OUT-LAW.COM — Public bodies face disability law change

1 December 2006

The UK’s 45,000 public bodies will face a fundamental change to the way they operate when new disability legislation comes into force on Monday.

The new law was introduced by the Disability Discrimination Act of 2005 which amended the 1995 Act of the same name. It forces bodies to take the needs of disabled people into account when planning everything from buildings to websites.

The new Disability Equality Duty (DED) places a legal obligation on public bodies to consider the needs of the disabled when planning services. In carrying out their functions, the Act says public authorities must “have due regard” to needs that include eliminating discrimination and promoting positive attitudes towards disabled people.

I foresee much work for consultants. As the OUT.LAW piece points out, the new Code says:
“A Government department that is planning to procure a new IT system should ensure that its action plan includes the work it will do to ensure that the new system is suitable for use by disabled employees.”

In my recent blog item, ‘Tis the season to improve your Web site, I forgot to mention the later of the two Disability Discrimination Acts (DDAs). One of the differences between the original act and the 2005 version is that public authorities previously had to comply with its provisions only when providing a service to the public, such as in a library or a sports centre. Now, they must do so also when carrying out a function of government, such as assessing a benefit claim or issuing a licence. This is, to my mind, a wholly sensible and welcome extension to the law.

The Disability Discrimination Act of 2005 can be read here. There’s a useful set of guides to it here, on the Web site of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).