§ Mr. DoddsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he plans to tackle discrimination against people with disabilities in the areas of(a) transport and (b) access to public buildings. [159557]
§ Mr. SpellarThe information is as follows:
(a) A number of measures in relation to transport will extend protection for people with disabilities. The Department of the Environment intends to begin consultation in May 2004 on proposals to implement the UK Government's commitment on making (public
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(a) Seizures by Police Service of Northern Ireland 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 April-December 2003 Cocaine Powder(gms) 470.05 4,923.27 340.28 1,701.36 3,399.88 3,023.87 11,740.31 Wraps 4 0 0 0 4 12 5 Crack cocaine (gms) 62.5 31.51 10.5 43.13 66.5 50 9.2 Heroin Powder (gms) 143.29 227.54 464.82 3114.05 92.11 316.01 169.87 Ampoules 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Mls 0 125.96 2.72 121.01 366 84.26 63.10 Wraps 0 6 11 16 69 1 1 hire) taxis accessible to people with disabilities. The Department also intends to extend provisions relating to the carrying of guide dogs, hearing dogs and other prescribed categories of dogs to licensed drivers of private hire vehicles in mid 2004.
The Northern Ireland Executive agreed in principle to proceed to the removal of the transport exemption from Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) in Northern Ireland. It is proposed to issue a Northern Ireland consultation document by May 2004 on the removal of the exemption based on the consultation by the Department for Transport in Great Britain. It is also planned to amend Part V of the DDA in respect of Northern Ireland by taking powers to amend the rail Vehicle Accessibility (NI) Regulations 2001.
(b) Additional duties on service providers will come into effect on 1 October 2004. This is the last of three stages placing duties on service providers to help eliminate discrimination in the area of access to services for disabled people and means that service providers may have to make other "reasonable adjustments" in relation to the physical features of their premises to overcome physical barriers to access.