DDB 36 The Blue Badge Network
(Formerly the ORANGE Badge Network)
Registered Charity No: 1018535
The Rt. Hon the Lord Carter
Chairman Joint Committee
Draft Disability Discrimination Bill
[Cm 6068]
Committee Office
House of Lords
Westminster
London SW1AOPW
February 102004
My Lord,
RESPONSE BY THE BLUE BADGE NETWORK TO THE DRAFT
DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION BILL
RESPONSE
It should be noted that The Blue Badge Network is
hereby
referred to as the 'Network' throughout this response
[1] The Blue Badge Network is a registered Charity
No 1018535. The Network commenced operations in 1991 and now has
8000 registered members throughout the United Kingdom. The primary
objects of the Blue Badge Network are to assist all disabled people.
and their families, of all ages. To
help them integrate more effectively with society
through the European Union, by co-operation, to overcome access
and mobility problems. The Network also seeks to maintain the
integrity and validity of the concessionary parking permit by
the prevention of fraud and misuse of this valuable asset.
[2] In respect of the Networks response to the Draft
Disability Discrimination Bill, we ask that the attached letter
dated December 202003 addressed to the Networks President Mr Ross
Cranston QC MP be included and accepted.
[3] In respect of the themes
numbered 1 to 8 on page two of the Call for Evidence, the Network
responds as follows:
[1] lt is the Networks opinion that all the proposals
indicated in the Draft Disability Discrimination Bill are necessary
but insofar as their workability is concerned this will be very
dependent on what central and local government are prepared to
expend on the Bills implementation and policing. Difficulty is
already being experienced in the workings of the Disabled Discrimination
Act 1995; hence the urgent need for the Draft Disability Discrimination
Bill. There will never be sufficient protection for disabled people
or their relatives and carers. Until recent years, disabled people
have not even begun to enjoy 'normality' until the current crop
legislation has been introduced. The apparent reliance upon legislation
to enable all disabled people to be treated in the same way as
ambulant must be supported.
[2] The implementation of the Bill should be arranged
to commence within eighteen months.
[3]
[4] The adequacy of procedures in all matters of
this kind is again much dependent upon those employed to carry
out these tasks and the amount of funding proposed for such. Currently,
any 'reporting of offences' under the
DDA has to be carried out by individual people who
have been discriminated against. The Network strongly believes
that this course of action will be out of the question for many
disabled people and if the same line of enforcement is adopted
for the proposed Bill then again many disabled people will find
it difficult if not impossible to carry out any proposed prosecutions
without assistance and funding should be provided in such cases.
[5] The Network is unable to state positively that
the draft bill is achieving the correct balance between securing
the rights of disabled people and imposing duties and costs on
the private and public sectors. In order for the Bill to work
efficiently and to protect those people that the Bill is hopefully
designed to protect against discrimination, there must surely
be some cost to both the private and public sectors, without such,
the Bill will fail to function leaving disabled people without
the help and protection they are expecting from the Bill. There
are several examples where the Bill will continue to fail disabled
people and this is particularly apparent under the transport section
where railways services in outlaying areas fail and will continue
to fail to provide disabled toilets and assistance with wheelchairs
at railway stations. These apparent failures, as the Network has
indicated in the copy letter dated December 20 2003 should be
included in the Bill. In a similar vein, black cab drivers are
refusing to carry powered wheelchairs in their taxi's due to insurance
companies failing to provide insurance cover for transporting
such items. Large cities such as London, Birmingham and Manchester
have large fleets of black cabs which means that disabled people
using powered wheelchairs will be excluded from such vehicles
and therefore discriminated against the use of black cabs. The
network is also concerned about the apparent discrimination against
disabled people by a very small minority of airlines operating
into this country but registered in Southern Ireland and Holland.
Any voluntary codes used at airports to assist disabled people
should become compulsory if they fail to work.
2~
[6] The changes to the description of the word 'disability'
as indicated on page 22 7/7.1 is welcomed by the Network as the
sufferers from Multiple Sclerosis [MS], Asymptomatic HIV and cancer
requiring substantial treatment have for some time been excluded
from being protected by other Acts of Parliament and therefore
to a certain extent discriminated against.
[7] The 'triggers' referred to in the draft bill
will assist all those providers affected by the DDA to make reasonable
and satisfactory changes to their premises in order for all disabled
people to access them. Providing access to the premises of service
providers work's two ways, it permits disabled people who have
been so far excluded from any such premises to now having access
to them from October 2004 onwards and for the operators of such
premises to gain by the spending power of disabled people.
[8] The Network generally agrees that the manifesto
issued by the governments in 2001 has in general been adhered
to. It has already been noted by the Network that more has been
achieved by the present government since they have been in office
in the promotion of disabled matters and the introduction of legislation
to protect disabled people than any other government has in living
memory achieved and we as disabled people are grateful for this.
Never before have disabled people been offered so much for their
protection by legislation together with the introduction of changes
and additional state benefits which has assisted disabled people
to change their life styles to a higher standard. The introduction
of these state benefits, which are aimed specifically at disabled
people, has been a significant advance.
SUMMARY
The Blue Badge Network is fully supportive of all
proposals and legislation suggested by governments that aids and
assists all disabled people to make their lives more secure, safer
and accessible. The Network urges all governments to
help and assist disabled people whenever and wherever
they can by the introduction of workable legislation that
assists all concerned.
This document is submitted by the Marquis de Derval
et de Moisdon Patron of The Blue Badge Network on behalf of its
membership and Governing Council
Mr Ross Cranston QC MP
December 2~ 2003
Dear Ross,
QRAFT DISABILITY DISCRIMiNATiON BILL
DECEMBER 200
In respect of the above Bill, I have read through
the three volumes you were kind enough to
send to me and on behalf of the Blue Badge
Network members I can
only say that the membership
of the Network would fully
support any proposals submitted by the government which assists
disabled people and in particular disabIed drivers. However, the
Blue Badge Network would like to point out that the transport
lobby have succeeded in delaying
measurers to address discrimination despite the proposed
improvements announced within the Bill leading to the continuing
problems of access to transport systems.
The Blue Badge Network calls
for the lifting of the Regulatory Impact Assessment exempting
transport services from Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination
Act 1998 and that the transport systems listed
below should all be included within the regulations as service
providers by October 1 2004 or as soon thereafter as possible.
Long delays in the current
exemptions being lifted will be unacceptable.
Annex 3 which is contained
in the Draft Regulatory Impact Assessment document and enclosed
between pages 27 and 45 appertains to the
issue of changes in the carriage of disabled
people by various forms of public transport and includes
the following sectors:
Rail
Buses and coaches
Taxis
Private hire vehicles
Aviation
Shipping
Car Hire
Breakdown services
Tourism and Leisure
Much criticism has been made of public transport
services by disabled people as to their availability and access.
Further criticism has also been voiced against the operators of
such public transport systems from the refusal of taxi and private
hire drivers to permit guide dogs into their vehicles to the failure
of rail operators to provide suitable spaces for wheelchairs to
be permitted within railway carriages. Reports are still being
heard of wheelchair users being placed in luggage vans because
of the lack of suitable space in carriages. The lack of suitable
training for staff as to the problems encountered by disabled
is at last being included in this
proposed le9islation and the various surveys that have
been carried out in the preparation of this document continues
to indicate the problems being repeatedly experienced by disabled
people on a daily basis.
The failure for instance of those responsible for
railway stations in outlaying areas to provide disabled toilet
facilities for wheelchair users is to
be condemned and as such legislation should be implemented to
ensure such facilities are available at stations bearing in mind
such facilities are not normally available on railway services.
Such matters unfortunately do not form part of the proposed Bill.
Insofar as Aviation and Shipping is concerned, any
voluntary code of practise that fails to be fully implemented
by those operating such should then be made compulsory by legislation
if deemed necessary. The failure in recent times of some airlines
discriminating against disabled people is to be condemned and
services provided at airports by operators of such
should be consistent at all airports operated by them, i.e.
the charging for the use of wheelchairs to
access aircraft from terminal buildings and visa versa not being
consistent. It I alleged that Ryan Air and KLM have been accused
of such practice according to media reports..
In respect of care hire services, the Blue Badge
Network recommends that all car hire services should provide both
automatic vehicles and adapted vehicles as a matter of course
to disabled people and that any additional costs for the provision
of such vehicle should be kept to the absolute minimum bearing
in mind that at least 87% of registered disabled people are in
receipt of state benefits and therefore would not be able to afford
excessive charges to hire 'specialists' vehicles to aid their
mobility at
times when their normal means of transport is not
available for one reason or another.
The introduction of fully accessible buses and coaches
as soon as possible shouId be a priority of the all operators
of such vehicles in order to facilitate the mobility of disabled
people who can use this mode of transport. It is appreciated that
some coach and bus companies have already introduced into service
a limited number of fully accessible vehicles such as 'bendy buses'
but some criticism has already been voiced concerning the lack
of training by drivers of such vehicles particularly when problems
have arisen over the loading and unloading of luggage. More driver
training in this respect is therefore recommended.
Any future codes or legislation such as the Traffic
Management Bill concerned with transportation in so far as disabled
people are concerned should be implemented with the minimum of
delay.
We may be somewhat premature in our response as under
the heading 'comment' on page 23 of the Explanatory Notes section
of the Bill it states that the said Bill will be subject to pre-legislative
scrutiny and that further details will appear on the governments
website on Disability viz. disability.gov.uk. As of the date of
writing this response, no information appears to be available
but I will keep an eye on the website and prepare an additional
response if necessary.
Would you be kind enough to send me a copy of the
Traffic Management Bill referred to above.
It now only leads me to thank you and your staff
on behalf of the
BBN for all the work that you have carried out for
us over the last
twelve months. May I wish you all a very Merry Christmas
and a
Happy New Year.
AIan de Derval et de Moisdon
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