§ Dr. Twinnasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to ensure that in future taxis in London are suitable for carrying disabled people including those in wheelchairs.
§ Mrs. ChalkerMy Department has bought and is testing early prototypes of a new London taxi to ensure its suitability to carry wheelchair bound and other disabled people.
Any amendment to the conditions of fitness with which all London taxis must comply is a matter for the appropriate assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police as licensing authority. My Department will be discussing with him the possibility of amending the conditions of fitness to require any future design of taxi to be capable of accommodating a passenger seated in a wheelchair. We shall also be consulting representatives of the cab trade early in the new year.