Our ref: FOI-2572-2021/GH Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 17 March 2021 asking for information about non journey-related sexual assaults by Taxi and Private Hire drivers. 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. Any information we receive is stored on individual driver licence records and is used to make decisions on whether a person is considered fit and proper to hold a licence. However, the information is not stored in an easily reportable format. In order to be able to identify if we have any records that match the details within your request, we would be required to review a significant number of taxi and private hire driver licence records, including those for any licences that have been revoked or expired since 2019. Therefore, 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 requests 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. In this instance, we estimate that the time required to answer your request would exceed 18 hours which, at £25 per hour (the rate stipulated by the Regulations), exceeds the ‘appropriate limit’. To ensure the safety of the travelling public, taxi and private hire drivers must meet a range of strict criteria to ensure they are of good character. This includes the assessment of an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check submitted as part of a licence application, information provided by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and any other information that comes to our attention. Licensed drivers are currently obliged to notify us within 21 days if they are charged with, or convicted of, any criminal offence; receive a police caution; disqualified from driving; made the subject of a mental health order or sexual offences order; or if their medical status changes in any way that would affect their driving a licensed London taxi or private hire vehicle. This requirement is clearly stated in the letter that accompanies all driver licences granted by TfL, as well as the declaration that is signed by all applicants for a London taxi or private hire driver licence, whether that be a new or renewal application. A licensed driver’s failure to meet this requirement is taken into account as part any consideration of their suitability to be (re)licensed. Information on journey-related sexual offences is published at https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/safety-and-security/security-on-the-network/tph-related-sexual-offences If you are considering submitting a further FOI request please think carefully about whether the request is essential at this current time, as answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. Where requests are made, please note that our response time may be impacted by the current situation. 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