Local Government and Transport Committee, 29 Jun 2004

Meeting date: Tuesday, June 29, 2004

Official Report 212KB pdf

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Petition

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Taxis (Use by Disabled People) (PE568)

The third item on the agenda is consideration for the second time of petition PE568, from Alan Rees, on accessible taxi transport. Members have a paper on the petition, which includes information that has been collated on local authorities' current provision of accessible taxis and the Executive's response on the issues that the petition raises. That information was requested by the committee last year, before we reached a view on whether to accept the referral of the petition.

The choice that the committee faces is whether to accept the petition formally and carry out some work on it, given that it clearly falls within our remit. We need to balance any work with our overall work programme. We could choose to write to the Executive to ask for its views on the variability in the provision of wheelchair-accessible taxis in Scotland and the lack of consistency in the provision of concessionary travel schemes.

My view is that it would be worth while for us to carry out further work on the issue. The degree of variability that is identified in the report is alarming. Some authorities, such as the City of Edinburgh Council and East Lothian Council, have taxi fleets with 100 per cent accessibility, but other authorities have fleets with less than 10 per cent accessibility. The inaccessibility in some areas is a significant concern. I ask for members' views on the paper and on the approach that the committee should take.

I have been in a wheelchair and on crutches for a short period and I did not generally find it all that easy to travel by taxi. In addition to the difficulties that are identified in the petition, taxi drivers generally do not want to go short distances, although that is often what a person in a wheelchair or on crutches needs. One aspect of the issue is the willingness of taxi drivers to take a person who is in a wheelchair.

What course of action would you like the committee to follow?

That depends on our work programme, but the issue is worth investigating further.

I have a great deal of sympathy with the petition, but there is a difference between encouraging and forcing local authorities to do something. I would like to know what the Executive's plans are and find out more about the problem, to allow me to think through the consequences. It is clear that there is a wide variation in provision, but I would like to consider whether it is necessary to put changes into statute. I would also like to know the views of local authorities and to get some indication of the resource implications for the taxi industry and local authorities. The issue is worthy of further investigation.

I support that approach. Given that we have contacted 21 authorities and that a comprehensive set of data was produced, it might be worth contacting the other 11 authorities so that a full picture emerges. I do not expect that picture to be much different, but it would be worth while to find out about the other 11 authorities. For example, in my area, Dumfries and Galloway Council and the Scottish Borders Council take up a large chunk of the south of Scotland. It would be helpful to have a complete picture.

I support that. A complete picture for Scotland would also be of assistance to the Scottish Executive.

Members are suggesting that we correspond further with the Executive and with the councils that have not been surveyed. I assume that we will also want to seek information directly from the taxi trade. I suggest that we correspond with those three groups during the summer recess; when we have their responses, we can consider the petition again early in September, at which point we can decide whether to take further action. Do members agree to that suggestion?

Members indicated agreement.

Meeting continued in private until 16:10.