Local Transport Bill [HL]

I am grateful to the noble Earl, Lord Attlee, for the passionate way in which he has put forward the needs of blind and partially sighted people who use buses and who may wish to comment on proposals for quality contracts schemes. As the noble Earl will know, there are other groups who, for one reason or another, are unable to read printed text. Local authorities of course have general responsibilities towards people with visual impairment under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. We therefore fully expect local authorities to take their particular needs into account. Since December 2006, it has also been unlawful for certain transport operators, including bus operators, to discriminate against disabled people in the provision of goods, facilities or services, or to fail to make a reasonable adjustment so that their services are accessible. Where a local authority wishes to consult all members of the public, or all constituents living in a particular area, it needs to make provision for those who cannot read normal printed matter. A talking newspaper, if there is one in the area, may be an efficient way of doing so. However, as the noble Earl has said, the Transport Act 2000 does not require the local transport authority to consult all members of the public, but only various representative bodies. These consultation requirements are not being substantially modified by this Bill and there will continue to be a requirement to consult organisations which represent local users. Advertising in a local newspaper—a common requirement in legislation—gives the public a reasonable opportunity to respond. I take on board the point made by the noble Earl about the typeface of that print and the importance of it being easily read. But even doing that is not, and cannot claim to be, a guarantee that it will reach everyone. Many people do not read a local newspaper and those who do may not read them from cover to cover. The primary consultation is with the representative organisations. The precise way in which consultation is carried out is left very much to the discretion of the authorities. We would not wish to make the requirement more prescriptive than it needs to be. Many, I hope, will want to consult local organisations representing blind or partially sighted people and people with other forms of disability. They also may want to consult representatives of certain minority groups. How best an individual authority does this without going to disproportionate lengths is very much a matter for each to determine, taking into account the particular nature of their local area. All local authorities are accustomed to consulting on all manner of issues and I see no need why the general duties on local authorities in this area should not be seen as adequate. Nevertheless, we have looked at this amendment very seriously. We have an opportunity to include something relevant in the guidance to local authorities. The important thing will be to draw their attention to the need to consult local representatives of disabled people who may have an effective means of communicating with their members in the most appropriate medium. I accept that this point is not covered in the published draft, but there will be plenty of opportunities to add to that. I shall certainly draw this to the attention of departmental officials working on the guidance document. I hope, with those assurances, that I can persuade the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment.