§ Mr. Bowen Wellsasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider introducing arrangements for the county societies for the blind and local clubs to be involved during the planning stages of alterations to roads and railways.
§ Mrs. ChalkerBritish Rail already has a well developed system for consultation at both national and local level where alterations to the railway affect disabled people. Other railways, such as the Tyne and Wear Metro, have similar systems.
My Department consults groups and organisations of all kinds where they are directly affected by national road proposals. Notification of road proposals is, however, normally made through national organisations. I shall be happy to include one or more national organisations representing blind people in the standard distribution list if they so wish.