Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure compliance with EU regulation 181/2011 by which disability awareness training for bus drivers has been a legal requirement since March 2018.

Effective disability awareness and equality training can play an important role in giving transport staff the knowledge, skills and confidence to support disabled passengers. We have already worked with disabled people and the bus industry to develop best practice guidance to support the implementation of mandatory disability awareness training, and are now developing a monitoring and enforcement framework to ensure that the new requirements result in drivers better able to respond to passenger needs. We will also ask operators about their plans in this year’s Annual Bus Statistics survey, and plan to publish the results, subject to quality considerations. Responding appropriately to the needs of disabled passengers should be an integral element of strong customer service, and I encourage all operators to ensure that their staff understand the rights and requirements of disabled people, and how to help them have a safe and comfortable journey.