Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department monitors the incidence of refusals to allow access to owners of assistance guide dogs by taxis, private hire vehicles and other transport-related services; and if he will make a statement.

It is illegal for drivers of taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) to refuse the carriage of an assistance dog or to charge their owner extra.

Responsibility for investigating and, where appropriate, prosecuting drivers alleged to have refused an assistance dog illegally rests with local licensing authorities, and we encourage them to take effective action to eliminate such unacceptable behaviour.

We do not currently collect statistics on refusal incidents on board local public transport services.