Freedom of Information Act 2000
Request for Information - Reference FOI 3090

Thank you for your request, which was received on 23 June 2009, for
information held by the Council under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. We will respond to you within 20 working days.
Where Birmingham City Council is the copyright holder of any information
that may be released, re-use for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes is permitted without further reference to the City Council. Where
the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, the applicant
should notify the City Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms
for re-use.

If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact
me on 0121 303 6106, quoting the reference number above.

Sue Barnard
PA to Head of Environmental Health

Tel: 0121 303 6106
Fax: 0121 303 6994

Data Protection Act 1998
The information you have provided within your Freedom of Information
request will be held on our database and may also be held within manual
records for a period of 2 years from the date Birmingham City Council
received your request. Any personal data that you provide to Birmingham
City Council will be held in line with the requirements set out within the
Data Protection Act 1998.

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Dear Mr Heaton

SENT ON BEHALF OF PETE BARROW, HEAD OF LICENSING

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION - REFERENCE FOI 3090

I am writing in respect of your recent enquiry for information regarding
assistance dogs and taxis held by the Authority under the provisions of
the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please find herewith the following
answers to your questions:-

1 What arrangements do you make to ensure that taxi drivers
licensed by the Council do not refuse to carry a passenger who has a
registered assistance dog?

Any refusal of this nature is covered by the Town,Police Clauses Act 1847
and 1970 for Hackney Carriage drivers and the Private Hire
Vehicles (Carriage of Guide Dogs) Act 2002 in respect of licensed private
hire drivers.

This department supplements the legislation by use of a leaflet produced
by the Department of Transport entitled ***Carriage of Assistance Dogs in
Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles***. This is freely available in our
office reception. All of our licensed drivers, also receive a ***user
guide*** and under the Code of Conduct for Drivers it states that a driver
should take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of passengers and
also assist them in getting in or out of the vehicle, particularly those
confined to wheelchairs or accompanied by guide dogs. Also, there is a
condition (number 25) attached to all private hire drivers licences which
tells them that they cannot refuse a fare for a passenger with a guide dog
or make an extra charge for their carriage.

2 & 3 How many instances are you aware of where there have
been such refusals and the reasons why.
How many complaints have you had about this and how have
you dealt with them?

We receive a few requests for assistance per year. However, when we do
receive complaints of this nature they are thoroughly investigated by our
licensing enforcement team and if there is sufficient evidence and cause,
drivers face either a caution or prosecution. We list below the action
that has been taken and reported to Birmingham City Council's Licensing
Committee.

Licensing Cautions/Prosecutions under DDA

Feb 2005
Gurmail Singh Sanghera, 23 Pritchard Close, Smethwick, West Midlands
Pleaded guilty at Birmingham Magistrates Court on 21st February 2005 to 1
offence under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 of failing to carry
out a booking accepted by the operator of the vehicle, when the booking
was made by or behalf of a disabled person and the reason for the failure
was that the disabled person was accompanied by his assistance dog.

2 year Conditional Discharge was imposed
Prosecution Costs **465 (Costs Requested **465)
Total **465

Feb 06
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Section 37 1 defendant was cautioned for failing to take a person with an
assistance dog

May 06
Disability Discriminations Act 1995
Section 37 1 defendant was cautioned for refusing to carry a passenger
with an assistance dog

March/ April 07
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Section 37 1 defendant was cautioned for failing to allow an assistance
dog in a private hire vehicle

Jan 08
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Section 37A(3) 1 defendant was cautioned for failing to allow an
assistance dog in a private hire vehicle

March/April 08
Anwar Malwankar, 15 Scott Road, Great Barr, Birmingham
Pleaded guilty at Birmingham Magistrates Court on 28th March 2008 to
1 offence under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 of failing to carry
out a booking, as a passenger was accompanied by his assistance dog.

Fined **250
Prosecution Costs **175 (Costs Requested **175)
Total **425

June/July 08
Mohammed Shahban, 59 Freer Road, Aston, Birmingham
Pleaded guilty at Birmingham Magistrates Court on 13th June 2008 to 1
offence under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 of failing to carry
out a booking as a passenger was accompanied by her assistance dog.

Fined **150
Prosecution Costs **270 (Costs Requested **270)
Total **420

August/ September 08
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Section 37A 1 defendant was cautioned for failing to carry out a booking
for a disabled person accepted by the operator because the person was
accompanied by an assistance dog.

Nov/Dec 08
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Section 36 1 defendant was cautioned for refusing to carry a disabled
person in a wheelchair

March 09
Nadeem Hussain, 4 Nigel Road, Saltley, Birmingham
Pleaded guilty on 5th March 2009 at Birmingham Magistrates*** Court to 1
offence under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 of failing to carry
out a booking which had been accepted by his operator, as the passenger
was accompanied by her assistance dog.

Fined **250
Costs **391 (**391 requested)
Total **641

4 How does your Council meet its obligations in this respect under
Disability Discrimination legislation to ensure that people with a
registered assistance dog are not refused by taxi drivers?

Since January 2004, all new entrant Hackney Carriage and Private Hire
drivers have had to undertake a disability awareness training
seminar. This five hour training includes and reiterates Clause 25 of the
conditions mentioned earlier.

Birmingham City Council Licensing Committee also encourages all existing
licensed drivers to study for a level 2 National Vocational Qualification
(NVQ) which includes the vocationally related qualification (VRQ)/Business
and Technology Education Council (BTEC) in road passenger vehicle driving.

The information provided is subject to Birmingham City Council copyright,
however, it may be re-used for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes without further reference to the City Council. If the re-use is
for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, you should notify the City
Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms for re-use.

Whilst we have undertaken a thorough search of the information held by
Birmingham City Council, it may be that, due to the size and amount of
information held by Birmingham City Council, some information may have
been inadvertently missed.

If you have any information which may assist us in determining or locating
any missed information, we would be grateful if you would contact us with
details of this information, so that we can conduct a further search.

If you are not satisfied with the decision you may ask for an internal
review. If subsequently you are not satisfied with the Council***s
decision you may apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision.
Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the
complaints procedure provided by the Council. The Information Commissioner
can be contacted at the following address:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545745
Web Address: www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Sue Barnard
PA to Head of Environmental Health

Tel: 0121 303 6106
Fax: 0121 303 6994

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