a) All information held by TfL relating to the decision no longer to issue licences subject to the English language condition b) all information regarding the basis upon which that the decision was made c) details and copies of any internal correspondence or meeting notes on the same

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TfL Ref: FOI-0587-1718

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 2 June 2017 asking for information about the Private Hire driver's license condition regarding an English language requirement. Please accept my apologies for the delay in our response.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.

I can confirm we do hold the information you require. Please see the information you have requested attached.

However we are not under an obligation to provide some of the information requested as it is subject to one of the statutory exemptions to the right of access to information (under Section 42), relating to information covered by Legal Professional Privilege (LPP). LPP is a common law concept that protects the confidentiality of communications between a legally qualified adviser and client for the purpose of the provision of advice or in connection with litigation.

There is a very strong element of public interest inbuilt into the concept of LPP and this has long been recognised, by the Information Commissioner, the Information Tribunal and the courts, and it reflects the importance of legal advice being sought, and given, in confidence as a fundamental condition on which the administration of justice rests. There is an inherent public interest in TfL being able to obtain full and frank legal advice, and this is consistent with TfL’s responsibility to analyse and address legal risks and issues

Please note that in accordance with TfL’s obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) some personal data has been removed, as required by section 40(2) of the FOI Act. This is because disclosure of this personal data would be a breach of the DPA, specifically the first principle of the DPA which requires all processing of personal data to be fair and lawful. It would not be fair to disclose this personal information when the individuals have no expectation it would be disclosed and TfL has not satisfied one of the conditions of Schedule 2 of the Data Protection Act which would make the processing ‘fair’.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Lee Hill

Senior FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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