Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill

Catherine Atkinson Excerpts

Tuesday 19th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)]

rose—

[Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)]

rose—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call Graham Leadbitter.

--- Later in debate ---

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. The hon. Member for Derby North would have been called sooner if she had been consistent with her bobbing, but I know she has been here throughout the debate, so I call Catherine Atkinson.

[Catherine Atkinson]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I rise to speak in favour of Lords amendment 3 and the public sector equality duty. I welcome the Government’s plans for an accessible road map, and the fact that they will work with disabled communities to ensure that the Bill properly meets the needs of people with disabilities who travel on our trains. In the other place the Minister for Rail noted that although some changes can happen quickly, such as the map, others take longer due to the longevity of rolling stock.

I encourage the Government to work with rolling stock manufacturers to formulate a plan as to what changes need to be made to our trains, so that they can be modernised to ensure that future generations of stock serve the disabled community. Given the direction on accessibility, sustainability and affordability, I know that not only the east midlands rail cluster that my constituency is in but the whole industry will be inspired to be the first, so that other countries will want to follow. I hope that Lords amendment 3 will encourage all those who are championing improvements for our disabled communities.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the Secretary of State to wind up.