hold the (unspecified) data and creating
said data would cost more than the appropriate limit. This is a
fundamentally misguided attempted use of S12: the FOI act does not
require any authority to create data for release, in any case they
haven't specified what data they do or don't hold, they haven't
complied with their S16 obligation to assist me in formulating a more
successful request, and in any case they still have not addressed the
fundamental issue that they appear to fundamentally misunderstand and
misrepresent the nature of the information I am requesting.

For context: I requested related data from this council back in April
2017. I had to solicit your assistance with their handling of that
request; your reference is FS50683941 . In response to that request,
they eventually told me "We have not had any taxi or PHV vehicle
drivers apply for medical/physical impairment under S166 of the
Equality Act 2010". I have requested an update on this data as part of
my subsequent request, but this is one of the elements they have
ignored.

I am frustrated by their failure to properly read and respond to my
FOI request. I request your assistance and require you to compose a
decision notice under your obligations set out in S50 of the Freedom
of Information Act.

Thank you

Doug Paulley

Yours sincerely,

Doug Paulley

Dear Mr Paulley

Following on from your correspondence to the ICO, please see below the
response to the questions raised within the FOI from November 2017. The
ICO asked to be copied into the response.

Annex – request to Fenland District Council dated 4 November 2017

“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 any Section 167 lists and did not at
that time have any intent to create such a list.

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?