Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what provision is made for rail passengers under the Think Autism strategy; what steps he has taken to raise awareness of the needs of rail passengers with learning and developmental disabilities; and what recent discussions he has held with train operating companies and Network Rail about the structure and effectiveness of their disability awareness training courses.

All customer facing rail staff and managers are required to receive disability awareness training relevant to all disabilities. It is for the industry to decide on the detailed content of the syllabus, but an overview of this training should be submitted to the Office of Rail Regulation annually. We will also intend to commission research on developing good practice guidance on disability awareness training for rail, taxi and bus staff which will address all disabilities, particularly cognitive impairments such as autism.