23 March 2005 - Delivering on our promise for disabled people – Eagle
The Government will this afternoon move one step closer to delivering its promise to disabled people as the Disability Discrimination Bill receives second reading in the House of Commons.
Minister for Disabled People and lead Minister on the Bill, Maria Eagle, will urgently drive forward legislation to extend and strengthen the civil rights of Britain's 10 million disabled people.
Maria Eagle said:
“This is a landmark moment for Britain's 10 million disabled people and for society overall as the Bill helps bring an end to the discrimination that disabled people have faced for far too long.
“Disabled people have every right to participate fully in society – but are all too often marginalized, excluded and sometimes even segregated. Society too is a loser; missing out on the wealth of skills and experience of disabled people. As promised, the Disability Discrimination Bill aims to tackle some of these barriers and extend enforceable rights like never before.
“The Bill will have a real impact on the lives of disabled people and has been widely welcomed in the Lords, by disabled individuals and by their representative groups. I am committed to ensuring swift progress so that we begin translating this legislation into reality as early as this year.”
Bert Massie, Chair of the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) added:
“I commend the Government's commitment to the Bill and hope that it will have the effect of seeing it onto the statute book before the end of the present Parliamentary session. It would need to if the ambition for disabled people to access these rights by this year is to be realised. Disabled people have waited a long time for this new legalisation that will pave the way for substantial civil rights for Britain's 10 million disabled people by 2006. It represents a major step towards ending the discrimination still experienced by disabled people every day.”
The Bill was amended last autumn as a result of pre-legislative scrutiny of a draft version in the spring of 2004. It has already been debated in the Lords, successfully completing its Third Reading on 28 February, and further amendments were made to it before it was introduced in the Commons on 1 March. The Bill proposes, amongst other matters, amending the existing Disability Discrimination Act to:
- Introduce a new positive duty on public bodies to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people
- Provide protection for more people diagnosed with the progressive conditions of HIV, MS and cancer
- Remove the requirement that mental illnesses must be “clinically well-recognised”
- Ensure that all functions of public authorities (e.g. issuing licences) are covered by the DDA and not just services as now
- Provide a power to apply the DDA duties on other service providers to the provision of transport vehicles
- Allow an “end date”, no later than 2020, by which all rail vehicles will have to comply with accessibility regulations, and apply those regulations to vehicles which are being refurbished
- Include provisions enabling disabled people to get reasonable adjustments, other than to physical features, when dealing with landlords and managers of rented premises
- Ensure that a landlord cannot unreasonably refuse his consent where a disabled tenant wishes to make an adaptation to rented accommodation
- Provide new rights for disabled local Councillors not to be discriminated against by their local authority including rights to reasonable adjustments
- Cover bodies that award general qualifications (like GCSEs and A Levels)
- Cover larger private members' clubs (i.e. those with 25 or more members)
Notes for editors
- A photograph of Maria Eagle and Bert Massie are available on request.
- Following pre-legislative scrutiny on a draft version of the Bill in 2004, the Government accepted the majority of the Parliamentary Committee'4s recommendations. The Bill was revised to include those legislative measures which the Government accepted, and was further amended during consideration in the Lords to include other recommendations made by the Scrutiny Committee and further changes.
- A copy of the Bill can be obtained from The Stationery Office, 0870 600 5522, www.tso.co.uk
- The Government's 2001 Manifesto commitment is to extend rights and opportunities
for disabled people. The Bill is the final step in meeting this commitment
but goes further in some respects, including:
- removing the requirement in the DDA's definition of disability that a mental illness must be “clinically well recognised”;
- amending the “Blue Badge” Parking Scheme for disabled people to ensure reciprocity with other European States;
- extending the DDA to cover bodies awarding general qualifications (such as GCSEs)
- ensuring that a landlord cannot unreasonably refuse his consent where a disabled tenant wishes to make an adaptation to rented accommodation
- A consultation on the details of the principal public sector elements of the Bill ended on 21 October. Further details are available on www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/dwp/2004/equality
- A consultation on using regulation making powers in the Bill in respect of Private Clubs, Premises, the definition of disability and the questions procedure ended on 18 March. Further details are available on http://www.disability.gov.uk/campaigns/consultation04/index.htm and copies of this document can be obtained from TSO Customer services on 0870-600-5522.
- The DDA, and Regulations made under it, already provides extensive protection for disabled people against discrimination in areas such as employment, education, transport and access to goods and services. New provisions which came into force on 1 October 2004 increased protection for disabled people in employment and in access to goods and services. They brought small businesses, with fewer than 15 employees, and previously excluded occupations such as police officers, partners in business partnerships, within the scope of the employment provisions for the first time. This extended coverage to an additional 1 million employers, and 7 million more jobs, including 600,000 in which disabled people already work.
- The new access provisions from 1 October 2004 build on existing duties under the DDA for people or organisations that provide services to the public. For the first time service providers are required to make reasonable adjustments to physical features of premises, such as steps and high counters that act as barriers to disabled people accessing their service. These changes will further open up services to around 10 million disabled people in this country.
- For more information see www.disability.gov.uk
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