§ Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Allen.]
§ 10 pm
§ Mr. Don Touhig (Islwyn)I welcome this debate because it is another chance to highlight the problems faced by people with a physical or learning disability. Since I became president of Caerphilly Access, I have been impressed by the commitment and innovation showed by disabled and able-bodied members determined to raise public awareness of the problems that disabled people face. Like most people, I can walk unaided and I am not impaired, but the fact is that in Wales one in six people are impaired in some way. In the United Kingdom, it is one in eight. Access for the disabled is thus a matter of considerable importance to a significant number of people.
Like many people who work with, and on behalf of, disabled people, I welcome the initiatives that the Government have taken so far, notably the setting up of the disability rights task force. Steps are being taken to create a disability rights commission; and there is the planned implementation of part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 next October. However, the fact remains that many of the rights that able-bodied people enjoy and take for granted are denied to those who have an impairment.
Access to trains for those confined to wheelchairs is woefully inadequate in many parts of the country. At my nearest railway station at Pengam on the Valleys line, only one platform is suitable for wheelchair access. A disabled passenger who wanted to go to Cardiff by train would have to join the train travelling north to Rhymney and stay on it when it travelled all the way back to Cardiff. At another station on the same line, there is a ramp leading to the platform but there are steps at its top and bottom. My two examples are all too commonplace. On that line, only one station has full facilities for disabled people. The situation is unacceptable to every disabled person and it should be unacceptable to every able-bodied person.
I do not want to limit my remarks to transport, important though that is, but I want to touch on the implementation of regulations that affect buses and coaches. The time scale means that existing single-decker buses will not have to be wheelchair accessible until 2015. The date for double-deckers is 2017. If bus and coach operators are not required to make their vehicles fully wheelchair accessible sooner, the emphasis that is being placed on park-and-ride schemes will have a damaging impact on disabled people. Similarly, the proposed two-mile parking exclusion zone around the millennium dome will make the experience inaccessible to disabled people unless the transport network is fully accessible to them.
Even in our schools, disabled pupils are caused further distress by the lack of proper access. Local education authorities have a responsibility to provide facilities for disabled staff, and even for parents with physical disabilities, but astonishingly, there is no requirement to ensure that schools are properly accessible for disabled pupils.
1493 I am told that LEAs often say that they will provide facilities for disabled pupils when the need arises, but experience often shows that when need is established, the combination of a lack of funds and a lot of red tape means that very little is done.
Rightly, the education of our children is at the core of the Government's agenda, and I know that my hon. Friend the Minister will use her considerable influence to ensure that no child misses out on education because of a physical impairment.
Our disabled fellow citizens have conscientiously battled for years to gain the same rights as able-bodied citizens take for granted, but they have been, and continue to be, denied that equality because of lack of access—to transport, to education, to buildings, to public parks, to open spaces and in some cases to basic services.
For example, access to a telephone box may be denied because the telephone is out of reach or the booth is too narrow for a wheelchair. Access to buildings is denied because there are too many steps, no ramps, narrow doorways or no toilet facilities suitable for disabled people. Access to democracy too—access to the vote itself—is denied because of inaccessible polling booths and lack of adequate facilities in polling stations.
The disabled groups whose members I have talked to recognise that improving access is often a technical issue, and that technical solutions and financial resources are needed to put things right. Those solutions will be achieved only if local authorities become more proactive in devising and developing policies that will improve and promote greater access.
It is because local councils are the major providers of services in the community that they must not be allowed to ignore the crucial role that they have to play. I do not suggest for one moment that councils willingly ignore the problems faced by physically disabled people and those with learning difficulties. However, because of the many demands on them, unless we in the House and as a Government place responsibilities on them by statute, we will have only piecemeal solutions, different in different parts of the country.
For that reason I argue that it should be the duty of each local authority to enter into a contract with disabled people—a form of citizens charter that will guarantee that disabled people's needs are recognised and addressed. Local authorities must work in partnership with voluntary organisations and local disability groups.
A good example of that partnership approach—indeed, a role model for others—is the access group in my borough that I have already mentioned. Caerphilly Access, which has been working on behalf of disabled people for the past 10 years, has been innovative in bringing home to planners, engineers and architects the impact that their work can have on people with a physical disability. It has encouraged able-bodied people from local authorities' highways, planning and architects departments to sit in wheelchairs and try to get from, say, a major supermarket to a local bus or railway station.
The people involved have gained first-hand experience of how to negotiate all the obstacles that disabled people alone have to contend with when they try to journey through a busy town centre. That approach has helped those who have the responsibility for designing and constructing new buildings and for maintaining and developing our infrastructure to see the impact of their decisions on someone confined to a wheelchair.
1494 Those people now have a better understanding of some of the problems that plague disabled people every day of their lives, which the able-bodied usually do not even realise exist. More importantly, the objective of such an exercise is to ensure that access issues are taken into account by local authorities when policy decisions are made.
Caerphilly Access members regularly arrange site meetings with officials from the local council's highways department to look at such things as high kerbs, poorly installed dropped kerbs, and lamp standards set in the middle of pavements which prevent anyone in a wheelchair from passing by with safety.
Those initiatives underline the importance of partnership between voluntary groups campaigning for disabled people's rights and their local authorities. I therefore hope that my hon. Friend will examine ways in which all local authorities might be required to appoint an officer working in partnership with the voluntary sector, whose brief would be to ensure that the issues vital to the quality of life of disabled people were recognised and tackled. Additionally, all councils should be required to have a mission statement setting out their vision, and making it clear that improving the quality of life for disabled people in their community is as important as providing nursery education or caring for the elderly. That mission statement would underpin a council's contract with its disabled citizens.
When I was a councillor, and chairman of my local authority's finance committee, we ensured that every report from every committee had a paragraph setting out the financial implications of every recommendation in the report. Why cannot we have exactly the same, but covering the impact of recommendations on disabled people?
§ Mr. Tom Levitt (High Peak)My hon. Friend is making a positive and valuable contribution. I am sure that in talking about the needs of physically and learning-impaired people, he does not wish to exclude visually and hearing-impaired people, because everything he has said applies to them as well.
Does my hon. Friend agree that the major barrier that disabled people face is in the perception and awareness of other people as to their needs? Central and local government therefore have an obligation to set a good example, and my hon. Friend has cited a good case from his area. He may not be aware that I was in the United States last week, but I can assure him that a change in culture and attitude can and does happen, and that there is evidence from that country that it can be done.
§ Mr. TouhigThere is much that we can learn from the United States, which has been progressive and encouraging in showing the pattern that we can follow.
I have stressed the role of local councils because, most often, they are the first point of contact a disabled person turns to for help, and here a one-stop-shop approach would be welcomed. Local councils are taking part in best practice initiatives sponsored by the Government, but the needs of disabled people are being ignored in this exercise. Why are we not covering the important needs of disabled people?
One invaluable aid to identifying the problems of disabled people is the access audit. Recently an audit of every library in my borough revealed that all the fire 1495 alarms gave an audible warning of danger, but not a visual one. That is not much use if one is deaf or has a hearing impairment. That example demonstrates that the need to improve access goes much further than simply improving the physical access to buildings. Experience has shown that many access audits conducted by local councils are often carried out in a hurry and without the person responsible possessing any relevant experience.
Following the general election, many councils carried out access audits of their polling stations, and I very much welcome that. However, there is no statutory requirement on local authorities to carry out access audits for parks, open spaces and buildings. I took my twin granddaughters to a park last Sunday. They had a wonderful time, and I enjoyed the quality time that I spent with them. However, if I had been in a wheelchair, I would not have been able to get into the park because the only access was up a large flight of steps. I hope that the Government will consider making it a duty for local authorities to carry out access audits for parks and open spaces.
I said at the outset that the Government's decision to implement part III of the Disability Discrimination Act was very welcome, but it is essential for every local authority to meet the target for 2004, when they and all other service providers will have to make reasonable adjustments to the way in which they provide their services. So far as local councils are concerned, they should be instituting a rolling programme of work to meet the deadline—they should not come up to the deadline and then try to do the work in a short period of time.
I recognise that many authorities are taking action, but many are not. Improving access is not just about removing physical barriers. The problem facing people with learning disabilities stems not from physical barriers or the absence of reasonable adjustments, but rather from an unwillingness on behalf of providers of services to treat disabled people on equal terms. Mencap told me recently that 10 adults with learning disabilities were refused admission to a pre-booked party in a pub because the landlady considered that they would constitute a breach of the fire regulations and disturb the comfort of her regular customers.
Access for people with learning disabilities depends on much more than providing ramps. In another case, a Mencap employee with a learning disability who travelled to work daily by bus found that the bus turned into a garage one morning. Passengers were asked to disembark and find their own way out. The person with the learning disability was left abandoned on the bus, feeling confused and lost.
Often people with learning difficulties need no more specialised help than a positive and enlightened attitude on the part of those working in the public sector, the service industries and, yes, from us, their fellow citizens. Access for a person with a learning disability can be improved in a number of relatively straightforward ways. For example, transport can be made more accessible, not merely for the disabled but also for the elderly, by the use of large-print timetables, clearer signs at stations and bus stops, and clearer spoken announcements. Too often, a person with a learning disability will be confused by a sign reading, "Please use another route", when it should read, "Please use another bus". If service providers— 1496 in short, staff—receive the necessary training to enable them to respond to a person's specific needs, significant strides will be made towards improving access.
In health care, we must guarantee that a learning disability will not be a barrier. Worryingly, Mencap's recent report "Health for All" revealed that health authority inequality is very much a reality for people with learning difficulties. Despite the high incidence of hearing and visual impairment, Mencap's survey showed that few of them have regular hearing and eye tests. To access the health service, people with learning disabilities need information that they can understand and services that can understand them—in terms of knowing how to communicate and being able to work in a way that accommodates the extra time that it might take to deal with the problems of a person with a learning disability.
We must ensure that people with learning disabilities do not miss out, by providing health promotion information that they can understand. All our citizens must be given the chance to make the most of their lives. The new deal for the disabled is a good example of how partnership between Government, local authorities and the voluntary sector can significantly help to break down barriers to employment for disabled people.
Members of Parliament have a duty to enable all people with impairments to take a full and active part in their communities and in society as a whole. Only by removing the barriers that restrict access, both physical and conditional, can we make equality of opportunity not merely a dream for people with disabilities, but a reality.
In this House, we are privileged. We can make things happen. We have an opportunity to help to build a Britain in which all our people feel equally valued, involved and included, instead of ignored, isolated and excluded. For me, that is the true meaning of inclusivity.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Ms Glenda Jackson)First, I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn (Mr. Touhig) on securing this debate on a topic that is not only of particular importance but that, as his contribution illustrated, is so wide ranging, affecting every aspect of our national life. I also thank him for his generosity in affording our hon. Friend the Member for High Peak (Mr. Levitt) an opportunity to contribute to the debate. This Government are committed to achieving comprehensive and enforceable civil rights for disabled people in both the workplace and society at large.
In October 1997, we announced our strategy. First, we set up the disability rights task force to consider how best to secure comprehensive, enforceable civil rights for disabled people and to make recommendations on the role and functions of a disability rights commission—a major strand in our strategy. The task force, chaired by my hon. Friend the Minister for Disabled People, is due to report on its wider considerations no later than July 1999 and submitted its recommendations on the commission before Easter. We hope to legislate for the establishment of a DRC at an early opportunity. Finally, we announced our commitment to implement fully part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which deals with rights of access to goods and services.
Since 2 December 1995, part III has placed duties on those providing goods, facilities and services—defined as "service providers"—not to discriminate against disabled 1497 people. From 1 October 1999, service providers will be required to make reasonable adjustments to policies, procedures or practices that exclude disabled people and to provide auxiliary aids and services to facilitate access. From 2004, where there is a physical barrier to service, service providers will have to take reasonable steps to remove, alter or avoid it.
On 30 July, the Department for Education and Employment, which leads in this area, launched a public consultation covering new requirements to make goods, services and facilities more accessible to disabled people. Access to transport is not only a civil rights issue, but a matter of social justice. We want high-quality transport designed for everyone—that means transport that is not only affordable but accessible.
A recent audit carried out by the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation on disabled people's perception of the Government's achievements had transport ranked very high in the list of priorities. It is, of course, a priority for us all—our daily lives depend so much on our ability to get from place to place.
Some improvements—which have been based on research carried out by my Department and advocated by our statutory advisers, the disabled persons transport advisory committee—have already been made, including the introduction of low-floor buses, which offer step-free access. Many of those buses also have facilities for wheelchair users. All inter-city trains are accessible to wheelchair users, and many other services are now able to offer that facility. Accessible taxis, too, are more generally available, particularly in the larger towns and cities.
My hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn was concerned about access to the millennium dome site. I reassure him that there will be dedicated parking spaces for orange badge holders. Indeed, the Jubilee line extension, which we expect to carry the bulk of visitors, will be fully accessible.
We have the opportunity with the Disability Discrimination Act to create a fully accessible public transport system that will significantly improve the independent mobility of millions of disabled people. Specific technical standards will be set in regulations covering buses, coaches, trains—including underground, light rail and tramways—and licensed taxis. The technical standards will include means to travel in a wheelchair and facilities for those with low vision, hearing impairment, walking difficulties, poor balance and so on. I have been privileged to witness several innovative schemes that deal with the problems that people with learning difficulties frequently experience in their attempts to use public transport.
Discussions with DPTAC and relevant transport industries have developed the framework for the regulations. Consultation documents on our draft proposals for taxis, buses and coaches were circulated for wide public consultation last year. They included detailed technical standards and proposed implementation dates. For full-size single-deck buses, we proposed a start date of 1 January 2000, with an end date of 1 January 2015 for all such vehicles to meet the requirements. On taxis, we consulted on the basis of a start date of 1 January 2002 and an end date of 1 January 2012. For double-deck buses, we proposed a start date of 2002 and an end date of 2017, 1498 but I am happy to inform the House that the industry has told us that all new double-deck buses may meet the requirements by 2001.
The next stage for buses and coaches, as for taxis, will be to draw up draft regulations and carry out a further round of public consultation before the final regulations are introduced. An implementation date of 31 December 1998 for all rail vehicles was written into the primary legislation, but it became clear when we came into government that the consultation process would have to be accelerated if we were to provide industry with sufficient time to meet the requirements.
Consultation on draft regulations was carried out in the late spring of this year and the final regulations have been laid before Parliament. Subject to completion of the parliamentary procedures, the regulations will come into force on 1 November.
As my hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn pointed out, accessibility is not only about having the right vehicle. We must also ensure that the whole journey is seamless, which means that the infrastructure must be right. The provisions of part III of the Disability Discrimination Act, which deals with access to goods, services and facilities, will apply to railway and bus stations as to any other building to which the public have access.
In the meantime, we will be issuing guidance to transport operators and local authorities on the steps that they should be taking now—in advance of part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995—to examine every aspect of their service provision. That also includes pavements, roads and so on and I hope that my hon. Friend will take some reassurance from that.
My hon. Friend also touched on the issue of access to buildings. That is dealt with by part M of the building regulations, "Access and Facilities for Disabled People", which covers new buildings and extensions including a ground floor. At present, part M covers non-domestic buildings, but later this month regulations will be laid before the House extending the requirements to all new housing.
The statutory requirements require reasonable provision to be made for disabled people to gain access to and to be able to use the building. The provisions cover facilities for people with mobility difficulties, sight and hearing difficulties, areas to which both my hon. Friends the Members for Islwyn and for High Peak referred. Guidance on how the requirements may be met are set out in an approved document. This guidance is not prescriptive and alternative ways of satisfying the statutory requirements may also be acceptable.
The extension to new housing will require access to the principal entrance storey of the dwelling, movement within the principal living storey, and accessible toilet facilities. The object of these requirements is to enable disabled people to visit the homes of friends and relatives and to enable older people to remain in their own homes longer. The requirements do not expect to provide full living conditions for disabled people as these will vary according to the nature of the disability. The approved document for part M will be republished in early November. Separate guidance is also being prepared on how to meet the technical aspects of providing an accessible threshold to the entrance of new dwellings.
1499 The requirements for access to new housing will take effect 12 months after the laying of the regulations, affording time for housebuilders to adjust to the new requirements.
Part M of the building regulations does not apply to existing buildings, but the duties on employers and service providers in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 require reasonable steps to be taken to remove physical obstacles to access. Those duties already apply in the case of employers and will apply to service providers from 2004.
My hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn referred to access audits. They are one way in which employers and service providers may assess what alterations may be required to their premises. There is no statutory obligation to carry out such audits, nor do we believe it reasonable to impose one. We believe that access audits are best advocated as good practice. Both the Access Committee for England and the Centre for Accessible Environments offer guidance on how such audits may be carried out, and the Centre for Accessible Environments has a panel of experts for carrying out such work.
I am sure that we all agree that, regrettably, this is still a developing scene. The form that an audit takes needs to be tailored to the particular circumstances of each case 1500 and building. A broad-brush statutory requirement for such audits could well be, in the present emerging state of the art, a charter for cowboy practices in an area where it is overwhelmingly important to establish confidence in the credibility and realism of such audits and those who perform them.
As my hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn pointed out, most local authorities have appointed an access officer and there is an Access Officers Association which affords support for its members. However, it is possible to combine that role with other duties, normally within the building control or planning departments. We believe that this matter should be left to the discretion of individual local authorities.
I hope that I have been able to demonstrate to my hon. Friends that the Government are fully committed to ensuring that disabled people do not face discrimination in accessing employment, housing, transport and the built environment. We have already made progress towards that and the plans that I have outlined this evening will take us further towards that goal, which, as my hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn pointed out, will be achieved only be everyone working in the closest and most detailed, sympathetic and sensitive of partnerships.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Adjourned accordingly at twenty-nine minutes past Ten o'clock.