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Summary of responses

Consultation on lifting the exemption from Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 for Public Transport, Vehicle Hire, Breakdown and Leisure and Tourism Transport Services.

Consultation dates

29 November 2004 to 25 February 2005.

Issue

Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 gives disabled people a "right of access" to goods, facilities and services. Transport infrastructure, such as stations and airports, is already covered by these provisions but there is a specific exemption for any service "so far as it consists of the use of any means of transport".

The lifting of this exemption was recommended by the Disability Rights Task Force in their "From Exclusion to Inclusion" report. The Government accepted that recommendation and, following initial consultation on policy proposals, measures were included in the then Disability Discrimination Bill (now Disability Discrimination Act 2005) to lift that exemption. This consultation included draft regulations covering public transport - trains (including light rail, underground and trams), buses, coaches, taxis and private hire vehicles - vehicle hire, breakdown services and vehicles used in leisure and tourism transport services.

Accessible formats

Large print, Braille, audio and easy read (http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_mobility/documents/page/dft_mobility_033052.pdf).

Responses received

51 (of which 55% were from industry, 23% from disability organisations, 18% from government and other organisations and 4% from passenger groups).

Summary of responses

The proposals were widely welcomed with no strong objections being raised to the definitions of services to be included, proposed timescale and regulatory impact assessment.

There was some confusion as to the extent of the regulations and whether certain services, such as ambulances, were covered. These were dealt with in a letter sent to respondents outlining the results of the consultation.

Concerns were expressed by some disability organisations that aviation and shipping services would not be covered immediately. However, other disability organisations indicated that the current voluntary codes of practice operating in both industries needed time to work. The consultation document stated (paragraph 1.10) that the latter view was in line with the Government's position and restated its commitment to regulate if monitoring of the codes showed that they were proving ineffective.

Most industry responses were positive and many companies claimed they were already acting as though Part 3 already applied to them. In particular, those who had already instigated disability awareness training for staff had realised benefits and did not consider the associated costs to be excessive or that these should be considered separately from other customer care training. The new duties were not expected to represent a significant burden on the industry as a whole.

It was noted that the duties other service providers, such as shops and banks, are under to make physical alterations are defined in regulations. The draft regulations for transport services will only apply this duty to the vehicle hire sector where the provision of, for example, simple devices such as push-pull hand controls in hire cars, will enable disabled people to access services more readily. The Government was asked to consider the inclusion of a definition of 'physical alteration' for these services in its regulations.

It was also noted that the examples of "reasonableness" used in the Disability Rights Commission's Code of Practice would have a significant impact on the ability of the industry to meet the new duties. The Code is the sole responsibility of the Commission and all respondents will receive a copy when it is published in draft for consultation.

Outcome

No strong objections were raised about any of the proposals. The Government therefore intends to proceed with the introduction of the duties in December 2006.

The Government accepted calls for a definition of 'physical alterations' which would enable the vehicle hire sector to have greater certainty about what was expected of them and for disabled people to understand their rights more clearly.

Next steps

The Disability Rights Commission is currently drafting, in conjunction with all major stakeholders, a Code of Practice for transport as they have done for other service providers to assist industry in implementing its new obligations. A draft of the new Code will be subject to public consultation in due course and all respondents to this consultation will automatically receive a copy when it is published.

It is proposed that the Code will be in place in early 2006 to allow sufficient time for the affected sectors to implement the new duties before they are introduced in December 2006.

On aviation and shipping, monitoring of the voluntary codes of practice is underway and we expect to have received both reports around the end of 2005. The conclusions will inform the Government's decision on whether to bring aviation and shipping within the scope of Part 3.

Useful links

  • For more information on the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, updates on the development of disability legislation in transport and its effects on individual modes of travel, please see www.dft.gov.uk/access.
  • For more information on general disability legislation please see http://www.direct.gov.uk/DisabledPeople/fs/en.
  • The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee also has its own web site at www.dptac.gov.uk.
  • The Government's portal, containing information and links for disabled people and carers in areas such as employment, health and education and advice on financial support, independent living and rights can be found at http://www.direct.gov.uk/DisabledPeople .