Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport of 11 June 2015, Official Report, column 1310, what the evidential basis is for the statement that almost 100 per cent of bus drivers have received some form of disability awareness training.

Disability awareness training is vital for equipping bus drivers with the knowledge and skills to provide all passengers with the assistance they need, and I am grateful to the industry for ensuring that the majority of drivers can now benefit from it.

Evidence from the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), published in “Summary of responses to the Department for Transport's review of the mandatory disability awareness training exemption applied under EU Regulation 181/2011 (concerning bus and coach passenger rights)” (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-and-coach-drivers-summary-of-disability-awareness-training-review ) in January 2015 estimates that between 2008 and 2013 153,357 drivers undertook disability awareness training as part of their Certificate of Professional Competence, compared to the 130,000 drivers understood to be active in the industry. It is to this that I believe my Hon Friend was referring in her response of the 11^th June 2015.