Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to consult organisations led by disabled people on the reforms set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is committed to working in partnership with disabled people and the organisations that represent them.

Following on from the publication of the Get Britain Working White Paper, we will establish a disability panel to ensure that disabled people’s views and voices are at the heart of the design and delivery of our employment reforms. We will carry out in-depth consultations to seek input and expertise from a wide range of stakeholders including disabled people, community groups and employers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to consult organisations led by disabled people on an accessibility road map for rail travel.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Ensuring accessibility for all passengers is at the heart of the Government’s passenger-focussed approach. We know that the experience for disabled people when traveling on rail too often falls short of what is expected and what passengers deserve. We are committed to improving the experience for disabled passengers and have committed to publishing an accessibility roadmap to explain the actions we are taking to improve accessibility ahead of GBR.

We are working to define the approach to development of the roadmap, but I confirm we will engage with disabled people and key organisations, in line with our commitment in the House of Lords as part of the debate on the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act, in order to ensure that it addresses the issues and needs of passengers who require assistance.