I would be most grateful for the following information:- 1. How many summonses have been issued against a) hackney carriage drivers and b) private hire drivers for allegations involving disability discrimination allegations under i) S165 and ii) S168 and S170 of the Equality Act 2010. 2. How many convictions in total has there been under these sections since the Equality Act 2010 was implemented 3. Is there any training and testing of hackney carriage and private hire driver applications under the Equality Act 2010 regarding disability diversity, inclusion and rights? 4. Is there any retraining and/or refresher training of current licensed hackney carriage and private hire drivers under these sections of the Equality Act 2010? 5. May I request a copy of the training, retraining and refresher training for new applicants and currently licensed hackney carriage and private hire drivers. 6. How many suspensions or revocation of hackney carriage and private hire driver licenses have there been over the last five years since July 2014, for breaches of the obligations set out in these sections of the act? 7. Is there an alternative provision to issue warnings instead of prosecution and if so what is that alternative provision?

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Our Ref:         FOI-1269-1920

Thank you for your request received on 25 July 2019 asking for information about action taken against taxi drivers for breaches of the Equality Act.

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 hold some of the information you require. You asked:

1. How many summonses have been issued against a) hackney carriage drivers and b) private hire drivers for allegations involving disability discrimination allegations under i) S165 and ii) S168 and S170 of the Equality Act 2010?

There have been 84 summonses issued since we began recording this information in February 2015. These are broken down in the following table:

Under Section 165 6 Taxi (hackney carriage) drivers
Under Section 168 0
Under Section 170 73 private hire drivers (13 are waiting court hearings)
 5 Private hire operators
Total: 84

2. How many convictions in total has there been under these sections since the Equality Act 2010 was implemented?

Of the 71 summonses recorded since February 2015 that have gone to court, 65 have resulted in convictions.

3. Is there any training and testing of hackney carriage and private hire driver applications under the Equality Act 2010 regarding disability diversity, inclusion and rights?

We do not currently provide or require any disability awareness training or testing for taxi and private hire drivers.

All wheelchair accessible private hire vehicle owners and all new taxi drivers are informed of their responsibilities under the Equality Act on the grant of their licence. We also provide specific guidance to existing licensees on our website (www.tfl.gov.uk/tph-access).

Further guidance on supporting passengers who are wheelchair users, or who have an assistance dog is given to newly licensed taxi drivers and we are currently considering a range of measures to improve safety for new and existing private hire drivers, including safeguarding and disability equality, as part of an enhanced driver assessment package.

However, it is important that we consider the results of the Department for Transport’s recent consultation on statutory guidance for taxi and private hire licensing authorities, as well as its response to the Task and Finish Group’s report before finalising our own proposals to ensure consistency, where appropriate and full assurance for London’s travelling public as to the safety of taxi and private hire services.

4. Is there any retraining and/or refresher training of current licensed hackney carriage and private hire drivers under these sections of the Equality Act 2010?

See answer to question 3.

5. May I request a copy of the training, retraining and refresher training for new applicants and currently licensed hackney carriage and private hire drivers?

We do not hold this information.

6. How many suspensions or revocation of hackney carriage and private hire driver licenses have there been over the last five years since July 2014, for breaches of the obligations set out in these sections of the act?

We do not record breaches of driver’s obligations under the Equality Act as a specific category in our reasons for a licensing decision being made (e.g. to issue a warning or suspend/revoke a licence).

We have identified a high number of records of suspensions or revocations within the period outlined in your request which may relate to a driver’s Equality Act obligations. However, we would have to review each record to identify whether it related to an Equality Act offence. Please also note that an Equality Act offence may not be the sole reason for a suspension or revocation of a driver’s licence as when making a licensing decision we take into account the entire history of a licensed driver.

Unfortunately, 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.

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 by narrowing the time period.

7. Is there an alternative provision to issue warnings instead of prosecution and if so what is that alternative provision?

The alternatives are the issuing of a warning letter, or the suspension or revocation of a licence.

If this is not the information you are looking for please feel free 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

[email protected]

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