rose to move, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Rail Vehicle Accessibility (B2007 Vehicles) Exemption Order 2008.

The noble Lord said: The provision of an accessible public transport system in which disabled people can have the same opportunities to travel as other members of society is a key factor in improving the life chances of disabled people and promoting social inclusion. Without accessible transport, those who are disabled are limited in their ability to access work, visit friends and family, participate in leisure, or access healthcare and education facilities. That is why we have taken strong action to ensure that public transport services are increasingly accessible to the estimated 11 million disabled people in the United Kingdom.

Regulations requiring all new rail vehicles, buses and coaches to be accessible have already been introduced. There are already around 4,700 accessible rail vehicles in service which are covered by the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations, widely referred to as the RVAR. We should remember that many thousands of older vehicles have been made more accessible during refurbishment.

We have strengthened these measures further by setting in the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 a date of 1 January 2020 by which all rail vehicles must be accessible. Another consequence of the Act, introduced at the express wish of your Lordships, is our securing greater scrutiny of applications for exemptions from parts of the RVAR, which is why we are here this afternoon. This is the first request for an exemption for two years.

In the case that we are considering today, the Docklands Light Railway wishes to introduce 55 new vehicles to allow longer trains, extensions to the network and increased frequencies, which will benefit all passengers. The DLR is already one of the most accessible transport networks in the country. Every station has lifts or ramps that allow step-free access to the platform, and there is level access between the platform and the train. However, because the DLR was opened before we introduced rail accessibility legislation, it has some constraints which prevent the new vehicles complying fully with the regulations. These relate to the train control and signalling system and the gap between platforms and trains at some, although not all, stations.

These new vehicles also include some features that are not currently permitted under the regulations. These features are based on the experience of operators and passengers since the regulations were introduced in 1998, and I give notice that we intend to bring forward a revised version of the RVAR later this year that would incorporate these improvements.

The order will result in significant improvements for all passengers. It enjoys the full support of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee—the Government’s statutory advisory body on the transport needs of disabled people—Her Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate and Members in the other place. For those reasons, I commend it to the Committee. I beg to move.

Moved, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Rail Vehicle Accessibility (B2007 Vehicles) Exemption Order 2008. 10th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.—(Lord Bassam of Brighton.)

I am grateful for the Minister’s careful explanation of this order. I have no difficulty with it but it is right that we have a relatively high hurdle to clear, to ensure that the industry and officials do not quickly reach for an exemption order without having exhausted all possible alternatives.

I, too, am pleased to support this exemption order. I have used the Docklands Light Railway and believe that it is almost a platinum model which many other railways would be wise to follow. When we consider disabled access and possibly a revision of the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations, to which the Minister referred, we always have to have regard not only to the cost of doing the work but to whether, with limited money available, that money would best be spent here or in many other places where accessibility is a good deal worse. As I said, I think that the Docklands Light Railway is almost an exemplar and there would be no great difficulty in disabled people using the trains. Therefore, I am pleased to support what the Minister has said.

I am grateful to both noble Lords. I do not really have a question or a point to which to respond. I am grateful for the keen interest that noble Lords take in these matters. The DLR is one of the most accessible rail networks in this country and it is generally to be congratulated on the high threshold that it establishes in terms of accessibility. It was developed some 20 years ago and obviously things have moved on, but this exemption order is important and we plan to match as closely as possible the very high thresholds and standards that have been established for the DLR.

On Question, Motion agreed to.