7 April 2005 - UK disability groups welcome new Disability Discrimination Act

The Disability Discrimination Act, just approved by Parliament, will make life better for millions of disabled people in the UK, say disability rights groups. It is a testament to the significance of the Bill that the parties worked so closely together to ensure its passage, especially with the shortened schedule created by the upcoming elections.

The Bill, which will enter legislation as the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, strengthens existing regulations, adds new protections and adopts 61 out of the 75 recommendations made by the joint Lords/Commons scrutiny committee in 2004.

It has taken eight years for this new legislation to reach the Statute Book. In 1997, the Disability Rights Task Force reported on gaps in the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act, pointing to areas where further legislation was needed. Supporters say the long-awaited changes couldn’t come too soon.

“This Act now represents real progress for disabled people” said Kate Nash, Chief Executive of RADAR, a pan-disability campaigning organisation. “It’s a significant step forward and is designed to change attitudes towards disabled people, combat discrimination and to help disabled people to achieve the full social inclusion that so many people take for granted in their day-to-day lives”.

RADAR has co-ordinated a coalition of approximately three dozen UK disability groups known as the ‘New Spirit Coalition’ (NSC). The NSC was formed to bring fresh energy and impetus to efforts to achieve full social inclusion for disabled people. Its diverse membership reflects a broad spectrum of disabilities.

Whilst disappointed that the Bill was amended in its later stages, to remove protection for a larger group of people with depression, NSC members recognise that the Government has gone a long way towards meeting their 2001 manifesto pledge to improve rights for disabled people. However, much more needs to be done and members eagerly await the implementation of the recent report from the No 10 Strategy Unit setting out the Government’s vision for disabled people over the next two decades. The Act will further the aims of this significant vision, and although disappointed with this long time-frame, NSC members look forward to working with Government to achieve the report’s important goals.

The 2005 Act …

  • Widens the definition of disability, extending legal protection to people with progressive conditions such as MS, HIV and some cancers, from the point of diagnosis;
  • Extends protection offered to a larger group of people with mental health difficulties by removing the requirement that conditions are ‘clinically well-recognised’ in order to fall within the scope of the Act;
  • Places new duties on all public bodies, including schools, requiring them to promote positive attitudes towards disabled people and encourage their participation in public life;
  • Strengthens tenants’ rights to make reasonable, disability related alterations to their homes;
  • Improves disabled people’s access to trains and buses, including an end-date for modifications of 2020;
  • Extends provision to private clubs of 25 or more members, including political parties.

But, there is…

  • No extra protection for a larger group of people with depression;
  • No comprehensive plan to promote independent living or to reduce the impact of disability through therapy training programmes;
  • No requirement for housing authorities to maintain disabled housing registers;
  • No rights for disabled people to make reasonable adjustments to communal areas in flats;
  • No commitment to provide audio-visual technologies on buses for sensory impaired passengers and those with learning difficulties;
  • No measures for sea and air travel;
  • No new rights to remove the barriers that prevent disabled people from full participation in volunteering roles.

Notes for editors:

The New Spirit Coalition comprises:

Age Concern England

Arthritis Care

Barking and Dagenham Centre for Independent Living

Black Disabled People’s Foundation

British Council of Disabled People

British Institute for Brain Injured Children

British Polio Fellowship

Disability Hackney

Disability in Camden

Disability Law Service

Disabled Parents Network

Habinteg

John Grooms

Law Society

Leonard Cheshire

Limbless Association

Maca

M.E. Network International (MENI)
Mencap

Mind

Multiple Sclerosis Society

Muscular Dystrophy Campaign

National Autistic Society

National Centre for Independent Living

Parkinson’s Disease Society

Remploy

Restricted Growth Association

Skill

Spinal Injuries Association

Terrence Higgins Trust

The Disabilities Trust

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association

The Stroke Association

Turning Point

Waltham Forest Access Alliance

Warwick District Network of Disabled People.

For more information please contact NSC member organisations directly or the NSC secretariat, Bethan Collins (0207 566 0126 / ).