Current Petitions

PE695 by Jan Goodall, on behalf of Dundee accessible transport action group, calls on the Parliament to ensure that local authorities have affordable and accessible local transport available to disabled people who cannot use public transport and to provide ring-fenced funding to local authority and/or community groups to provide dial-a-ride projects for that purpose.At its meeting on 12 May 2004, the committee agreed to seek comments from the Scottish Disability Equality Forum and the Disability Rights Commission Scotland on a response from the Scottish Executive and on whether disability issues have been addressed in setting up the strategic transport agency. The committee also agreed to seek comments from the petitioner.In her response, the petitioner states: "We note that the Executive intends to undertake an assessment of all the barriers which prevent disabled people from using public transport. To us this is a matter of urgency and it is regrettable that we have heard nothing about it getting underway."The DRC states in its response: "we believe that there is a wider issue above and beyond Dial-a-Ride projects. The DRC believes that it is the physical and attitudinal barriers faced by disabled people, and not the nature of their impairment, which excludes them from participation in society as equal citizens."The SDEF states in its response: "The two propositions contained in the above petition would, if carried into policy, increase the scope of people affected by disability. SDEF would support any such development."Do committee members have any views on the petition?

Last week, I met people from the Community Transport Association, which has two main concerns. The first is about those areas in Scotland where the regular public transport is not accessible and the second is about very frail disabled and elderly people who cannot normally access the transport services that other disabled people might access through services such as dial-a-ride. Another of their concerns was that there would not be adequate representation on the proposed new transport agency to reflect the concerns of community transport operators or disabled people. Although I note what the Scottish Executive's letter says, it does not satisfy that point, so we need to reflect a bit further on that and invite comment from the Community Transport Association on the issues that are being raised. The CTA came to the Parliament last week and offered to meet MSPs, but unfortunately, given our diaries, it is not possible for many MSPs to meet all the organisations that come. The CTA was concerned, so we should ask Nicol Stephen to give us an update as to where he considers that the issues that the CTA raised fit in.

That is a fair request. Are committee members happy that we write to the minister and find out where he stands on those matters?Members indicated agreement.