Staff training
51. In our Report last Session, we noted the importance
of staff training to accompany the introduction of new duties
on transport providers.[83]
We and the Joint Committee on the Disability Discrimination Bill
also noted the estimated costs to business of providing disability
awareness training. The Government's most recent estimates suggest
non-recurring costs to the rail, bus and coach, taxi and private
hire and vehicle hire sectors of £37.5m and annual recurring
costs of £15.65m-15.85m in total.[84]
52. Mr Congdon emphasised the value of staff training
to securing access to transport for people with a learning disability,
but questioned both its consistency and scope:
"I think perhaps the most important thing over
and above that [information and signage] is, frankly, the
attitude of staff. That boils down to good quality disability
awareness training of staff. It is true to say that there has
been retraining of quite a few staff, although it is patchy, but
[…] it tends to focus on the more obvious issues of physical
access and disability and does not focus on not just learning
disability but, I would say, all hidden disabilities."[85]
53. Mr Congdon made the valid point that training
which instils an understanding of people with learning disabilities
also helps other passengers who may be slower to understand.[86]
However, he also recognised that training front-line staff might
not be sufficient on its own:
"some of this goes deeper than training. People
can attend a training course, do the tick box and say they have
done the training course and forget everything that they learned.
You have to reinforce it throughout the organisation"[87]
Mr Betteridge too thought training in the bus industry
would be difficult to guarantee:
"the problem is going to be about enforcement:
how on earth do we enforce this? For disabled people whose impairment
is invisible to bus drivers I suspect there will be problems for
a long time to come."[88]
54. Mrs Ann Bates, Chair of the Rail Working Group
at the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, suggested
that disability awareness training was also patchy within the
rail industry,[89] but
that there really needed to be consistency "because passengers
do not see the difference between one train operating company
and another."[90]
55. Merseytravel told us that they received many
complaints about bus drivers moving off before people had properly
taken their seats.[91]
Mr Depledge agreed that drivers can use new, more powerful vehicles
in a rather less passenger-friendly way.[92]
At first sight, this seems like a matter of training, but Mr Depledge
assured us that Arriva was very conscious of the problem and understood
the need to ensure its drivers were properly trained.[93]
Perhaps it is therefore an example of training not resulting in
a permanent change in behaviour, in the way Mr Congdon suggested.
56. The quality of training must be assured, and
performance must be monitored to ensure it has the desired effect
over time. Mr Betteridge mentioned the inclusion of disability
awareness training in a National Vocational Qualification for
bus drivers, which may prove a step forward.[94]
Accreditation of disability awareness training could offer an
opportunity for hidden disabilities to be addressed to the satisfaction
of organisations like Mencap. Mr Congdon raised the possibility
of "mystery shopping", which may prove a useful tool
to assess in a systematic way the impact of disability awareness
training.[95]
57. However, training is only part of the picture;
the needs of people with hidden disabilities should also be better
appreciated in vehicle and infrastructure design.
58. Disability awareness training for staff in
the transport sector is desirable even now. It will be essential
when transport operators are brought within the scope of the Disability
Discrimination Act. The costs of this training to the transport
industry will remain significant. Taxpayers, shareholders and
passengers deserve to see a return for their investment. The training
must be accredited and monitored to ensure it is of a consistent
quality. However, simply going through the motions of training
is not enough: the resulting service must be noticeably better
for disabled passengers. The Government, local transport authorities,
DPTAC and the DRC should consider whether "mystery shoppers"
could be deployed systematically as part of ongoing service monitoring.
59. Staff attitudes have a profound effect on
people with learning disabilities. Staff training must therefore
be improved to help meet their needs. Providers of disability
awareness training should seek greater input from organisations
which represent people with hidden disabilities, such as learning
disabilities. This could include involving people with learning
disabilities in the training so that they can meet members of
staff. Customer care training should reinforce the business benefits
of sensitivity and understanding.
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