In October 2022 I wrote to the right honourable Richard Holden MP who represents the people of North West Durham and is the minister of state for Roads and Local Transport at the DFT (The Department for Transport).
I urged him and the department to consider conducting a national review of the pavement network on behalf of those who use wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
I am very concerned that a wheelchair or mobility scooter user will either get injured or killed on Britain’s roads as a result of having to use them because of the lack of drop kerbs on our network of pavements.
The government have again refused to carry out a national review of our pavement network on behalf of the disabled community ( especially those who use wheelchairs and mobility scooters).
The minister for Roads and Local Transport said in his written response to me that the Department for Transport have limited influence over how local authorities manage their road network.
He went onto say that local authorities are free to make their own decisions about the streets under their care, provided that they take account of the relevant legislation.
He also added that the Department for Transport (DFT) is absolutely clear that all of the public realm should be inclusive and accessible.
The minister also said that it is up to individual local authorities to ensure that any infrastructure they install complies with the equalities legislation, particularly the Public Sector Equality Duty.
The minister has also reassured me that a consultation has taken place to see if a solution can be found with regards to the nations complex pavement parking issue.
The consultation received over 15,000 responses and this has delighted officials at the DFT who are now taking full analysis of these.
The ministerial team at the Department for Transport (DFT) are currently considering the consultations findings so that they can make an informed policy decision.
I am very disappointed that the government are still refusing to carry out a national pavement review, which I feel is desperately needed so that accidents and near misses involving those using wheelchairs and mobility scooters are avoided because we are forced to use the road network as our pavement.
I know that this is another short blog but I wanted to outline some of the points made by the government minister in response to the concerns that I raised with him in October last year.
I would like to end in my normal way by taking the opportunity to thank each and everyone of my readers and followers for taking the time out of your busy schedules to read my latest blog.
Cam
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