ncat were delighted to host the Accessible Transport Policy Commission’s autumn reception at the House of Lords on November 4th. The evening was introduced by Commission chair Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Clive Gilbert, Head of Accessible Transport, for Policy Connect, and it featured a keynote speech from Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh MP.
In her speech Haigh spoke about new government initiatives that will address the accessibility gap including the Better Buses Bill which will set up publicly owned bus companies “where passengers’ needs are the heart of (the)…plan”. She also stated that under the Great British Railways plan accessibility will be one of its six key objectives, and that it “will be held to account (by a) powerful new watchdog, the Passengers’ Standards Authority, which will champion improvements to the passenger experience.”
Haigh further stated that “experts like the Accessible Transport Policy Commission and DPTAC (will help) us weave the golden thread of accessibility across our entire transport network” and ended with the assurance that accessibility “will underpin everything (her) department does.”
These powerful words kicked off an evening bringing together parliamentarians from both houses with disabled people and transport professionals to learn more about the work being done by ncat and how authorities at a local and national level can act to deliver a more accessible transport network across the UK.
For more information about the work we are doing through our Policy Commission follow this link:
Accessible Transport Policy Commission – National Centre for Accessible Transport
