Ombudsman criticises 'unfair' lack of transport access for people with disabilities
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The "unfair" and "entirely unacceptable" lack of access to personal transport for people with disabilities has been slammed by the Ombudsman, who claimed the failure to ensure equal access "casts a shadow on us as a country".
In a new report, Peter Tyndall said his office has received many complaints in relation to the administration of the transport support schemes in place - the Motorised Transport Grant, the Mobility Allowance and the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers scheme - and that on a daily basis people with a disability meet with barriers to access to train and bus services.
The report, entitled examines issues with the schemes and carries sharp criticism of the goverment for not doing more to address the shortfall, with Mr Tyndall saying: "People with disabilities should be able to lead full and active lives within our communities. There are many obstacles which work to prevent them from doing so.
"Access to personal transport is one of these. Without it, many disabled people cannot do what others take for granted - working, visiting friends and family, shopping and the many other aspects of our lives where mobility is essential."
The report outlines how shortcomings in the schemes were highlighted by previous Ombudsman reports and that problems persist, with 335 complaints lodged with the Ombudsman since the start of 2016 about the qualifying criteria for the granting of a Primary Medical Certificate for the purposes of eligibility under the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers scheme. The report includes anonymised case studies of applicants turned down for the grant to adapt their vehicle, including a man in his twenties who has Down Syndrome and a diagnosis of severe and profound Autism, and a woman in her seventies who does not have the full use of her legs.
In 2013, the government discontinued the Mobility Allowance and Motorised Transport Grant for new applicants after a previous report highlighted problems with it, something the Ombudsman said was "of great disappointment". The government said it would draw up an alternative scheme, but nine years later still has not done so.
The Ombudsman said it means "a very unfair situation whereby those already in receipt of these supports continue to receive them, but others in exactly the same position cannot access these or alternative supports".
Mr Tyndall said: "It has been a disappointment to me as Ombudsman that when I and my predecessors have highlighted the unfairness and inequity of these schemes, the response by Government has been to either discontinue the schemes without replacement, or in the case of the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers scheme, to reinforce the inequitable eligibility criteria in primary legislation."
He described malfunctioning lifts and train passengers with disabilities having to give notice in advance so that someone can be present with a ramp to enable them to board as "entirely unacceptable" and something that "must be addressed as a matter of urgency".
He said the lack of access to personal transport resulted in social isolation, and in some cases poverty, and that this "casts a shadow on us as a country and our commitment to equality and social inclusion for all". He added that progress on these issues now needed to be "quick and comprehensive".