The Commons Buses Bill Committee today debated proposed amendments to the Buses Bill to ensure mandatory disability awareness training for bus drivers, and to enforce priority for disabled people to use the wheelchair space on buses.
The Houses of Parliament have a serious security problem with their Parliament TV website which means I can’t embed the video here:
However you can watch it direct on the Parliament Live TV website. The accessibility-related amendments were debated between about 12:07pm and 12:55pm. If you’re going to watch it, I recommend having the list of amendments handy. “New Clauses” 3, 4 and 7 are the ones – marked “NC3, NC4” and “NC7” on the right of the amendments paper.
Parliament have not subtitled this video, but the record of the debate should be made available on Hansard and thus TheyWorkForYou.com tomorrow – I’ll link it when it’s published.
My summary:
- bus companies will have to do disability awareness training for their drivers come March next year
- Andrew Jones MP has set up a small working group of people from bus companies and disabled people to look at the practicalities of implementing priority for disabled people in the wheelchair space, which will do its work over the summer
- the two Labour MPs argued repeatedly, clearly and cogently for enforceable priority for disabled people for the wheelchair space, and for such to happen quickly.
The amendments were collectively withdrawn and/or voted down, on the basis that the changes asked for are either already in place or there are clear plans to make them happen, and because NC7 didn’t add anything to existing legislation.
We carry on fighting…