Freedom of Information request - Unjustified delay in issuing a Private Hire driver's license
Request ID: FOI-0352-2223 Date published: 13 June 2022
You asked
Under the freedom of Information Act, I would like to know the following information:
1. What is the average time for a license to be issued to an applicant who has provided on time all the necessary elements and fees without any gaps, missing documents or delays and passed the topograhical test?
2. How many Private Hire Driver's licenses have been issued to persons who applied as of 12 October 2021 to date?
3. How many Private Hire driver's licenses have been issued to persons who successfully passed the Topographical assessment as of 20 January 2022 to date?
4. Since your department for Taxi and Private Hire Vehicles is not accessible by phone as it used to be in the past although on TfL site they claim to have a phone line, since there is no other way of contacting them except an email address and since their only reply to the emails I ve been sending for months now is a copy- paste " Your application is undergoing a full assessment " and " Thank you for your patience " without making any trouble to explain what and why is happening, please let me know how and to whom I can escalate my complaint about this unfair situation and which authority is overseeing /regulating the specific department.
We answered
Our ref: FOI-0352-2223/GH
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 14 May 2022 asking for information about Private Hire licences.
Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require.
What is the average time for a license to be issued to an applicant who has provided on time all the necessary elements and fees without any gaps, missing documents or delays and passed the topographical test?
Given the number of applicants that apply and that each one may differ depending on their own individual circumstances, and the fact that each application is therefore considered on a case-by-case basis, there is no specific timeframe for processing an application.
Once we receive a private hire driver application an initial assessment takes place to ensure the required documents have been provided in support of an application and that the mandatory requirements for licensing are met. This stage also includes ensuring an enhanced DBS check has been undertaken by the applicant, which is undertaken by a third party and is outside of the applicant’s or TfL’s control. At this stage there may also be a process of requesting and receiving any missing materials until the application is deemed to be fully complete.
An applicant is then invited to apply for a topographical skills and safety, equality and regulatory understanding (SERU) assessment (for applications submitted from 1 October 2021). The time taken to complete the assessments depends on a number of factors, including how quickly an applicant books an assessment, the availability of assessments (which were impacted by nationwide COVID lockdowns) and the applicant’s ability to meet the required standard, or whether any retest of an assessment is required.
The licence application process is complex, multi-staged and often iterative, which can involve requests for further information or clarity from applicants. There are also a number of elements in the licensing process that are outside of TfL’s control, such as the completion of a DBS check and submission of any required medical information. Therefore, there is no target for when licensing decisions are taken and this depends on individual applications. In each case we need to ensure that an applicant is ‘fit and proper’ to ensure the continued safety of the travelling public.
2. How many Private Hire Driver's licenses have been issued to persons who applied as of 12 October 2021 to date?
As of 1 June 2022, we have issued 22,840 private hire driver licences to persons who applied on or after 12 October 2021.
3. How many Private Hire driver's licenses have been issued to persons who successfully passed the Topographical assessment as of 20 January 2022 to date?
The number of private hire driver applicants who passed the topographical assessment between 20 January 2022 and 1 June 2022, is 2,727. The department that holds this data does not record whether these applicants have since been successful in obtaining a private hire driver’s licence.
4. Since your department for Taxi and Private Hire Vehicles is not accessible by phone as it used to be in the past although on TfL site they claim to have a phone line, since there is no other way of contacting them except an email address and since their only reply to the emails I ve been sending for months now is a copy- paste " Your application is undergoing a full assessment " and " Thank you for your patience " without making any trouble to explain what and why is happening, please let me know how and to whom I can escalate my complaint about this unfair situation and which authority is overseeing /regulating the specific department.
As mentioned in our answer to question 1, we are required to ensure that all applicants meet our criteria for licensing and are ‘fit and proper’ to hold a licence.
I apologise that this process took longer than anticipated and that you did not receive a more comprehensive response following your contact with us. I understand that since making your Freedom of Information Act request your licence has been granted. If you still wish to make or escalate a complaint, please respond to this email in the first instance and we can ensure it is passed to the correct department.
If this is not the information you are looking for, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Graham Hurt FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
