§ Ms KinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which railway operating companies do not permit disabled people's trikes to be carried on their trains; and when each introduced that prohibition. [9466]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThis information is not held by the Department. We understand, however, that a ban on the carriage of scooters and larger powered wheelchairs is applied by the majority of train operating companies. A similar ban was operated pre-privatisation by British Rail.
The Department's statutory advisers, the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, has examined the ban on a number of occasions. It shares the industry's concerns about the stability and manoeuvrability of scooters and has supported the train operating companies' ban. The committee recognises that larger powered vehicles that are designed to give local outdoor mobility are simply too large to be accommodated on public transport.
The regulations we will be making under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 will ensure that wheelchairs constructed to international standard dimensions can be accommodated on new trains. In the meantime, we have been holding discussions with wheelchair manufacturers with the aim of establishing a marking protocol which would indicate to disabled people the suitability of manual and powered wheelchairs for use on public transport to help them make informed choices.