Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the statutory definition is of a disability access vehicle; and whether that definition is different to a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

The Commission Regulation EU/678/2011, which amends EU Directive 2007/46/EC, defines a wheelchair accessible vehicle as a vehicle of Category M1 constructed or converted specifically so that they accommodate one or more persons seated in their wheelchairs when travelling on the road.

The Road Vehicle (Approval) Regulations 2009, which implement Directive 2007/46/EC in the United Kingdom, define a disabled person’s vehicle as a vehicle constructed or adapted to enable a person with a disability to travel in the vehicle as a driver or a passenger, in safety and reasonable comfort.