Mayoral pledges

John Pring

London’s Mayor has pledged to launch a programme to improve the accessibility of the capital’s hotels and restaurants, in the run-up to the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012.

Ken Livingstone, the Labour candidate in this month’s mayoral election, made the promise in an interview with Disability Now, in which he said he would use new legal powers to force borough planning officers to meet his targets on accessible housing, and set up a new city-wide scheme to run the Taxicard and Dial-a-Ride transport services.

Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat candidate, spoke openly of his experience of depression as a senior Metropolitan Police officer.

He also said he would make it harder for taxi drivers to refuse to pick up Taxicard users and would improve Dial-a-Ride.

And he would carry out a “disability audit” of organisations under the Mayor’s control to ensure none of them imposed barriers to employing disabled people.

Conservative candidate Boris Johnson told Disability Now he would ensure that no bus left a depot without its ramp working and promised that his replacement for bendy buses would be accessible.

He also said he would recruit disabled people to City Hall posts, to provide “inspiration” to other disabled people.