| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
12.47 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Mr. Alan Meale): I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Joan Ruddock) on securing this debate and providing an opportunity for the House to discuss access for disabled people to railways. She has a fine record in this place. She was the Government spokesman on women and in opposition, she was a lead spokesman on transport and on London. She has always been at the forefront on issues relating to transport, London and the rights of the individual.
I understand my hon. Friend's concern about the restriction of access to stations in Lewisham. Her intervention has persuaded Connex that its action was precipitate and that it should reinstate the accesses where alterations caused unacceptable difficulties for passengers with disabilities. Connex is reviewing how it might pursue security enhancement of its stations without disadvantaging disabled people and other passengers with particular needs, such as mothers with child carriages or shopping bags.
The Rail Regulator's office is actively involved in reviewing the issues with Connex to ensure that the company's actions are consistent with its licence requirements to protect the interests of disabled people and with the statutory provisions that require the regulator's approval for the closure of stations or parts of stations.
I trust that that process will produce an outcome at Lewisham and other Connex stations that is satisfactory to my hon. Friend and her constituents, and that any further measures that Connex may propose to enhance security at Lewisham stations and more generally will be the subject of extensive consultation before decisions or actions are taken. Measures should be introduced in a meaningful way, rather than be a paper exercise, as my hon. Friend has described.
As my hon. Friend knows, the Government have stressed to the railway industry the importance that they place on listening to passengers and on responding to their needs. That includes, but is not exclusively about, passengers with disabilities.
As my hon. Friend the Minister for Transport in London said at the rail summit on 25 February, between 12 per cent. and 14 per cent. of the population have some type of disability. Over the next 50 years, the proportion of older people in the population will increase from present levels of between 10 and 15 per cent. to between 20 and 30 per cent. The correlation between age and disability is well established; two thirds of disabled people are elderly. That substantial passengers' voice must be listened to by operators.
It is notable that improvements that are designed to help disabled and older people will almost invariably help the larger number of people who travel with small children, with baby buggies or who are laden with heavy suitcases or shopping. Accessibility improves patronage, as accessible buses have shown.
At the February rail summit, my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport made it clear that proposals from train operating companies for renegotiation of their franchises would be considered against criteria that included the track record of the franchisee, on which he would consult widely, including via rail users' consultative committees, individual users and local groups; and the extent to which the franchisee was prepared to give passengers a greater voice in the level and standard of services.
Turning to security for rail users, I appreciate Connex's objective, but I repeat: I do not appreciate its style. Its objective in restricting access to stations in Lewisham and elsewhere in its south-eastern and south-central franchise areas is to improve security for passengers. That is in line with Government policy to reduce crime and the perception of crime on the railway, as elsewhere in society. Greater personal security will encourage use of the railway, which is one of the Government's key transport objectives.
Despite the low level of recorded crime on trains and at railway stations, fear of crime has a real impact on many people's lives. That is particularly true for women and older people. Fear of crime contributes to people being deterred from using public transport, particularly at night. It means that those people who can afford it travel by car, with all the resulting effects on congestion and pollution, and that those who cannot afford it are prevented from travelling.
Among other initiatives, the Government have developed, with a national steering group that includes rail organisations, passenger groups, British Transport police, Crime Concern and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, the secure stations scheme--an accreditation scheme that was launched in 1998 to give public recognition to stations that work to create a safe environment for passengers and staff.
To gain accreditation, operators of individual stations must work with the British Transport police and other local partners to implement a range of security measures. Those must cover four main areas. The first is the design of the station, which must conform to standards that are judged by British Transport police to prevent and reduce crime, and to improve passenger perceptions. The second
is management of the stations. Management must take steps to prevent crime, to respond to incidents and to communicate effectively with passengers.
The third area is managing crime. Statistics of crime must be maintained and show, over 12 months before accreditation is considered, that crime is being controlled. The fourth area is passenger perceptions. Passengers must be surveyed to establish that they feel secure in using the station. The national rail survey that was announced at the February rail summit will include questions on perceptions of security.
Many train operating companies have already prioritised improving security by installing closed circuit television and help points, improving lighting and introducing rapid response arrangements. A secure station accreditation will prove to passengers that their local station is taking their security seriously.
A number of stations throughout the country have been accredited under the scheme and it is hoped that many more will become accredited. Hither Green, which Connex South Eastern operates in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, East (Ms Prentice), is one of those currently accredited; the London termini of Victoria and King's Cross have also been accredited.
The Government have focused on railway stations because that is what passengers want. Research by Crime Concern on behalf of my Department revealed that the part of the journey that is spent on the vehicle is perceived as more secure than the beginning and end of the journey. Waiting at railway stations was a particular concern for many passengers; both men and women were less concerned about waiting at bus stops.
Research shows that, although each individual journey has a number of constituent parts, a passenger perceives the journey as a whole and the worst part of the journey colours the experience of the whole. Therefore, it is essential that transport operators, local authorities and other interested groups work together to improve passenger perceptions of the whole journey. If passengers feel unsafe waiting at the bus stop, or walking to and from the station, they may be deterred from using that mode of public transport at all.
The objectives, instructions and guidance that the Government issued to the franchising director in November 1997--a copy is in the Library--included a requirement for him to
As my hon. Friend knows, the Government are committed to comprehensive civil rights for disabled people. Accessible public transport, within the framework of our integrated transport policy, is fundamental to delivering that commitment.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 placed duties on those providing goods, facilities or services to the public and those selling, letting or managing premises. Since 2 December 1996, it has been unlawful for service providers, landlords and others to treat disabled people less favourably for a reason related to their disability. For service providers, the Act included further stages for "later rights" to be met where reasonable to enable use by disabled people.
From October 1999, service providers have to make "reasonable adjustments" for disabled people, such as providing extra help, or making changes to the way in which they provide their services. From 2004, it is intended that service providers will have to make "reasonable adjustments" to the physical features of their premises to overcome physical barriers to access. That could include, for example, installing a ramp to enable wheelchair users to gain access that was previously available only by steps.
"promote the personal security of passengers travelling by rail".
Since franchises were awarded, the franchising director has taken the opportunities for renegotiation that have arisen--when there has been a proposed change of control
of a train operating company, or a breach of the franchise--to obtain further commitments to security improvements. As my hon. Friend the Member for Deptford will be interested to learn, companies involved to date include Thames Trains, First North Western, Chiltern Railways and LTS Rail.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |