Asked by: Anna Firth (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure train stations are wheelchair accessible.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As part of the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement in October, the Government confirmed £350m will be made available to improve the accessibility of Britain’s train stations. We are assessing over 300 nominations for funding from April 2024 as part of the Access for All programme. At stations awarded funding we will deliver an obstacle free, accessible route from the station entrance to platforms. Successful nominations will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on people with disabilities of staffing unstaffed stations.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Staffing levels at railway stations is a matter for each train operator which are required by the Office of Rail and Road to establish and comply with an Accessible Travel Policy (ATP). An ATP sets out, among other things, the arrangements and assistance that an operator will provide to protect the interests of disabled people using its services and to facilitate such use.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether officials in his Department have had discussions with the Rail Delivery Group on the potential merits of expanding the provision for set down and pick up areas for wheelchair and blue badge holders at railway stations across the network.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Train operating companies are responsible for managing station car parks and we expect them to take into consideration the needs of their passengers and the views of local partners. Operators are also expected to set out how assistance will be provided around the station, including when connecting from the train to the car park, as part of their Accessible Travel Policy.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on the number of train stations which did not have (a) tactile paving, (b) disabled toilets, (c) changing places toilets and (d) step-free access to platforms as of 19 July 2023.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport recently completed an accessibility audit of all 2,577 stations. This data is now with the Great British Railways Transition Team who are considering how to make it available to the public and we will announce further details in due course. This is in addition to the Government’s commitment to ensure tactile paving is installed at every mainline station in Great Britain.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what training railway staff receive on supporting the accessibility needs of people with disabilities.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
All station operators must establish and comply with an Accessible Travel Policy (ATP) that states how they will protect the interests of disabled passengers at stations and provides an overview of the accessibility of station facilities and services. As part of the ATP, operators must ensure that all frontline staff undertake disability awareness training, and that staff must receive refresher training within 2 years of receipt of disability awareness or disability equality training. Additionally, the Department mandates through its contracts with train operators that all staff with management responsibilities have undertaken this training.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2023 to Question 191230 on Railway Stations: Disability, when he expects the Great British Railways Transition Team to publish data on the accessibility of station facilities.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Great British Railways Transition Team is working with Network Rail and the Department to consider how to make Accessibility Audit data available to the public. This work is underway, and we will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that blind and partially-sighted people continue to have access to ticket offices at railway stations.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of disabled passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider all equality related needs and make this clear in their consultation.
Together with the industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.
Station staff will still provide face-to-face services on the railways, which assists those who need additional support, and cannot or do not want to use contactless or mobile tickets. All staff in customer facing roles or with managed responsibilities undertake enhanced disability awareness training and TOCs are already required to provide this. These reforms will not affect these arrangements.
The Department recently hosted roundtable discussions with industry and accessibility and transport groups to discuss this matter and ensure their views are understood. We continue to engage with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee through the process.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 1 February 2022 to Question 113209 on Railway Stations: Disability, what progress his Department has made on conducting a network-wide accessibility audit of station facilities at all 2,565 mainline railway stations in Great Britain to inform future investment decisions.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Work is now complete on auditing all stations across Great Britain to understand how accessible they are for passengers with a range of requirements. We have commissioned the Great British Railways Transition Team to implement data platforms to (a) allow passengers to access this information to better plan their journeys and (b) allow the rail industry to better plan how they operate the network.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reduced levels of train station staffing on people with disabilities.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Plan for Rail sets out the industry’s ambition to move staff from behind the ticket office screens to help passengers wherever they are at the station and so to provide a better service. Moving staff from ticket offices to more visible and accessible roles around stations can help passengers more, which is crucial for those who need additional support. The industry recognises station staff are beneficial for passengers’ safety, and no currently staffed stations will become unstaffed as a result of this reform.
Ministers have been engaging closely with the rail industry as it develops staffing and retailing reforms and have been working with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) and other passenger advocacy groups to ensure any impact on passengers is considered. Train and station operators are required by their operating licences to establish and comply with an Accessible Travel Policy (ATP) which must be approved by the Office of Rail and Road, the independent regulator. An ATP sets out, among other things, the arrangements and assistance that an operator will provide to protect the interests of disabled people using its services and to facilitate such use.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many stations do not have wheelchair access to each platform; and what steps he is taking to reduce this number.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Around one fifth of stations in Great Britain currently have step free access, but we are improving our understanding of accessibility at stations through a full GB wide audit that is expected to complete by Spring. We continue to improve accessibility through the Access for All programme, which has provided step free accessible routes at over 200 stations so far.