§ Mr. SykesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment he has made of the economic impact of the Disability Discrimination Bill on the provision of rural transport services; [31681]
(2) if he will list the representations which have been made to him by the transport industry on the Disability Discrimination Bill; [31682]
(3) what assessment he has made of the impact of the Disability Discrimination Bill on the international competitiveness of the United Kingdom transport industry. [31672]
§ Mr. NorrisIt is not our intention to impose any requirements that will jeopardise either manufacturing or operating industries in the UK.
We recognise that different solutions will be needed, for example, for different types of vehicle, or for the same type of vehicle operating under different conditions as may be the case for some rural services. Similarly, we envisage that different time scales will have to be applied. The flexibility to achieve this in regulations has been built in to the new clause which were moved in Committee in the House of Lords on 27 June.
Officials have already begun detailed discussions at industry level through the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the Confederation of Passenger Transport. In addition, they are visiting a number of individual manufacturers to discuss in detail how we can make accessibility requirements work effectively. Those discussions will be continuing as we work up the detail of the regulations.
Full compliance cost assessments will be produced before any regulations are made.