Disability Discrimination Bill - A
note to the Scrutiny Committee on the outcome of the Department
for Transport's consultation on proposals to amend the Rail provisions
in Part 5 of the Disability Discrimination Act.
Background
1. The consultation contained the
Government's proposals to implement the Disability Rights Task
Force recommendations to set an 'end date' by which time all rail
vehicles must comply with the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations
(RVAR), and to regulate for RVAR to apply to the refurbishment
of rail vehicles. In addition, other proposals to change the regulatory
framework were also included.
2. The consultation suggested an
'end date' of 2025 and the 'menu approach' to refurbishment but
promised further consultation on draft regulations at a later
date. The other proposals included: decriminalisation of offences,
simplification of the exemption regime, introducing a formal compliance
certification procedure and the application of RVAR to systems
where no fares are charged.
Executive Summary of the Responses
3. We received 63 responses to the
consultation. They are summarised on a table which has already
been sent to the Committee.
Industry
4. Most industry concerns were around
the costs included in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA),
which they did not think were realistic. Their response to the
main proposals was lukewarm. Predictably, the rolling stock leasing
companies did not agree that an 'end date' should be set or it
should be much later than 2025.
5. The other proposals, particularly
decriminalisation and changes to the exemption process, were very
strongly supported.
Disability Groups
6. Disability groups as well as
the major organisations in the disability field, for example,
the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) felt our proposals did
not go far enough. Most argued that the 'end date' should be brought
forward to 2020 or 2017 in line with the date we have set for
buses. The 'menu approach' for refurbishment was widely supported
although some respondents felt it did not go far enough. This
was because it would not require features such as passenger information
systems and wheelchair accessible toilets to be fitted to rail
vehicles that did not have these facilities in the first place.
7. The other proposals were widely
supported but there were concerns that the exemption process should
not be watered down and the Department should deploy adequate
resources to proactively enforce RVAR after decriminalisation.
8. The Disabled Persons Advisory
Committee (DPTAC), the Department's statutory advisors on disability,
have already given evidence to the Scrutiny Committee which included
a copy of their response to the consultation.
Strategic Rail Authority (SRA)
9. The SRA agreed that an 'end date'
of 2025 should be set but pointed out that the costs did not consider
additional leasing charges for new vehicles, as it may not be
economic to refurbish some existing vehicles whose life expiry
is only a few years after the 'end date'.
10. Whilst recognising that the proposals
for refurbishment regulations were similar to current requirements
in the SRA's own code of practice, again, they raised concerns
about the costs in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). The
SRA also thought that exemptions should be given where costs are
disproportionate to the benefits.
11. Other proposals relating to decriminalisation
and exemptions were supported. Although they pointed out that
the proposed certification scheme should consider handling of
subjective areas of the RVAR such as colour contrast.
Next Steps
12. When the draft Disability Discrimination
Bill was published, the Government announced that rail would be
included in the final Bill when it was introduced. The Department
would expect to consult on draft regulations to set an 'end date'
and detail our refurbishment proposals during the passage of the
Bill.
13. In response to the concerns
expressed about the RIA, the Department is currently working closely
with the SRA to finalise a financial model which can accurately
estimate the increased annualised costs of the options for an
end date and refurbishment regulations. Once this work is complete
it will enable Ministers to make a final decision on how to proceed.
Department for Transport
March 2004
