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Rail Vehicle Accessibility (London Underground Metropolitan Line S8 Vehicles) Exemption Order 2010

My Lords, I am most grateful to both noble Lords for their contributions. We now have a happy tradition where the noble Baroness, Lady Hanham, the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, and I debate these issues more or less on our own, quite often in this Room. We have done so again today. I thank them both most sincerely for the constructive and helpful speeches they have made. The noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, strayed a little wide of the order relating to the Metropolitan line, and I hope he will appreciate that I cannot comment on access to buses today. However, I am sure that he, with his usual ingenuity, will find an opportunity to return to that subject at some stage in the future I am able to answer the questions that the noble Baroness put to me. She rightly drew attention to the problems at stations where, at present, we have no solution, normally because the levels are wrong or because they are severely curved. As I said in my opening speech, the exemption does not have a time limit applied to it for the 12 stations for which it is sought. We accept that there are problems there. The mayor is responsible for allocating the budget for London Underground and how he allocates the budget in this area is a matter for him. Some of the work required would be very expensive and it is he who will have to decide what the correct priorities are. However, the order ensures that the platforms listed in the schedule are made step-free by the exemption dates. As a consequence, the number of exemptions should fall as the works are completed. I am sure that London Underground will note very carefully what the noble Baroness said about mothers with buggies—or, indeed, dads with buggies. They, too, need to get on and off trains. She is right to draw attention to them. The noble Baroness also asked about the progress being made to ensure that the 2020 RVAR target is being met and whether any contractual difficulties are being experienced. So far, as I said, 5,600 vehicles are already compliant out of a total fleet of about 16,000. The department is working closely with industry and with DPTAC to ensure that the end date is met. That has already included work to bring the older vehicles up to compliance in recent franchises—that is a condition of new franchises. At this stage, we do not expect contractual issues to get in the way of meeting the 2020 target.