Left behind: Taxi licensing rules leave disabled Scots stranded

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1 Key points 40% of local authorities have no requirements for tais licensed in their area to be accessible. A successful legal challenge in Liverpool has not changed practice in Scotland. Local authorities need to license a range of different accessible vehicles. Capability Scotland Head Office, Westerlea 11 Ellersly Road Edinburgh EH12 6HY Telephone: Tetphone: Fa: Scottish charity SC Scottish company SC36524 limited by guarantee Left behind: Tai licensing rules leave disabled Scots stranded Although the number of wheelchair accessible licensed tais has increased, for some disabled people including power wheelchair users, many of these tais are still not suitable or accessible to them. The licensing of tais and private hire vehicles is the responsibility of Scottish local authorities. The public sector equality duty requires public bodies including local authorities to take into consideration how different people will be affected by their activities, including their licensing function, so that they can ensure their policies and services are appropriate and accessible to all and meet different peoples needs. A High Court case in Liverpool in 2009, found that the constraints put on vehicles that could be licensed by Liverpool City Council were unlawful under the Equality Act. We wanted to know whether this case has had any effect in Scotland. Have Scottish local authorities reviewed their requirements for licensing tais since this case? Has the equality duty actually made any difference to disabled people in Scotland?

2 What is the issue? Disabled people are a diverse group and have many different and varying needs. Are local authorities disadvantaging some of these people by limiting the type of vehicle that can be licensed as a tai? Many disabled people use tais because of a lack of accessible public transport or because they are unable to use public transport. A previous report by Capability Scotland in 2009 showed that some local authorities still actually had very few licensed wheelchair accessible tais. However, even if there are wheelchair accessible licensed tais, some of these vehicles may not be suitable for some people, for instance power chair users or people with reduced mobility. The Equality Act 2010 created a positive duty for public authorities when carrying out their functions to consider the impact of their decisions on eliminating discrimination, advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations between different groups. They should take a proactive approach and take positive steps to advance equality. This is an ongoing duty; therefore local authorities should consider and review their licensing regulations and whether these regulations have a negative impact on equality. The Liverpool Ruling In 2009 Alma Lunt, who uses a wheelchair, asked Liverpool City Council to license an alternative style of tai to black cabs, but her request was turned down. This was despite the fact that she and other disabled people repeatedly eplained to the Council s licensing officer and licensing committee that vehicle constraints prevented them from being properly positioned and safely secured in the eisting London-style tais. Wheelchair spaces in tais are designed to accommodate a standard model of wheelchair which the Department for Transport calls the reference wheelchair. If your chair is bigger than this, then a black cab is not accessible to you. The licensing committee turned down the new-style tai because it had sliding doors and did not meet a 28-foot turningcircle requirement. When Liverpool s licensing chairman refused to issue licenses to the drivers of Peugeot E7 tais, Alma Lunt and other campaigners, backed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), went to the High Court and challenged the Council s decision at a two-day judicial review. The High Court found that the Council s decision not only discriminated against disabled people but was flawed and unfair. 2

3 We wanted to know whether a judgement made in England more than two years ago has had any effect in Scotland. Are Scottish local authorities aware of the judgement and re-considering their licensing requirements, or are regulations still in place which do not allow for the licensing of vehicles which could be accessible to a wider range of people such as power chair users? How did we research the issue? We contacted all 32 Scottish local authorities and asked them the following questions: 1. What are your requirements regarding accessibility of tais? 2. What effect did the Liverpool case have on your requirements/policy regarding accessibility of tais? Key Findings Local authorities told us that the Liverpool case has not had any effect on their licensing requirements, although 62% of local authorities said they actually already license large non-london tai style vehicles. 43% of local authorities said their regulations for licensing tais did include a requirement for accessibility. Two local authorities, Aberdeenshire and Perth and Kinross, said that they were reviewing this at the moment. These reviews however did not appear to be related to the Liverpool case. Although local authorities may have requirements for accessibility, this does not mean all licensed vehicles have to be wheelchair accessible it may mean that a percentage of the fleet is to be accessible or new licenses are only issued for accessible vehicles. Seven local authorities (Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire) said all their licensed tais have to be wheelchair accessible. 40% of local authorities said they had no requirements for tais licensed in their area to be accessible, however this did not mean that none of their tai fleet was wheelchair accessible. There is a clear urban/rural divide regarding having accessibility requirements with many rural local authorities having no requirements at all. However some including Clackmannanshire and East Lothian buck this trend. Case Study - Sally Anne Hoyne Sally Anne Hoyne lives in Sanquhar in Dumfries and Galloway and uses a wheelchair. She is retired now but found it almost impossible to get an accessible tai when she was working. And even when she could get one it was always more epensive. Sally Anne believes it is crucial for local authorities to license a variety of accessible vehicles. She say: A model of car that suits someone with a large chair may well be a hindrance to someone who has a different mobility impairment. 3

4 Table of Local authority responses Do you have any accessibility requirements when licensing tais? Aberdeen * * Has the Liverpool ruling had any effect on your licensing requirements? Aberdeenshire Angus Argyll & Bute Clackmannanshire Dumfries & Galloway Dundee East Ayrshire East Dumbartonshire East Lothian East Renfrewhsire Edinburgh Falkirk Fife Glasgow Highland Inverclyde Moray 4

5 Table of Local authority responses con t Midlothian North Ayrshire North Lanarkshire Perth & Kinross Renfrewshire Scottish Borders South Ayrshire South Lanarkshire Stirling West Dunbartonshire West Lothian Orkney Islands Shetland Islands Western Isles Do you have any accessibility requirements when licensing tais? Has the Liverpool ruling had any effect on your licensing requirements? * No information supplied 5

6 Conclusion One of the aims for a local authority when licensing tais is to ensure the public have reasonable access to tai services. We were disappointed to discover that the licensing policies of eleven local authorities don t include requirements for tais to be accessible. This is unacceptable. Local authorities have duties stemming from the Equality Act to meet different peoples needs. Scottish Government Best Practice Guidance (2007) states that in the absence of accessibility regulations licensing authorities are encouraged to introduce accessibility policies for their own areas. Despite this 34% of local authorities are not considering the impact of their licensing regulations on disabled people. Clearly disabled people are a very diverse group with many differing needs and therefore restricting the type of vehicle which can be licensed will inevitably result in disadvantaging some people. In October 400 black cabs were recalled from the streets of London by manufacturers due to a steering fault. This highlights that local authorities can t rely on just one type of vehicle to provide an accesisble service to disabled passengers. Licensing authorities have the opportunity to take a proactive appraoch to equality by ensuring their tai licensing regulations include accessibility conditions and do not unreasonably eclude certain types of vehicle. In these times of cut backs when opportunities to comply with the equality duty are trickier to find, we would urge local authorities to use their tai licensing conditions to ensure that disabled people, as members of the public, have reasonable access to tai services. A Right to reply We wrote to the fourteen local authorities that told us that they did not consider accessibility when licensing tais to ask why, and also why the Liverpool case had not affected their practices. We received no response from eight of them and although Scottish Borders responded initially saying they were concerned we had not understood their position, we got no more information. East Renfrewshire and Aberdeen council said they would and do license a range of vehicles including most four door vehicles and are currently consulting about wheelchair accessible tais. Highland council said they were also currently consulting on their policy. Orkney Islands council said they will license any vehicle which meets their requirements which can include wheelchair accessible vehicles. The Western Isles council confirmed they have no requirement for tais to be wheelchair accessible. Further Information For further information about the report and reference details please contact Lorna Thompson, Advice Service lorna.thomson@capability-scotland.org.uk Report compiled by: Capability Scotland s Research Advice and Policy Team