Request ID: FOI-0668-2223 Date published: 13 July 2022
You asked
This is a request for an information about how TfL deals with taxi and PH drivers who are convicted of driving offences. Drivers have always been assured that TfL's policy was as follows :-
" In normal circumstances any driver accumulating 12 penalty points on his driving licence in a three year period will be disqualified from driving for a minimum of six months. However, the courts have the discretion not to disqualify in cases of exceptional hardship. Where this discretion is exercised and the driver has not been convicted of more than one major offence TfL will not revoke the driver’s licence, but will issue a written warning highlighting the risk of revocation should the driver receive further penalty points and is subsequently disqualified."
I understand from reports in the taxi trade press that the policy in question has now been changed and drivers can no longer rely on the legitimate expectations originally created by TfL.
Request
I would like information confirming :-
1) Dates in 2021 and 2022 when TfL held meetings to discuss TfL policy for the treatment of Taxi and PH drivers convicted of driving offences.
2) Names of attendees at the meetings and the bodies they represented.
3) Whether minutes were taken at the meetings.
4) Whether copies of the minutes are available.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-0668-2223 Thank you for your request received on 18 June 2022 asking for information about taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers who are convicted of driving offences. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require. To provide the information you have requested would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with a request if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. This is calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described. We have estimated that it would cost over £450 to provide a response to your current request. This is because it is estimated that it would take over 18 working hours to retrieve and compile the information you have requested. There were regular discussions regarding the policy for the treatment of taxi and PHV drivers convicted of driving offences since 2018. To provide you with the dates and names of attendees/bodies represented at the meetings would require to look through historical meeting notes and invitations to extract the requested information. This would have to be done by several teams within the TPH department as well as senior managers. To help bring the cost of responding to your request within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking. For example, you may wish to narrow the timeframe of your request or specify whether your request is for internal or external meetings. If you want to refine your request or make a Freedom of Information Act request in future, please bear in mind that the Freedom of Information Act allows you to request recorded information held by us. Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, we do not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request. Please note that we will not be taking further action until we receive your revised request. In the meantime, if you have any queries or would like to discuss your request, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal. Yours sincerely Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
