DPTAC Main Committee meeting minutes September 2025
Updated 3 December 2025
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10:30am to 3:30pm, Wednesday 17 September 2025, Department for Transport (DfT) London office and online.
Attendees
DPTAC: Sue Sharp (Deputy Chair), Bryan Matthews, Carly Jones MBE, Christine Morgan, David Sindall, Edward Trewhella, Erin Pritchard, Mari Martiskainen, Mary Doyle, Mike Brace CBE DL, Miro Griffiths, Niki Glazier, Paul Finnegan, Rachael Mole, Ruth Murran, Zamila Skingsley.
Officials: Rosie Snashall (Deputy Director, TSC Implementation), Liz Wilson (Deputy Director, Accessibility, Community Transport, Coaches and Taxis), Bus Bill Team, Cross-Modal Accessibility Team, Priority Projects Team, DPTAC Secretariat.
Apologies: Damian Bridgeman, Maral Nozratzadeh, Victoria Armstrong.
Welcome, conflicts of interest and minutes of previous main meeting
The Deputy Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, including the new members of the committee, and invited each person to briefly introduce themselves.
No real, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest were declared.
The minutes from the previous meeting were noted with no comments from attendees.
DPTAC work programme updates
The committee reviewed updates to the DPTAC work programme. Each working group chair provided a recap of activities from the last quarter, shared lessons learned and outlined priorities for the upcoming quarter.
The Chair of the Research and Evidence Working Group highlighted how the Working Group can provide support the work of other modal working groups.
Legislative process and DPTAC’s role
The committee discussed the legislative process, noting that DPTAC’s primary influence occurs before a bill is introduced, through advising on policy and identifying issues for ministers and policy teams. While DPTAC does not hold a formal role during parliamentary stages, it can raise concerns where necessary and continue to advise on issues raised
Wider government work on disability
The committee was updated on the wider government work to support disabled people bringing it up to date on relevant items, level of the government’s ambition and known timelines.
Accessible travel charter
The Priority Projects Team presented plans to develop an accessible travel charter. It is proposed that the charter will set out high-level principles, supported by documents outlining operator commitments. It will be co-designed with disabled people, representative organisations, transport providers, and local government.
Members discussed the voluntary nature of the charter and the importance of clear accountability and measurable outcomes. Suggestions included publishing data to improve transparency, introducing annual monitoring (potentially by an independent organisation), and ensuring government owned operators lead by example.
DPTAC requested continued involvement in the development of the charter, including input into communications planning.
Next meeting
The next DPTAC main meeting is scheduled for 17 December 2025.