New report reveals how limited local government funding is a barrier to accessible transport
A key finding of the National Centre for Accessible Transport (NCAT) latest report is that the failure to provide sufficient funding for accessibility measures means local governments may be unable to meet their legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.
In its latest report, ‘Equipping Councils for Change’, the Centre has found some local governments’ approach to accessibility needs reform. It conducted a UK-wide survey of 42 local government transport staff whose work either focused exclusively on making services accessible or included responsibility for accessibility as part of a wider remit.
Limited funding emerged as the main barrier to achieving accessible transport. Two-thirds rated limited budgets as an eight or above, with 32 per cent assigning this issue a score of 10 out of 10.
The next biggest concern was retrofitting accessibility features into existing services, which received scores of seven or higher from three-quarters of respondents, followed by a lack of staff time and expertise, rated at least eight by 57 per cent.
Its focus groups and interviews show that staff also needed better guidance to help them do their jobs more effectively. For example, one of our interviewees pointed out that “dedicated funding pots [for accessibility] end up being spent on retrofit… Whereas what we should be doing is designing it in the right way in the first place.”
Clive Gilbert, lead researcher for the report, says: “Building an accessible and inclusive transport system will mean ensuring local government is adequately funded. But local government staff also must be empowered to do their jobs effectively.
“They need to have access to high-quality training, good practice standards and, most importantly, the voices of disabled people, who must be involved in local decision-making at every level.”
The NCAT is calling on the government to create a single website where local government transport staff and disabled people can find and understand regulations, guidance, case law and other resources relevant to making transport accessible. This will allow visitors to grasp the responsibilities of the local government to provide accessible transport and discover the tools and good practices that they can use to meet them.
Its report urges local and regional authorities to assess their organisational readiness, including reviewing whether their authority employs officers with a dedicated accessibility role and that they have the necessary resources and backing from their leaders to do their jobs.
The NCAT has confirmed that it is exploring new projects that will support policymakers to put our recommendations into action. These projects will be announced over the next few months.
In January 2025, the NCAT and the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers launched an open-source interactive tool that provides crucial evidence of the transport challenges disabled people face across the UK.
