1st Report – Access denied: rights versus reality in disabled people's access to transport
Select Committee
Transport Committee
HC 770
20 March 2025
Government response
1st Special Report - Access denied: rights versus reality in disabled people’s access to transport: Government Response · published 13 Jun 2025
Recommendations & Conclusions
10 results
1
Conclusion
Accepted
Mandate adequately funded and planned involvement of disabled people in developing transport accessibility solutions.
Conclusion
Aside from the structural legal issues, it is clear from the evidence that myriad specific practical issues need to be addressed, across all transport modes and relating to all kinds of disability, to improve compliance and practice on a daily …
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Government Response Summary
The government states it will act on the practical accessibility issues raised by the inquiry and will ensure operators and regulators treat accessibility as a fundamental and prioritised expectation.
Department for Transport
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2
Conclusion
Accepted
Inclusive Transport Strategy's 2030 equal access goal will not be met on current trajectory.
Conclusion
The 2018 Inclusive Transport Strategy set a goal of “creating a transport system offering equal access for disabled people by 2030”. Regardless of the status of individual actions set out in that Strategy, it is evident that the overall goal …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts that its strategic approach to accessibility needs improvement and will embed it as a 'golden thread' within the forthcoming Integrated Transport Strategy (INTS), focusing on a clear action plan and milestones.
Department for Transport
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4
Recommendation
Accepted
Establish accessibility as a non-negotiable policy goal for all government decision-making.
Recommendation
Decision-makers too often deem accessibility to be in conflict with, and less important than, other policy goals, technical requirements or cost pressures. The Government’s starting point must be that accessibility has to be delivered, not that it will only be …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts that accessibility must be a "golden thread" in transport system design and operation, committing to embedding it within the forthcoming Integrated Transport Strategy with clear action plans and milestones to ensure it is not sidelined.
Department for Transport
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8
Conclusion
Accepted
Routine rail assistance failures are unacceptable and must become vanishingly rare occurrences.
Conclusion
The seemingly routine, everyday nature of assistance failures on the rail network is unacceptable. Accessibility must not be viewed through the same lens as customer service, where less than 100 per cent performance is considered normal. Accessibility failures should be …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the need to improve its strategic approach to accessibility, committing to embed it as a 'golden thread' within a forthcoming Inclusive Transport Strategy (INTS) which will include a clear action plan and milestones.
Department for Transport
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9
Recommendation
Accepted
Embed accountability for accessibility failures and collect comprehensive data on occurrences.
Recommendation
The Government’s new strategy for inclusive transport should set out what practical measures it will take to embed the principle that every instance of not meeting accessibility obligations constitutes a serious failure for which operators and service providers will be …
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Government Response Summary
The government commits to embedding accountability measures and a clear action plan within its forthcoming Inclusive Transport Strategy to address accessibility obligations and failures.
Department for Transport
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11
Recommendation
Accepted
Change processes to build accessibility into departmental decision-making and internal checks.
Recommendation
The Department must set out in response to this report how it will change its processes in order to build accessibility into decision-making processes both internally and at agencies overseen by the Department, and how it will ensure that internal …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees to integrate accessibility into decision-making, stating it will review business case guidance and associated processes to better reflect impacts on people with disabilities. It has also expanded its People and Equalities Centre of Excellence (PECoE) team to drive internal culture change.
Department for Transport
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12
Conclusion
Accepted
Overdue aspiration to involve DPTAC more thoroughly in wider transport policy welcomed.
Conclusion
We welcome the aspiration expressed by the Department in the last Parliament to involve the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee more thoroughly in the policy-making process beyond policy specific to accessibility. This was long overdue, considering that DPTAC was established …
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Government Response Summary
The government states that the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) already plays a key role across all aspects of policy development and has agreed to enhance its public reporting by publishing regular updates and meeting minutes.
Department for Transport
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18
Conclusion
Accepted
Government’s rail reform consultation document shows weak focus on transport accessibility for disabled people.
Conclusion
We welcome the focus in the Government’s rail reform consultation paper on streamlining, consolidating and strengthening powers for protecting passenger interests, resolving complaints and monitoring rights and standards. However, the focus on accessibility in the consultation document appears relatively weak …
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Government Response Summary
The government confirms the forthcoming Railways Bill will create a new passenger watchdog, which was proposed to have an explicit duty on accessibility for monitoring and advocating improvements, with the full consultation response due later this year.
Department for Transport
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19
Conclusion
Accepted
Disabled people face an unreasonable burden when pursuing transport accessibility complaints.
Conclusion
An unreasonable burden is currently placed on disabled people themselves in holding transport operators and authorities to account for fulfilling their duties. Legal action is rarely a practical option for most individuals, so it is especially important that complaints processes …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the complexity of complaints processes and is already working with disabled people's groups to improve information. It will undertake further work to explore simplifying complaints processes and escalation routes across modes, starting with assessing bus complaints pathways.
Department for Transport
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23
Conclusion
Accepted
Transport accessibility legislative and regulatory framework is overly complicated and fragmented.
Conclusion
The landscape of legislative and regulatory requirements for transport accessible is overly complicated and fragmented and needs to adapt to changing uses of transport. This prevents both operators and travellers readily understanding rights and obligations, and makes redress harder to …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the conclusion that transport accessibility legislation is complicated and commits to having the Law Commission undertake a review of the framework to provide clearer standards.
Department for Transport
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