Agenda item

Report of the Director of Early Intervention and Support. 

Members considered a report from the Director of Early Intervention and Support regarding the revision to the vehicle conditions in relation to Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAV’s) as a result of the new information pertaining to the application of NCAP safety ratings and the removal of the condition requiring a fixed bulkhead.

The Licensing and Public Safety Committee recalled that in February 2016, Members agreed a revision of vehicle conditions, including condition 22; the requirement for vehicles subject to a grant to meet NCAP safety rating 4* and above from 1 January 2017 and existing vehicles to meet this requirement from 1 January 2024.

The research carried out at the time demonstrated that a good proportion of the models available on the market that were used as a donor for the conversion to WAV were NCAP 4* or above. Therefore at the time it was felt that the condition could be applied to the WAV fleet in the same way as it could do to the standard fleet, in that applicants could choose a model that meets the vehicle conditions.

Following a recent enquiry and some additional communication it was apparent that once the conversion had taken place the NCAP rating was an inappropriate standard to apply, due to the extent of the modifications.

The standards used for safety for the converted vehicles were ISO 10542/1:2012 Wheelchair tiedown and occupant-restraint systems or PAS2012/1: 2015 specification for M1 vehicles for the carriage of one or more passengers seated in wheelchairs. Therefore officers felt it was appropriate to use these standards for WAV’s and exempt them from the need to meet NCAP 4* and above, which was not the most relevant criterion.

Officers contacted the Department of Transport for advice but had not received a response at the time the agenda was published. At the meeting, the Regulatory Services Manager updated Members that following this, the Department Transport had provided reassurances that these proposed changes were adequate.

Furthermore, Officers had concluded that the condition to require a fixed bulkhead in WAV’s was anomalous; there was no distinct reason why a bulkhead and partition was necessary in a WAV when it was not required within an ordinary vehicle. Therefore Officers proposed the removal of this condition.

Vehicle safety remained a priority for the Council, hence the introduction of a safety rating criterion in the first instance. However where this was not an appropriate measure, due to the conversion of the vehicle, it was understood that the Council should be flexible and amend their policies accordingly. In the same vein it was agreed that it was of high importance that the Council’s vehicle conditions did not render it more difficult or unnecessarily limiting for proprietors to replace vehicles with more up to date and modern models, or vehicles that were more accessible to users.

Members welcomed the recommendations and agreed that more should be done to work with the trade to encourage existing WAV’s to upgrade their vehicles when appropriate in the future. Following requests from Members it was agreed that Officers would communicate this information to the nine current WAVs and ensure that Chorley Motability be informed of the amendments.

After careful consideration it was proposed by Councillor Matthew Lynch, seconded by Councillor Adrian Lowe, and subsequently RESOLVED unanimously;

1.    to exempt WAV’s from the requirement to meet condition 22; NCAP rating of 4* or above, and replace with the requirement for WAV’s to meet ISO 10542/1:2012 or PAS2012/1 (Public Approved Standard for Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles).

2.    to remove condition 4 c ii – the requirement for WAV’s to have a fixed bulkhead incorporating: A partition screen; A pay point and Assisted means of communication.