Why do we have your personal data?
The council has several obligations in law:
- according to Statutory Guidance on Access to Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles for Disabled Users (2022), and the Equality Act 2010, we must publish lists of wheelchair accessible taxis and Private Hire Vehicles. We publish this information online
- under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, we must keep a register of who we have granted licences to, the date and duration of these licences, and its serial number. Anyone can ask to see this register
- according to the Town and Police Clauses Act 1847, we must keep a register of each licence we grant for Hackney Carriage vehicles drivers containing their name, address, and licence number. Anyone can ask to see this register
- according to the Taxi and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Act 2022 and Statutory Guidance (2022), we must record any decisions where we have chosen to refuse an application for a new or renewed licence, suspended a licence or revoked a licence
We require you to provide us with information on your health such as a medical certificate and we may receive reports from medical professionals on your fitness following their professional assessment. Health data is classed as ‘special category data’ in data protection law and we must have a reason to ask you for this information. We judge the collection of this information to be substantially in the public interest: to protect public safety by ensuring that only ‘fit and proper’ people are permitted to drive licensed vehicles in our area. Section 57(2)(a) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 gives us powers to ask you to provide health information.
We also receive information on any criminal convictions, cautions etc. you have. This is known as ‘criminal offence data’ and we must have a reason to ask for this information. We have the authority to do this under sections 51 and 57(2)(b) Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. We have a duty to make sure only ‘fit and proper’ people are licensed to drive taxis in our area. The council believes it is in the public interest to ensure that the vehicles used as Private Hire or Hackney Carriage Vehicles are safe and roadworthy. This is known as a Public Task and we act in line with the Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards (2022). We keep a list of vehicles that we have licensed as Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicles.