The Rail Vehicle Accessibility Exemption Orders (Parliamentary Procedures) Regulations 2008

Criteria relating to existing vehicles, and minor amendments etc

3.—(1) The qualification criteria referred to in regulation 2(3)(a) are that—

(a) (i) the only vehicles to which the order applies are ones to which RVA Regulations do not apply prior to the coming into force of the amendment of section 46(6) of the 1995 Act by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005(1), or ones which belong to a class of vehicle to which RVA Regulations do not so apply; and

(ii) the reason, or one of the reasons, for RVA Regulations not applying is that the vehicles were first brought into use, or belong to a class of vehicle which were first brought into use, before 1st January 1999;

(b) (i) the only vehicles to which the order applies are ones to which RVA Regulations do not apply prior to the coming into force of the repeal of section 46(10) of the 1995 Act by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005(2); and

(ii) the reason, or one of the reasons, for RVA Regulations not applying is that the vehicles are not used for the carriage of members of the public for hire or reward at separate fares;

(c) the only vehicles to which the order applies are ones to which RVA Regulations do not apply prior to the making of these Regulations, and the reason for RVA Regulations not applying is that the vehicles are not ones which were constructed or adapted to carry passengers on—

(i) a railway or tramway, or

(ii) a system which uses magnetic levitation or monorail, or which is track-based with side guidance;

(d) the order applies only to a unique vehicle;

(e) the order contains only one or more minor amendments to an order;

(f) the exemption to which the order relates is for specified vehicles and for a specified period of time during which—

(i) the vehicles are to be used solely for testing;

(ii) no fares are to be charged to any passenger in the vehicles; and

(iii) the vehicles are not to be available for use by members of the general public;

(g) the exemption to which the order relates is granted for a period not exceeding six months.

(2) The disqualification criteria referred to in regulation 2(3)(a) are that—

(a) the order creates or extends the scope of an exemption with no expiry date or an expiry date later than 31st December 2019;

(b) other than where the sole purpose is to amend a typographical error, the order amends an order by extending the period of time for which the exemption applies;

(c) the order is a network order creating or extending the scope of an exemption.

(3) In paragraph (1)(c) “railway” and “tramway” have the same meaning as in section 67(1) of the Transport and Works Act 1992(3) and “magnetic levitation”, “monorail” and “tracked-based with side guidance” have the same meaning as in article 3(1) of the Transport and Works (Guided Transport Modes) Order 1992(4);

(4) In paragraph (1)(e), a “minor amendment” means any of the following—

(a) the correction of a typographical error,

(b) the elucidation or correction of an order that has been drawn to the special attention of both Houses of Parliament in a report by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments(5),

(c) an amendment made solely for the purpose of extending to additional vehicles an exemption which was previously granted to more than one specified vehicle, and the additional vehicles are of an identical type to the specified vehicles,

(d) an amendment which does not create or extend the scope of an exemption.

(1)

Section 6(2) of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 will amend the definition of rail vehicle in section 46(6) of the 1995 Act so that the scope of the power to make regulations under section 46(1) will not be limited to vehicles first brought into use, or belonging to a class of vehicle first brought into use, on or after 1st January 1999.

(2)

Schedule 2 to the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 will repeal section 46(10) of the 1995 Act, which provides that, for the purposes of sections 46 and 47 of the 1995 Act, a person uses a vehicle for carriage if that person uses it for the carriage of members of the public for hire or reward at separate fares.

(3)

1992 c.42.

(4)

S.I. 1992/3231 as amended by S.I. 1997/1951.

(5)

The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments operates under House of Commons Public Business Standing Order No 151 and House of Lords Public Business Standing Order 74.