§ 8. Mr. CarringtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what further proposals he has to facilitate the transport of the disabled in London taxi cabs.
§ Mr. PortilloAs I announced on 13 December, following discussions with the Metropolitan police, who are responsible for day-to-day taxi licensing questions, from 1 February 1989, all newly licensed London taxis will need to be able to carry a passenger in a wheelchair, and from 1 January 2000, every taxi operating in London will be required to take wheelchairs.
§ Mr. CarringtonI thank my hon. Friend for that answer. He must know how grateful the disabled people of London will be for that news. Will he confirm that London is the first capital city in the world to have wheelchair-accessible taxis? Will he encourage our EC partners to move towards better access for the disabled to taxis in their cities?
§ Mr. PortilloI believe that ours is the first city in the world, capital or otherwise, to require that taxis must be wheelchair-accessible. I am proud of that. Encouraging other European countries to follow suit would be a suitable topic to raise. Certaintly I intend including it on 11 the agenda of the European Council of Transport Ministers, of which the United Kingdom is President this year.