Rail Services (Hansard, 7 September 2004)

§ Mr. Jenkin
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to paragraph 5.3.5 of The Future of Rail, Cm.6233, what estimate he has made of the total amount of money elected regional assemblies would be able to spend on improving rail services in(a) the North East, (b) the North West and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber. [186154]

§ Mr. McNulty
Elected regional assemblies will be given flexibility to decide how much money to spend on rail passenger improvements within the resources available to them. The level of government funding available to assemblies will be determined in due course.

§ Mr. Wiggin
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from the Leonard Cheshire Foundation regarding equal access for disabled people to the rail network. [186971]

§ Mr. McNulty
The Department regularly meets with major disability organisations including the Leonard Cheshire Foundation and frequently consults and corresponds with them, both directly and through correspondence with Members. We have recently responded to a number of inquiries generated by the Foundation's "All Aboard" campaign.

§ Mr. Wiggin
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has commissioned regarding the Government's rail end date of 2055 and the viability of alternatives proposed by the Leonard Cheshire Foundation. [186972]

§ Mr. McNulty
The Government first consulted on an 'end date', by which time all rail vehicles must comply with the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations, last November, as part of a consultation on our proposals for amending the rail provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act. Various dates were considered, looking both at the needs of disabled people and at the financial implications for the rail industry, and we indicated that we favoured 2025.
The consultation included a draft regulatory impact assessment which was based on an independent economic appraisal of the various options. We are committed to further consultation before a final date is set in regulations. This will take full account of the responses to the November consultation, including that received from the Leonard Cheshire Foundation, and the recommendation of the Joint Scrutiny Committee on the draft Disability Discrimination Bill.