Guidance

Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme terms, conditions and eligibility criteria

Updated 23 March 2020

Terms and conditions

By applying for accreditation, you agree to the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme’s terms and conditions.

1.The following organisations are eligible to apply for accreditation as part of the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme:

a. local and scheduled bus and coach operators that:

i. are in compliance with EC 181/2011, Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) and Public Service Vehicles (Conduct of Drivers, Inspectors, Conductors and Passengers) Regulations 1990 (as amended), where these apply to the service(s) and/or class of vehicle(s) provided;
ii. provide services which begin and end in England
iii. possess a valid ‘Standard licence - national operations only’ public service vehicle operating licence (applications from ‘parent’ companies on behalf of subsidiary operators will not be accepted)

b. Train operating companies that:

i. are in compliance with EC 1371/2007 and any standards mandated via regulations made pursuant to section 182 of the Equality Act 2010, where these apply to the service(s) and/or class of vehicle(s) provided (operators that are in receipt of time limited dispensation for the operation of non-compliant rail vehicles under Regulation 45 of Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011 (RIR) will not be eligible for accreditation in the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme until the permission granted by this dispensation has expired and the relevant vehicles are made compliant)
ii. provide services which begin and end in England
iii. have published an accessible travel policy (ATP) approved by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR)

c. Airport operators that:

i. are in compliance with EC 1107/2006, where this applies to the service(s) provided
ii. are based in England
iii. have achieved a classification of ‘good’ in the most recent Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Airport Accessibility Report

• airport operators that achieve accreditation in the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme will have their accreditation withdrawn if they are classified as ‘needs improvement’ or ‘poor’ in the CAA’s annual Airport Accessibility Report during the time period of the accreditation
• the accreditation will be reinstated if the operator is reclassified as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ in the CAA’s annual Airport Accessibility Report during the time period of the accreditation (the accreditation will expire on the date specified at the time of the original award)

d. airline operators that:

i. are in compliance with EC 1107/2006, where this applies to the service(s) provided
ii. offer services to or from England

e. Port operators that:

i. are in compliance with the Merchant Shipping (Passengers’ Rights) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, where this applies to the service(s) and/or class of vehicle(s) provided
ii. are based in England

f. Ferry or cruise operators that:

i. are in compliance with the Merchant Shipping (Passengers’ Rights) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, where this applies to the service(s) and/or class of vehicle(s) provided
ii. offer services to or from England

2.The Department for Transport will not consider applications from transport operators that do not meet the eligibility criteria detailed in (1).

3.DfT must be notified of any material changes to the legal entity of the accredited operator. When an accredited operator is acquired, merges or is incorporated into the entity of an operator that does not have an equivalent accreditation status, DfT must be notified. If the entity remains predominantly unchanged, the accreditation status can, with the agreement of DfT, be maintained. If, however, the change means the operator can no longer fulfil the criteria of the relevant accreditation status, the accreditation may be withdrawn by DfT. If the accredited operator undergoes a change of control without notifying DfT, the accreditation may be removed. DfT will also revoke an accreditation if the operator becomes insolvent, bankrupt or ceases trading. Should the accredited operator be put into administration, DfT may consider revoking an accreditation.

4.In order to be awarded any of the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme’s 3 tiers of accreditation, operators must meet, in full, the current criteria attached to the tier of accreditation they are applying to be awarded. Operators must demonstrate having met the relevant criteria by submitting the evidence requested by the Department for Transport (DfT), using the assessment resources provided. The evidence provided by operators must accurately reflect their achievements in meeting the designated criteria. DfT reserves the right to reject applications for accreditation from, or revoke accreditations given to, operators that are found to have submitted inaccurate, incomplete, misleading or out-of-date evidence as part of their applications.

5.DfT reserves the right to update accreditation criteria at any time. New applicants, or participants who re-apply for accreditation following the expiration of their previous award, must demonstrate that they have met, in full, the most up-to-date list of accreditation criteria in order to be accredited. Following an update to any accreditation criteria, participants that have already been accredited are not expected to demonstrate that they have met the updated criteria in order to maintain their current award.

6.DfT will administer the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme through accreditation cycles. Each of these cycles will include:

• a deadline for the submission of applications for accreditation (operators that submit their application for accreditation after this deadline will not have their applications considered until the next accreditation cycle);
• a date on which operators will be notified regarding whether or not their application has been successful;
• a date on which accreditations will be publicly awarded.

Dates for each award cycle will be listed in guidance on GOV.UK.

7.If operators are successful in their applications for accreditation, they will be sent a marque of accreditation corresponding to the tier at which they have been accredited. Operators may display this marque on their website, in correspondence and emails, on event stands/banners and/or on company stationery. The marque may not be used on vehicles, signage for premises, or on staff IDs or uniforms. The department retains the intellectual property rights of the umbrella and accreditation logos associated with the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme, even where these logos are used by external organisations. DfT reserves the right to revoke accreditations given to operators that are found to have used, or be using, their accreditation marque in such a way that contravenes these guidelines.

8.Each of the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme’s 3 accreditations have limited durations, as detailed below:

• Inclusive Transport Committed – 12 months
• Inclusive Transport Operator – 24 months
• Inclusive Transport Leader – 36 months

Accreditations expire when these time periods have elapsed, at which point operators must cease using their marque of accreditation. Operators may not use this marque of accreditation, or any other marque associated with the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme, until they have applied for another accreditation and this application has been successful.

9.The Department for Transport is not liable for, and will not reimburse, any costs incurred by transport operators in the course of attempting to fulfil criteria for accreditation in the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme.

10.Membership of the scheme is entirely voluntary and an accredited operator may leave the scheme at any point by giving written notice of its withdrawal to DfT. An operator that withdraws from the scheme may no longer use any marque of accreditation associated with the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme, and will be removed from DfT’s list of accredited operators.

11.In addition to the circumstances described in (2), (5) and (7), DfT may, at its absolute discretion, refuse or remove accreditation if it considers that it is necessary to do so to prevent the scheme or the Department for Transport from being brought into disrepute. This includes scenarios in which the department judges that the actions of an operator, its employees, agents or sub-contractors have, or could have, an adverse impact on the integrity or reputation of the scheme or the department. In the event that DfT removes accreditation the operator will be notified in writing with 28 calendar days’ notice and provided with a report detailing the reasons for the decision to terminate the accreditation. In the event of withdrawal or removal from the scheme, DfT will not be liable for any costs incurred by the operator.

12.The operator has the right to appeal the decision of DfT to withdraw or remove their accreditation. An operator who wishes to appeal a decision by DfT must do so in writing within 14 calendar days of receiving notice of their accreditation being revoked. The reasons for the appeal must be detailed and any documentary evidence should be included. This is to ensure that DfT is fully aware of all relevant issues and arguments when considering the appeal. DfT may request additional information or clarification from the operator or for certain actions to be completed prior to deciding the appeal. The operator must cooperate with these requests in order to allow a decision to be made. An independent representative of DfT, ie a staff member who has not previously been involved in the process of accrediting the relevant operator, will consider the appeal within 28 calendar days of receipt. This may vary subject to the operator providing additional information, clarifications, or the completion of certain required actions. Any decision by DfT to refuse or remove an accreditation will be suspended following a formal written appeal by the operator pending the decision of DfT. The operator will be notified of the outcome of the appeal in writing within 7 calendar days of the decision being made. This decision is final.

13.From the point of its launch until the point at which 3 accreditation cycles have been completed, the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme is considered by the department to be a pilot project. As such, it can, at the department’s discretion, be discontinued at any point prior to the commencement of a fourth accreditation cycle. If the project is discontinued, the department will not offer any sort of compensation, including financial compensation, to organisations that have participated in the scheme.

Eligibility criteria guidance

This section provides further guidance about restrictions of eligibility for Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme accreditation and outlines how the Department for Transport will review the eligibility criteria in the future.

Ineligible types of transport operator

The Department for Transport considers the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme to be a ‘pilot’ project until the point at which 3 accreditation cycles have been completed. During this phase, the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme will only consider applications from:

• local and scheduled bus and coach operators
• train operating companies (including Network Rail)
• aviation operators (including airport and airline operators)
• maritime operators (including port, ferry and cruise operators)

Operators of other types of transport, including taxis and private hire vehicles, private hire and holiday coaches and demand responsive services, are not currently eligible to apply for accreditation.

These restrictions of the eligibility criteria are designed to ensure that the department can administer the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme on a limited scale.

After 3 accreditation cycles, the department will assess the impact of the scheme and consider its future scope.

Transport operators in devolved administrations

The Department for Transport will only consider applications from:

• local and scheduled bus and coach operators and train operating companies that run services which start and end in England
• port and airport operators based in England
• ferry, cruise and airline operators that run services to or from England

These restrictions of eligibility criteria are designed to ensure that the department administers the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme in the geographical areas covered by the Inclusive Transport Strategy, ie in the geographical areas where all relevant aspects of transport policy are reserved to Westminster.

The department will engage with the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as it pilots the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme.