Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Private Hire Vehicles)(Carriage of Guide Dogs etc.)(England and Wales)(Amendment) Regulations 2006 and shall come into force on 17th July 2006.

Amendments

2.—(1) The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Private Hire Vehicles)(Carriage of Guide Dogs etc.)(England and Wales) Regulations 2003(2) shall be amended as follows.

(2) For paragraph (2) of regulation 2 there shall be substituted—

“(2) The prescribed manner of exhibiting a notice of exemption for the purposes of section 37A(8)(b) of the 1995 Act shall be—

(a)by displaying it—

(i)on the nearside of and immediately behind the windscreen of the private hire vehicle facing outwards; and

(ii)in a manner that readily permits its removal;

(b)so that—

(i)its front is clearly visible from the outside of the private hire vehicle; and

(ii)its back is clearly visible from the driver’s seat of the private hire vehicle.”.

(3) For Part 2 of Schedule 1 there shall be substituted the content of Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

(4) For Part 2 of Schedule 2 there shall be substituted the content of Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

Regulation 2(3)

SCHEDULE 1

“2. FORM OF BACK OF NOTICE OF EXEMPTION IN ENGLAND

Regulation 2(4)

SCHEDULE 2

“2. FORM OF BACK OF NOTICE OF EXEMPTION IN WALES

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Section 37A of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 imposes requirements on licensed private hire vehicle drivers and operators in relation to carrying an assistance dog, without additional charge, when it accompanies a disabled person. It also provides that a private hire vehicle driver may be exempted from this obligation on medical grounds.

Regulation 2 amends the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Private Hire Vehicles)(Carriage of Guide Dogs etc.)(England and Wales) Regulations 2003 in respect of the manner in which the exemption notice should be displayed by the exempted private hire vehicle driver and the wording on the back of the exemption notice. The notice must be displayed on the windscreen; display on the dashboard is no longer permitted.

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the costs of business, charities or voluntary bodies.