(Cambridge)
(Lab):...New clause 4 would insert a new section 6AA into
the Transport Act 1985 and make it a condition for registration of
all buses in England that the operator has policies in place to
ensure that it is able in every circumstance to conform to its duty
to make adjustments for any disabled passenger on the bus. The
condition would be enforced by the traffic commissioner, who
already has responsibility for bus registration. The new clause
comes following the Supreme Court decision in FirstGroup v.
Paulley...
(Nottingham South)
(Lab): I rise to support new clauses 3 and 4 and to
speak to new clauses 7 and 9. Let me begin with new clause 7. My
hon. Friend mentioned the Supreme Court decision in the case
of FirstGroup Plc v. Paulley, which
attracted a great deal of interest and led to the need for
further clarification, which new clause 7 seeks to provide.
Perhaps it would be helpful to remind the Committee of the
Paulley case, which gave rise to the need for a change.
What happened to Mr Paulley was typical of the experience of many
wheelchair users who attempt to board buses. He was told that he
could not get on a bus because the women whose pushchair was
occupying the wheelchair space refused to move. Mr Paulley was
successful in winning his case through the Supreme Court, which
held that FirstGroup’s policy did not go far enough, and
that the driver should have done more to assist in securing the
space for Mr Paulley. FirstGroup was not under an obligation to
have a priority policy for wheelchair users requiring that
someone who unreasonably refused to vacate the wheelchair space
had to leave the bus. Effectively, that means that a priority
policy for wheelchair users lacks the teeth of enforcement. That
is despite the fact that, under conduct regulations, someone who
is eating smelly food or otherwise causing a nuisance and refuses
to stop can be asked to leave the vehicle. That seems out of
kilter...
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