Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Meeting date: Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Official Report 602KB pdf

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Public Petitions

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Wheelchair Users (Improvements to Bus Travel) (PE1866)

Agenda item 3 is consideration of petition PE1866, which was lodged by Daryl Cooper in May 2021. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to introduce legislation to provide for wheelchair users to be able to face frontwards when travelling on a bus.

I refer members to paper 3, which provides background information and outlines possible actions.

At our meeting on 1 November 2022, the committee considered the petition and agreed to keep it open. The committee agreed to write to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to ask how local authorities were delivering improvements for wheelchair users on public buses. It also agreed to make representations to the UK Government on its upcoming review of the rules that govern accessibility on public transport.

I turn to committee members for their views. I note, in particular, the options that are set out in paragraph 18 of paper 3, which are to keep the petition open and await the outcome of the review of the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000, which is expected later this year, before agreeing further action, or to close the petition on the basis that the committee has exhausted all options to progress it and to agree to write to the House of Commons Transport Committee, which is undertaking an inquiry on accessible transport, to inform it of the petition and the concerns that it highlights and ask it to let us know the outcome of its inquiry. What are members’ views?

The petition raises important issues, and I am sure that we are all grateful to the petitioner for the work that they have done. It would be good if we could do more at this committee, and it is a little bit frustrating that we cannot, but I understand the reasons why. I recognise that the matter will be looked at in the House of Commons, so it is important that we write to the Transport Committee to consolidate the work that has been done here and express the views that we have obtained. I hope that the select committee can keep us informed.

I agree with that. The issue has been brought to our attention and we have brought it to the attention of other relevant authorities. The point of the petition was legislation, but it is a reserved matter. If, as it is suggested, the House of Commons Transport Committee will be looking at accessible transport, we should write to draw to its attention the specific issue of front-facing wheelchair users and to ask whether it will come back to us once it has conducted its inquiry. Our job as a committee has probably come to a reasonable conclusion.

Looking around at committee members, I think that we are agreed that we should write to the Transport Committee to make it aware of the petition and our concerns in this area and ask it to inform us of the outcome of the inquiry so that we can consider that. The petition has come to a natural conclusion and, therefore, we should close it. Obviously, we should write to the petitioner to ensure that they are aware of what we are doing and why we are doing it. Is the committee agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

That concludes the public part of our meeting.

11:15 Meeting continued in private until 12:31.