Source · Select Committees · Transport Committee
Recommendation 26
26
Accepted
Publish Equality Impact Assessment and clarify legal relationship with Equality Act duties.
Recommendation
The Equality Impact Assessment should have been published alongside the Bill to assist parliamentary scrutiny; we look forward to seeing it published as soon as possible. We ask that the Government clarify in that document or elsewhere the intended legal relationship between the clause 18 duty on promoting the interests of disabled people and the anticipatory duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people to access services. (Recommendation, Paragraph 68) Network access
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation, stating that the accessibility duty will independently support some of the requirements under the reasonable adjustments duty at section 20 of the Equality Act 2010, and that this relationship is set out in the recently published Equality Impact Assessment.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government agrees with this recommendation. The duty at clause 18(2)(a) of the Bill will require the sector bodies to promote the interests of passengers, including in particular the needs of disabled persons when these bodies exercise their statutory functions. Therefore, the accessibility duty will independently support some of the requirements under the reasonable adjustments duty at section 20 of the Equality Act 2010. Naturally, the sector bodies will also consider and apply the relevant duties under the Equalities Act 2010 separately and in addition to the accessibility duty. This relationship is set out in the Equality Impact Assessment which the Government has recently published, following our commitment to the Committee to do so before Report Stage.