Agenda item

The Licensing Officer:

a.    presented a report which informed Members of the Committee of the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 (The Act) in relation to wheelchair users' access to hackney carriage and private hire vehicles;

b.    requested that Members gave their views on whether or not to maintain a list of designated wheelchair accessible vehicles for the purpose of The Act

c.    requested that should a list be approved and maintained that any requests for exemptions (due to medical reasons) be delegated to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Sub-Committee.

Members of the Committee asked what the implications were for holding or not holding a list.

The Licensing Officer responded that Section 165 placed the duties on the driver of a designated vehicle which was listed and these duties included:

a.    to carry the passenger whilst in the wheelchair

b.    not to make any additional charges for doing so

c.    should the passenger choose to sit in a passenger seat, the driver would carry the wheelchair

d.    the driver was to take such steps as were necessary to ensure that the passenger was carried in safety and in reasonable comfort

e.    the driver was to give the passenger such mobility assistance as was reasonably required

The decision was made as follows:

A unanimous vote was taken by the Committee that the City of Lincoln Council would maintain a list of Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles.

It was agreed that the request for exemptions (for medical reasons) would be delegated to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Sub-Committee.

Reasons for the decision:

The Committee had taken into account the views of the private hire drivers and operators in their responses to the consultation and were empathetic to their views. These included the following:

·         Extra costs of Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles and/or cost of conversion of these vehicles.

·         Costs of training for drivers.

·         Additional costs for relevant insurance.

Members also took into account other responses which were summarised in the report and included:

·         Primary consideration should be for those who use wheelchairs and that disabled people should only pay the same as able bodied customers.

·         The protected characteristics would need to be taken into account.

·         Potentially those who had been refused access to vehicles - a quarter of disabled people as quoted in the consultation at page 68 of the report.

In addition members considered:

·         The equality impact assessment.

·         The position held by other local district authorities.

·         The consultation letter from the Licensing Officer which highlighted the potential outcomes both with or without a list.

·         Adverse reaction from proprietors and drivers.

·         That there could be a reduction in wheelchair accessible vehicles.

·         Increased enforcement and prosecution.

·         Increased costs to the general public.

RESOLVED that:

a.    the City of Lincoln Council would maintain a Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle list

b.    medical exemptions, under section 166 of the Act for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers, would be delegated to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Sub-Committee

c.    it was determined that the Licensing section would explore the possibility of procuring a wheelchair to ensure that the WAV's were capable of carrying the reference wheelchair. The use of the measurements given as guidance to be tested to establish if these alone were adequate

d.    that a condition would be added to the current licensing conditions in respect of hackney carriages as their drivers were controlled by the meter.  The guidance advised that switching the meter on whilst loading and unloading should not be permitted and that a condition would be placed on the vehicle licence to prevent this. The wording of such a condition would be formulated by the Licensing Officer and a Solicitor and then approved  by the Chair of the Licensing Committee at a later date