Dear FOI, I would like the numbers of registered / approved / applying asylum seekers who have applied and received a PH license from TFL over the last three years 2017 - 2020

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TfL Ref: FOI-1292-2021

Thank you for your email received on 7 October asking for information about private hire licensees.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require. You asked for:

The numbers of registered / approved / applying asylum seekers who have applied and received a PH license from TFL over the last three years 2017 – 2020.

The information you have requested can be found in the table below:

*Please note that due to the coronavirus pandemic critical activities have been prioritised, including renewal applications. This has impacted the speed in which newly received driver licence applications have been processed.

In order to apply for a private hire driver’s licence, an applicant must meet the following criteria:

• Be at least 21 years of age at the time of applying
• Hold a full DVLA, Northern Ireland, or other EEA state driving licence that is at least three years old
• Have the right to live and work in the UK
• Be of good character, having undertaken an 'enhanced' criminal records check.
• Be medically fit, which means meeting the DVLA Group 2 standards
• Have successfully completed a topographical skills assessment
• Provide evidence of their right to live and work in the UK. We work closely with the Home Office to ensure that we license drivers who meet this requirement.

Additionally, any applicant who has declared that they have lived in a country other than the UK for one or more periods of three months or more, within the last three years, is required to produce a Certificate of Good Conduct issued by the embassy of the relevant non-UK country. The ‘Certificate of Good Conduct’ would be an extract from the judicial record or an equivalent document issued by a competent judicial or administrative authority. Any certificate provided will need to be stamped/endorsed by the relevant Embassy.

Failure to provide a certificate, without good reason, will be taken into account when a decision is made on the application. We will consider every licensing application on its own merits, having regard to the need to protect the safety of the travelling public and whether the applicant has demonstrated that they are a ‘fit and proper’ person to hold a licence.

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.

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.

Yours sincerely

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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