15 July 2004 - Smith sets sights on Disability Rights breakthrough
The majority of recommendations made during pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Disability Discrimination Bill will be accepted, Andrew Smith announced today.
The landmark Bill was published in draft by the Government following last year’s Queen Speech. The proposed extension of protection and freedom for disabled people in areas such as transport, housing and the activities of public authorities were welcomed in May by a Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee.
Today’s response from the Government to the Scrutiny Committee’s recommendations marks a further step towards the statute book for the legislation, which could be in force by 2006.
The Work and Pensions Secretary will this afternoon set out the Government’s vision of a society free of discrimination in a keynote speech to Scope’s Disablism Summit:
“In years to come, the treatment of disabled people typical of the last century – and still too often the case today – will be seen as an affront to their humanity. It is the last great cause of emancipation of our time.”
“The legislation we have brought forward since 1997 amounts to the biggest ever package of improvements to civil rights for disabled people. The process of pre-legislative scrutiny leaves our draft Bill in a much better state for introduction at the earliest opportunity and we remain on course to meet our Manifesto commitment to legislate this Parliament.“
Mr Smith will also call for a step change in public attitudes towards the country’s ten million disabled people:
“Creating a step change in public attitudes will require us all to work together closely. Often discrimination can be indirect, sometimes even unintended, but we must all take every opportunity to raise awareness of rights for disabled people.”
In its response to the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee Report on the Draft Disability Discrimination Bill, the Government has today accepted all administrative and procedural recommendations, and supports all recommendations calling for the DRC to take specific actions. It has also accepted some significant legislative changes, including:
- Ensuring that people with mental illnesses are protected in the same way as anyone else by removing the requirement that their condition be clinically well-recognised.
- In addition to the existing proposal to extend the DDA to cover members of larger private clubs, their guests will be protected.
- Amending the Blue Badge Parking Scheme to provide recognition for Blue Badge holders from other European countries.
- Ensuring that there are sufficient powers in the DDA to enable coverage of the definition of disability to be amended should this prove necessary in the light of future evidence.
Notes for editors
- Taking into account the Scrutiny Committee’s recommendations accepted by the Government today, the proposed Bill would:
- Put a new positive duty on public bodies to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people, similar to that introduced on race equality in the Race Relations (Amendment) Act.
- Extend the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) to cover almost all activities of the public sector, including such functions as issuing licences.
- Bring within the scope of the DDA more people diagnosed with the progressive conditions of HIV, MS and cancer and remove ‘clinically well recognised’ from the definition in respect of mental illnesses.
- End the exemption of the use of transport vehicles from the DDA
duties on service providers; extend the scope of accessibility regulations to refurbished rail vehicles; set an end date for all rail vehicles to comply with the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations; and ensure reciprocity with other EU States when it comes to the Blue Badge Parking scheme. - Ensure that when renting property disabled people are entitled to have landlords make reasonable adjustments to their policies, practices and procedures and provide auxiliary aids or services.
- Bring larger private members’ clubs within the scope of the DDA. This would include members of clubs as well as their guests.
- Bring disabled local Councillors within the scope of the DDA by giving them new rights not to be discriminated against by their local authority including rights to reasonable adjustments.
- Provide a formal mechanism for disabled people to ask questions of service providers and others who they believe have discriminated against them.
- The draft Bill builds on other steps already taken by the Government, including:
- Setting up the Disability Rights Commission.
- Protecting disabled students and pupils against discrimination (Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001).
- Regulating to ensure public transport vehicles such as new buses and trains are accessible.
- Bringing into force, in October 2004, the duties in the DDA requiring service providers to make reasonable adjustments to physical features of their premises.
- Bringing into force, also in October 2004, major changes to the employment and vocational training provisions of the DDA, including ending the current exemption of small firms and occupations like fire-fighters, prison officers and barristers.
- The Government’s Response to the Report of the Joint Committee on the Draft Disability Discrimination Bill can be found at www.disability.gov.uk/legislation/ddb/response.asp
For more information contact Nick Turton on 020 7238 0756
Press office: 020 7238 0866
Out of hours: 07659 108 883
Public enquiries: 020 7712 2171
Website: www.dwp.gov.uk