Disabled Access (Aviation Industry)

Lisa Nandy Excerpts

Wednesday 7th November 2012 Westminster Hall

[Lisa Nandy (Wigan) (Lab)]

I sincerely congratulate the hon. Gentleman on initiating this important debate. Does he agree that a key issue is to ensure that the pioneering airlines and companies, which are leading the way in this field by observing not just the letter but the spirit of the law, are rewarded, and that companies that do not do that ought to be penalised? There is a strong role for the Department for Transport, in ensuring that there is a level playing field for the companies that are trying to do the right thing.

[Graham Evans]

The hon. Lady is entirely right. Proactive good practice is encouraged, and I will come on to mention a certain company, and a certain individual who has been busy doing a lot of good work on that issue.

At every stage of the travel process there must be clear checks and balances, to ensure that the right information is being given and passed on, and that legislation is being adhered to. I would like to break down the travel process into the three stages of booking, at the airport, and on the plane, and to review the issues and the examples of good practice—such as those the hon. Lady just mentioned—and to consider how we can improve.

First, let us consider the booking process. Under EU legislation, it is illegal to refuse bookings because of disability, but half of respondents in the study had disability-related problems when booking airline tickets. The central principle of the law is that passengers need to advise as to their needs before travel, with persons with reduced mobility, known as PRMs, being required to give at least 48-hours’ notice. The process, however, is often convoluted, complicated and costly, with unnecessary paperwork or long, repetitious conversations.

Article 11 of the EU regulation states that air carriers and airport managing staff should have training in understanding mobility requirements. However, I support the Department for Transport’s code, which suggests that all staff in the aviation industry should be trained, so that the first point of communication covers the needs of the passenger. If a carer is needed, it is critical that seats be placed together and, where possible, chosen to best suit needs and enable better access. That is basic stuff, and although some airlines are doing it well, others are clearly failing.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lisa Nandy (Wigan) (Lab)]

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in the debate, and I am particularly grateful to the hon. Member for Weaver Vale (Graham Evans) for initiating it. I echo everything he said on this important subject.

I have taken an interest in the accessibility of public transport since I was approached by a group of constituents a couple of years ago as a new Member of Parliament. They told me the most appalling stories about their experiences on public transport, some of which happened because others had wilfully not done what they were supposed to do or taken the care we would expect, and some of which happened because nobody had really thought about things. It is clear from many of the stories we have heard today that proactive engagement with this issue could not be more important.

I am quite angry about the lack of progress that we have made on the accessibility of public transport in general and in the aviation industry in particular. This is something that really blights the lives of my constituents, of all ages, although I am particularly struck by the stories of young people and especially those born after the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 was passed. That Act—I am not making a party political point—had the support of both sides of the House, but all these years later, the situation facing my constituents and many others around the country is still not good enough.

I will not rehearse the points that have been made, although I agree with everything that has been said. I do, however, want to make the point that the number of complaints that are made is not a good enough indicator of the scale of the problem. I am grateful to the charity Trailblazers for highlighting the fact that many young people who are treated badly, or who have really humiliating experiences, on the transport system simply do not complain, because the experience was bad enough the first time, and they do not want to relive it. One of the most damning indictments to emerge from one of the first inquiries Trailblazers did was that it was incredibly difficult to get young people to speak about their experiences on public transport, because those experiences were so traumatic the first time round that they simply did not want to talk about them again. We cannot rely on people coming forward and reliving their experiences; we need proactive monitoring, and I hope the Minister will say something about that.

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for pointing out that this is not just about physical disability. We focus a lot on wheelchairs, and rightly so, but there are a whole host of issues facing people who have additional needs on all forms of public transport and in relation to aviation. The hon. Gentleman talked about many of those issues, and I will not rehearse them, but I echo what he said, particularly about colostomy bags.

There are real issues facing people with learning disabilities—sight problems and other issues—and we need to take that into account. As the hon. Member for Weaver Vale said so compellingly, this is about our attitude to people in general and our attitude to customer service. As someone who worked with disabled children for many years before coming into Parliament, I think we need a real shift in our attitude right across society. The attitude in this country is largely that it is the responsibility of people with disabilities to try to adapt to existing society, and that is completely the wrong way to look at this. It is our responsibility to be inclusive, and if we get that right for people with disabilities, we get it right for everybody. There is much more that can and should be done.

I am particularly grateful to the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard) for making the really important point about consultation. About a year ago, I held a debate in this Chamber about accessibility problems, which focused mainly on buses and trains. I met the Minister afterwards—he kindly agreed to meet me because he had been called away and was not able to attend—so he will know of my concerns. One of the key issues that was brought to my attention related to the Pendolino service, which we have already discussed. I have some admiration for the way Virgin has approached this issue and the way it has designed its Pendolino trains, but many constituents have raised with me the fact that there are just two wheelchair spaces on each Pendolino train—one in standard and the other in first class, which means they are at different ends of the train. Quite understandably, many of my constituents who travel in wheelchairs have friends who are also in wheelchairs—they will have met one another through various support groups—but it is impossible for them to travel together, which is something most of us would simply take for granted. When I put that to Virgin, the company was very helpful, but as has been acknowledged, once trains have been commissioned, designed and built, it is too late to change them, because they last a long time. We therefore condemn yet another generation to struggle when we could have got things right in the first place. That is why I say to the Minister and all other Members that consultation is important.

I want to place on record my concerns about the demise of the disabled persons transport advisory committee. Will the Minister tell us what arrangements have been made for the successor body we were promised?

As the Minister will know, I firmly believe that there is a role for the Government beyond co-ordination. Their co-ordinating role is incredibly important, but there is also a need to create a level playing field for those companies that go way beyond the letter of the law and observe the spirit of the law by trying to pioneer good practice. It is completely wrong that those companies do not receive any additional credit for their efforts, beyond us in the House perhaps occasionally paying lip service to what they have done. As the hon. Member for Weaver Vale said, one great reward is the purchasing power of people with disabilities, although this is not just about people with disabilities: as many Members have said, most of us will have friends or relatives with accessibility issues on public transport, so that affects us as well.

There is a role for the Government beyond just paying lip service to companies that are trying to be pioneers in this field. One issue I have raised with Ministers is public procurement. I was particularly dismayed by the west coast main line process, which has, of course, gone on to have further difficulties, although I will not dwell on them. I wanted a commitment to accessibility written into the franchise agreement for the west coast main line so that it was up front and centre as part of the tendering process. It is completely wrong that companies that already have such a commitment are not rewarded, and I would be grateful if the Minister said something about how the Government intend to address the issue.

There is also a role for us in Parliament; this is not simply a matter for the Government. One thing that really struck me when I initiated my debate last year was that I had had no idea that the problem was so enormous and affected so many people’s lives every day. I would like all transport companies to report to Parliament once a year on the progress they have made in complying with their obligations, so that those of us who have the luxury of ignoring this problem are simply not allowed to do so.

I do not wish to deny the real progress that has been made thanks to the efforts of dedicated people, some of whom work in the transport industry, and some of whom have campaigned on this issue for a long time. Since I became involved in the debate, I have been inundated with stories from people across the country about the difficulties they face just going about their daily lives and doing things most of us take for granted. There is a thread of indignity and humiliation running through so many of those stories that quite simply has no place in 2012, and it is time that all of us in the House made this issue our priority.