Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprentices with special educational needs or disabilities have not completed their apprenticeship placements with a five per cent club employer.
Answered by Nick Boles
The table below shows this information for apprenticeship frameworks that are related to the transport Industry.
Table 1: Apprenticeship success rates for learners with a learning difficulty or disability on frameworks related to the transport industry (2013/14)
Frameworks | Overall Success Rate |
Aviation Operations on the Ground | 85.7% |
Driving Goods Vehicles | 70.7% |
Rail Transport Engineering | 81.0% |
Road Passenger Transport - Bus and Coach | 81.0% |
Transport Engineering and Maintenance | 96.2% |
Vehicle Body and Paint Operations | 58.3% |
Vehicle Fitting | 68.8% |
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair | 67.0% |
Vehicle Parts Operations | 72.2% |
Notes
1) Frameworks with fewer than 20 leavers are excluded.
2) Figures for learning difficulties or disabilities are based on self-declaration by the learner
The Department does not collect the information required to estimate 5 per cent club or NHS apprenticeship success rates.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprentices with special educational needs or disabilities have not completed their NHS apprenticeship placements.
Answered by Nick Boles
The table below shows this information for apprenticeship frameworks that are related to the transport Industry.
Table 1: Apprenticeship success rates for learners with a learning difficulty or disability on frameworks related to the transport industry (2013/14)
Frameworks | Overall Success Rate |
Aviation Operations on the Ground | 85.7% |
Driving Goods Vehicles | 70.7% |
Rail Transport Engineering | 81.0% |
Road Passenger Transport - Bus and Coach | 81.0% |
Transport Engineering and Maintenance | 96.2% |
Vehicle Body and Paint Operations | 58.3% |
Vehicle Fitting | 68.8% |
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair | 67.0% |
Vehicle Parts Operations | 72.2% |
Notes
1) Frameworks with fewer than 20 leavers are excluded.
2) Figures for learning difficulties or disabilities are based on self-declaration by the learner
The Department does not collect the information required to estimate 5 per cent club or NHS apprenticeship success rates.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that drivers on public transport are trained to assist disabled passengers.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport (DfT) has work closely with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee to commission work to evaluate the existing Disabled Awareness Training and to produce some guidelines in best practice.
Since September 2008 all professional bus and coach drivers have been required to hold a Certificate of Professional Competence as a requirement of the EU Directive 2003/59. Disability Awareness Training is currently available to all drivers as part of the periodic Certificate of Professional Competence training syllabus. The bus industry has reported that virtually all drivers have now undertaken Disability Awareness Training and DfT will continue to work with the industry to encourage the further uptake of disability awareness training by bus and coach drivers.
The standards that taxi and PHV drivers have to meet is a matter for individual local licensing authorities. DfT Best Practice Guidance for taxi and PHV licensing says that licensing authorities should consider requiring or encouraging their drivers to undertake disability awareness training. According to DfT’s 2015 taxi and PHV statistical survey, 104 licensing authorities in England and Wales require taxi drivers to undergo disability awareness training.
In the rail industry awareness training is mandatory for all customer facing staff and managers.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the status is of his Department's review of the UK derogation from EU law on training in disability awareness for bus and coach drivers; and whether his Department plans to seek to extend that derogation or apply for a new derogation.
Answered by Andrew Jones
In March 2014, the Department for Transport reviewed the use of a derogation applied under EU Regulation 181/2011 (concerning bus/coach passenger rights) that exempts bus and coach drivers from undertaking mandatory disability awareness training until March 2018. A range of stakeholder views were sought and a summary of responses was published in January 2015.
In addition, departmental officials are currently in discussions with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) about undertaking a research project on the quality and impact of disability equality awareness training currently offered to bus and coach drivers.
We will consider all the evidence and, in the meantime, will continue to press the bus industry to ensure that bus and coach drivers are adequately trained to allow them to meet the needs of all passengers.
Asked by: Joan Walley (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will review the decision to postpone the implementation of the driver training elements of EU regulation No. 181/2011 for up to four years.
Answered by John Hayes
My Noble Friend Baroness Kramer, Minister for Local Transport has recently completed a review of the use of a derogation applied under EU Regulation 181/2011 (concerning bus and coach passenger rights) exempting bus and coach drivers from undertaking mandatory disability awareness training.
To inform this review, she wrote to bus industry representatives, disability stakeholders and charities seeking their input, to determine whether drivers are receiving adequate disability awareness training under the current voluntary arrangement.
Having received and considered many comprehensive responses, the findings have been shared with Ministerial colleagues who are discussing how best to proceed.
While these discussions continue, officials will place a summary of all responses received in relation to the review on the Government’s website as a matter of priority.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to and received from (1) bus and coach companies, and (2) local authorities on behalf of bus and coach companies, concerning the difficulties of operating bus, coach and travel services in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Kramer - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Treasury and Economy)
The Government is in regular communication with a wide range of stakeholders involved in the provision of bus and coach services. As Minister with responsibility for bus policy, I also hold frequent meetings with representatives from local authorities and the passenger transport industry.
For example, on 16 July I chaired the latest bi-annual meeting of the Bus Partnership Forum - whose membership includes a wide spectrum of key partners from the bus and coach industry as well as elected members and officials from local authorities and their constituent bodies.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the results of the bus driver disability training review.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department for Transport has recently reviewed the use of a derogation applied under EU Regulation 181/2011 (concerning bus/coach passenger rights) exempting bus and coach drivers from undertaking mandatory disability awareness training.
To inform the review, on 24 February 2014 my noble Friend, the Minister of State for Transport, Baroness Kramer, wrote to bus industry representatives, disability stakeholders and charities seeking their input, to determine whether drivers are receiving adequate disability awareness training under the current voluntary arrangement.
Having received and considered many comprehensive responses, Baroness Kramer will share her findings with Ministerial colleagues shortly and discuss how to best to proceed.
In the meantime, a summary of responses received in relation to the review will be made available on the Government's website in due course.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commission independent research to analyse the effectiveness of a voluntary approach to disability awareness training for bus staff.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department for Transport is currently reviewing the use of a derogation applied under EU Regulation 181/2011 (concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport) exempting bus and coach drivers from undertaking mandatory disability awareness training.
To inform this review, on 24th February 2014 my noble Friend, the Minister of State for Transport, Baroness Kramer, wrote to various bus industry representatives, disability groups and charities with an interest in disability awareness training requesting information on the structure and effectiveness of disability awareness training courses currently available.
The commissioning of further research on this subject is one of a number of options the Department is considering in response to the findings of the review. Once we have considered all responses to the review, we will provide further details on how the Department intends to proceed shortly.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions officials or Ministers of his Department have had with bus company representatives on disability awareness training and EU Regulation 181/2011 since 9 January 2014.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
Although there have been no meetings between Department for Transport Ministers or officials and bus company representatives specifically focussing on disability awareness training or EU Regulation 181/2011 since 9 January, my noble Friend, the Minister of State for Transport, Baroness Kramer has met bus industry representatives on a number of occasions to discuss a variety of issues, including bus accessibility. More specifically, on 27th March 2014, Baroness Kramer attended the launch of the new RNIB ‘We're on Board' bus charter and gave a speech highlighting the importance of disability awareness training to an audience including several bus operators.
In addition, on 24 February 2014, as part of the Department's review of the derogation applied under EU Regulation 181/2011 exempting bus and coach drivers from undertaking mandatory disability awareness training, Baroness Kramer wrote to the Confederation for Passenger Transport (CPT) requesting information on the structure and effectiveness of disability awareness training courses currently offered and sought an update on the percentage of drivers that have completed this important training.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how his Department plans to monitor voluntary compliance with disability awareness training by bus and coach companies.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
In March 2013, the Department for Transport applied a number of time-limited exemptions available within EU Regulation 181/2011 (concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport) including one from the requirement for drivers to undertake mandatory disability awareness training.
Before taking this decision, the Department requested information from the Confederation of Passenger Transport (trade association for the bus and coach industry) on the percentage of bus and coach drivers that had completed some form of disability awareness training. The information provided suggested that this figure was approximately 75% in March 2013.
On 24 February 2014, my noble Friend, the Minister of State for Transport, Baroness Kramer wrote again to the Confederation for Passenger Transport, seeking an update on the percentage of drivers that have completed disability awareness training. This updated information is being used to inform the Department's current review of the disability awareness training exemption and will be made available shortly when the Department announces the outcome of this review.
As part of the review, Ministers will consider what the appropriate future monitoring arrangements should be.