§ Mr. EvennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he plans to make a statement on the review of the role of the Access Committee for England. [31735]
§ Mr. BurtI am pleased that the review acknowledged the valuable work undertaken by the Access Committee for England in providing a forum for discussion that involves all interested parties and in fostering local access groups. The review also found that the committee's ministerial advisory role had worked less well. This finding, allied with the setting up of the National Disability Council to advise the Government on issues relating to discrimination against disabled people, has persuaded me and my hon. Friends the Minister for Construction, Planning and Energy Efficiency and the Under-Secretary for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Mr. Bowis), that this aspect of ACE' s work should cease. We have therefore agreed to offer funding for the committee for two years from April 1996 to allow time for it to continue to develop those areas where it has proved most effective. These arrangements will be reviewed before the end of that period.
This revised remit will enable ACE to focus more clearly on promoting the accessibility to disabled people of buildings and of indoor and outdoor environments—including housing—by:
actively promoting the formation of local access groups and providing them with advice and support;providing a focal point for information on access matters for individual disabled people and others, referring them where appropriate to other agencies;consulting and offering practical advice on access matters to local government associations, industrial and commercial representative organisations. professional bodies, voluntary organisations and other interested groups; andadvising local authorities and other agencies which may be considering the designation of access officers.In view of the committee's changed role, I shall no longer have any responsibility for appointing members or determining its constitution.
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