§ Lady HermonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in Northern Ireland. [142686]
717W
§ Mr. SpellarMost provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) have been implemented in Northern Ireland. The final provisions of part III of the DDA concerning the rights of access to goods, facilities, services and premises will be implemented in October 2004 when service providers may have to make `reasonable adjustments' in relation to the physical features of their premises to overcome physical barriers to access.
Part V of the DDA allows for accessibility standards to be set for public transport. Beginning in March/April 2004, the Department of the Environment expects to consult on proposals to implement the UK Government's commitment on making (public hire) taxis accessible to disabled people. Draft measures will have regard to taxi accessibility proposals announced for England and Wales in October 2003 and will form part of a wide range of measures to reform taxi regulation emerging from the on-going NI Review of Taxi Regulation.
Under section 37 of DDA, the Department of the Environment introduced regulations on 1 August 2001 imposing on licensed drivers of public hire taxis a duty to carry without charge a guide dog, hearing dog or other prescribed category of dog when it accompanies the hirer. The provision also provides that such a driver may be exempted from this obligation on medical grounds. It is the Department's intention to extend similar provisions under section 37A to licensed drivers of private hire vehicles in mid 2004.
The Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (NI) 2003 came into operation on 30 April 2003. The regulations are intended to ensure that disabled people can get on and off buses and coaches in safety and without unreasonable difficulty, and in the case of wheelchair users, can do so while remaining in their wheelchairs. They are also intended to ensure that disabled people are carried in these vehicles in safety and in reasonable comfort e.g., they provide for wheelchair spaces, boarding lifts and ramps, suitable entrances and exits, handrails and kneeling systems.
The Department for Regional Development made Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (Northern Ireland) on 2 July 2001. All new trains, including the 23 currently being built for Northern Ireland Railways, must comply with these regulations