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It is not possible to provide costs for the Department for Transport or for the Driving Standards Agency in 2002-03 because the information is not available in a comparable format.
Improving Access to Taxis
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mr. Sadiq Khan): The Department for Transport has today published the results from a consultation paper which explored ways of improving access to taxis by disabled people. The analysis summarises the responses to the consultation and has informed the way in which the Department will take this work forward.
The purpose of publishing the results of the consultation is to provide transparency to the Department's policy and to ensure that it is easily understood. We acknowledge and welcome the input provided by the respondents to the consultation.
The Department will take the opportunity presented by the passage of the Equality Bill to ensure there are regulation making provisions to allow duties to be imposed on drivers of taxis and private hire vehicles designated as accessible by the local authority, to assist wheelchair passengers and carry them in safety and comfort. This largely replicates the duties contained in what was section 36 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which has been carried across into the Equality Bill.
The Department will also be undertaking demonstration schemes in three licensing authority areas, to research the needs of disabled people when using taxis and private hire vehicles, how to tailor the fleet to demand and use patterns and how driver training can assist disabled passengers. The demonstration schemes will provide the basis on which the Department will be able to issue comprehensive guidance to licensing authorities to assist them with improving the availability of taxis and private hire vehicles for disabled passengers.
The Department is also considering the wider legislative framework governing taxis and private hire vehicles to see whether there are any changes which could be made with the objective of enhancing provision for disabled people.
The document summarising consultation responses is available on the Department's website. Copies have been placed in the House Library.
Driving Disqualifications (UK and the Republic of Ireland)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Paul Clark): The United Kingdom has taken the formal legal steps, along with the Republic of Ireland Administration, to mutually recognise driving disqualifications issued to either UK or Irish drivers. This will mean that a UK driving-licence holder disqualified for an offence in Ireland will no longer escape that punishment when they return home. Likewise, a disqualification earned by an Irish driver while in the UK will have their disqualification enforced on their return to Ireland.
The UK has one of the best road safety records in the world and this co-operation between the administrations in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will improve it further.
The UK and Ireland are the first to apply the terms of the 1998 European Convention on driving disqualifications. Following completion of the legal
requirements to adopt the 1998 European Convention on driving disqualifications, there now follows a 90 day period after which the law will come into force. This will be on a date early in February 2010, to be notified by the European authorities on receipt of our respective national declarations.
Regulations to bring the agreement into law in Great Britain, The Mutual Recognition of Driving Disqualifications (Great Britain and Ireland) Regulations 2008 (SI.2008/3010), were laid before the House on 25 November 2008.
Wales
Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill (Framework Powers)
The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Peter Hain): I am pleased to inform the House that the explanatory memorandum explaining the Government's proposal for a framework power in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill are available in the Vote Office, Library and the Printed Paper Office, and on the Wales Office website (www.walesoffice.gov.uk).
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