Meeting of the Parliament 25 September 2014
That point was well made, and I thank Liam McArthur for his intervention.
Stewart Stevenson also said that we will triumph only when there are no disabled signs anywhere. I completely agree. As I have said, that is a mark of our aspiration to equality. However, his remarks reminded me of a conversation that I had with some young students at Craigie high school in Dundee, which has a special facility for deaf students. I was told about the barriers that they face in everyday life, such as ordering their food in McDonald’s, getting a Saturday job and making their way around the city. What really struck me was the bus issue. Some of the students were from eastern Europe and had come to live in Scotland. They reckon that disability provision on buses in Latvia is better, as is provision in other parts of the European Union, because there is much more signage on them.
That matter has been legislated on in Europe and through the Westminster Equality Act 2010. I wonder whether there is pre-existing legislation on a lot of the issues that we are discussing that we need only to comply with or enforce. I ask the minister to reflect on that, too.
Nigel Don made a very thoughtful contribution. The issue that he raised about travelling companions for people who require them and whether they can travel for free on our rail network has come up in my constituency, as well. Perhaps the minister will also allow me to say that we must bear it in mind that there will always be financial barriers. We can have equal and accessible facilities, but there will be financial barriers to allowing people on lower incomes to access those facilities. Nigel Don’s point is important, so I ask that the minister has those discussions with ScotRail or that he looks towards the next franchise to sort out the problem.
The Equality Act 2010—which was one of the last very good pieces of legislation of our UK Labour Government—and the public sector duties that are included in it would perhaps address Nigel Don’s point. Will the Scottish Government explore that, too?
Patricia Ferguson raised a very interesting point about travel insurance premiums and travel abroad, which has also come up in my constituency. People with disabilities and elderly people face increased travel insurance premiums.