Local Transport Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 3: 3: After Clause 10, insert the following new Clause— ““Duty to have regard to transport needs of disabled persons (1) Section 112 of the TA 2000 (plans and strategies: supplementary) is amended as follows. (2) In subsection (2) (duty to have regard to needs of certain persons in developing transport policies)— (a) after ““developing”” insert ““and implementing””; (b) after ““needs of”” insert ““disabled persons (within the meaning of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995) and of””.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, Section 112 of the Transport Act 2000 places a duty on local transport authorities, when developing their local transport policies, to have regard to the needs of persons who are elderly or who have mobility problems. Amendment No. 3 would extend this duty to apply it to disabled persons as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. In previous debates, the noble Lord, Lord Low of Dalston, called on the Government to consider whether anything more could be done to disability-proof this legislation. The amendment seeks to achieve with some precision that objective by extending the general duty set out in the 2000 Act to all disabled persons within the meaning of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. It would apply the duty to the implementation as well as the development of local transport policies, thus bringing the two elements, of which the implementation side is the most important, together. I hope that this captures the spirit of what the noble Lord, Lord Low, was seeking when we debated this in Grand Committee, and I certainly pay tribute to him for reminding us of the importance of adopting this step so that we can put beyond doubt that there is this vital obligation. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as amended in 2005 already places a duty on local authorities in the carrying out of functions, but we believe that there are benefits in extending the specific duty in relation to the development of local transport policies so as to ensure that local authorities take into account the needs of all disabled persons when developing and implementing those policies. We ought to acknowledge the valuable work done by local authorities with transport undertakers and the progress that has undoubtedly been made in recent years. However, it is only by bringing into play legislation that works in the way in which this is intended to work that such great strides have been made. We think that this provision will underline the value of disability-proofing, and for those reasons I am delighted to bring forward our amendment. I beg to move.