Information Request
 
Thank you for your email.  This is to acknowledge receipt of your
request.  Your request will be handled by an officer who will respond
appropriately under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or
Environmental Information Regulations 2004 as appropriate.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case I will
let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be
required to pay before I will proceed to deal with your request.

You will receive the information requested within 20 working days unless
the Council does not hold the information or there is a reason for it to
be withheld. I will write to you in any event.
 
Whilst it is the Council policy to provide information wherever possible,
I need to advise you that there are a number of exemptions under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Exceptions under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004.  These may prevent the Council from
releasing all or some of the information you have asked for.   You will,
however, be informed if this is the case and we will explain why.
 
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

Visible links
1. mailto:[South Lakeland District Council request email]
2. http://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/

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:

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?

I can confirm the following:

1)      We now provide a list of wheel chair accessible taxis and PHV see
link
[1]https://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/busines...

2)       

a)      September 2017 – sorry I don’t have a specific date

b)      Yes

c)        

                                                         i.           
Yes, see link provided in 1 above

                                                       ii.            No

                                                      iii.            Yes

                                                     iv.            Yes

                                                       v.            Yes

                                                     vi.            Yes

d)      No

e)      Yes this is highlighted in our taxi policy

f)       Yes this is in our taxi policy

g)      None have been made

h)      None

i)        None

                                                         i.            Not
applicable

                                                       ii.            Not
applicable

j)        Not applicable

3)      Not applicable

4)      Not applicable

5)       

a)      None

b)      Yes

c)       We have an independent medical practitioner to assess all medical
information provided to the authority as part of the application process. 
If required, it is envisaged the appointed medical practitioner will
assess applications under s166

d)      We have no formal application form, we would expect the driver to
email a request with the relevant medical assessment attached. 

e)      Not applicable

f)       Not applicable

6)      See link provided in point 1

You are free to use any information supplied for your own personal use.
However, any other type of re-use, for example, by publishing the
information or issuing copies to the public will require the permission of
the copyright owner.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your FOI request, you have
the right to ask us to review our handling of your request. Any request
for an Internal Review must be made in writing within 40 days of this
response. Should you wish to request a review, please email
[2][South Lakeland District Council request email] or write to Paul Mountford, Principal
Performance and Intelligence Officer at the address below. Our Internal
Review Process is available on our [3]website.

Should you remain dissatisfied following our internal review, you can
refer the matter directly to the Information Commissioner.

Further information is available from the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office,

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

[4]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:
[5][South Lakeland District Council request email]

Website: [6]www.southlakeland.gov.uk

South Lakeland District Council Making South Lakeland the best place to
live, work and explore

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. https://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/busines...
2. mailto:[South Lakeland District Council request email]
3. https://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/media/1...
4. http://www.ico.org.uk/
5. mailto:[South Lakeland District Council request email]
6. http://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/