DDB 115 Department of Work and Pensions
Response to the Joint Scrutiny Committee's request
for further information on the draft Regulatory Impact Assessment
on the draft Disability Discrimination Bill
Questions raised in
the Clerk to the Scrutiny Committee's letter of 15 March:
Q1) Are any estimates
now available regarding the definitive global costs to local authorities,
and private clubs of the proposals? If not, what is the timescale
for completing this part of the cost assessment?
A1)
The draft RIA uses existing data sources to analyse the potential
costs and benefits in respect of the measures which impact on
local authorities and private clubs. The Government is confident
that it provides a sound foundation in the lead-up to the introduction
of the full Bill, at which time we will publish a revised version
of the RIA.
In support of this
work, we are planning to carry out public consultation exercises
on our proposals for draft Regulations using the powers laid down
in the clauses concerning public authority duties and private
clubs. These consultations will enable us to ensure that we have
got the nature and balance of the Regulations right. That will
include reviewing our assumptions on the costs of complying with
the new duties.
We will give full
consideration to submissions to the Committee from organisations
like the Local Government Association (LGA) which have suggested
that some costs may be an under-estimate.
Q2) We are concerned
by the lack of information regarding the monitoring regime for
these new proposals. It would be useful if the RIA provided further
information about the systems used for monitoring and how often
this would take place. This should give a good indication of how
soon the department expects the measures to be fully implemented
and what will constitute success or failure. Can this information
be provided?
Q2)
The Disability
Rights Commission (DRC) has a statutory duty to monitor the Disability
Discrimination Act (see s2 of the Disability Rights Commission
Act 1999) and as part of this duty commissions independent research,
where appropriate. The work of the DRC, including research, is
a significant contribution to ensuring that the DDA is properly
and effectively monitored and supplements the Government's own
monitoring processes.
We have regard to a wide
range of data such as Employment Tribunal, Employment Appeal Tribunal
and court cases taken under the Disability Discrimination Act
(DDA), that provided by organisations like the Office for National
Statistics (e.g. the quarterly Labour Force Survey), and DRC
statistics on issues raised by callers to its Helpline and considered
by its conciliation service.
The DWP has commissioned
a series of research projects monitoring the provisions of the
DDA as they apply to both employers and service providers. The
findings from these have informed our publicity campaign for the
current year, which will focus on small and medium-sized businesses.
We will also be commissioning
further significant baseline research with service providers and
small employers on both the Bill's proposed duties and the October
2004 changes to the DDA. The data gathered, which will be widely
disseminated, will help reinforce future actions to enhance and
encourage compliance.
We are currently
planning ongoing monitoring in support of the provisions of the
DDA more generally. Further research will be developed in support
of the Bill and DDA's provisions and will be used to measure how
the Bill is operating.
This wide range of
measures and initiatives allows us to ensure that the legislative
framework is effectively monitored.
Q3) The RIA does
not explicitly address the risk that the Bill's measures might
not be complied with and therefore be largely inefficacious. How
is this risk being addressed?
A3)
Experience of the DDA in operation has shown the Act has been
widely accepted across those sectors it affects. However, the
Government wants to do more to raise awareness. That is why we
are launching high profile campaigns aimed at wide areas of society.
Most of the specific
measures proposed in the Bill have already been consulted upon
nationally as part of our public consultation document "Towards
Inclusion". Further consultations are planned to complement
this activity.
The majority of the
draft Bill's measures were proposed by the Disability Rights Task
Force which had membership from disability organisations, the
private and public sectors, and trade unions. Many of its members
were themselves disabled or had first hand experience of disability
issues and were able to provide a valuable insight during the
work of the Task Force. The Task Force has set the agenda for
civil rights change and it is that to which we are responding
with our proposals in the draft Bill.
It is clear that
a well paced approach to taking through new disability discrimination
legislation, involving widespread involvement and consultation,
has ensured appropriate debate and greater acceptance. The new
legislation is responsive and sensitive to the needs of both disabled
people and the sectors on which new duties will impinge.
For these reasons,
the Government is confident that the risk of non-compliance is
low. This is supported by experience of levels of non-compliance
to date, based on the numbers of formal complaints and use of
the DRC's conciliation service on access issues, amongst all disabled
employees covered and all disabled customers.
The DRC's Codes of
Practice, its ongoing enforcement activity and awareness raising
campaigns by both the Commission and Government will continue
to contribute to ensuring that the Bill's duties, once in place,
are understood and met.
Q4) For each of
the following measures total costs will depend upon what are considered
"reasonable" adjustments to make:
- letting of
premises
- extension
of scope of DDA to "functions" of public bodies
- private clubs
- disabled councillors
Given that these
measures are as yet untested this introduces uncertainty into
the cost estimates as the full extent of changes and adjustments
which might be considered reasonable for bodies to carry out is
not yet known. What assessment has been made of the sensitivity
of the estimated costs to changes in the underlying assumptions,
in particular what is deemed 'reasonable'?
A4)
Under s53A of the DDA, the DRC can issue Codes of Practice on
matters covered by the Act. The Codes are an effective means of
helping those with new duties to understand and implement them
and to restrict inadvertent non-compliance. They include guidance
on what actions might be regarded as reasonable
It is important to
bear in mind that the provisions in the draft Bill on reasonable
adjustments - which reflect existing provisions of the DDA - would
require landlords, public authorities, private clubs and local
authorities to "take such steps, as it is reasonable in
all the circumstances of the case to have to take ...",
when the duty is triggered. Ultimately, it is
for the courts to decide what steps are reasonable in the particular
circumstances concerned, having regard to DRC Codes of Practice.
The courts are experienced
in interpreting reasonableness. We are aware of nothing which
undermines the assumptions in the RIA. They are based on knowledge
and experience of how existing duties in the DDA operate and on
research into what employers and services providers actually do
in practice.
Q5) Will any attempt
be made to quantify the Bill's benefits in order to facilitate
a more robust comparison of the balance of costs and benefits
to the disabled and the wider community of each proposal?
A5)
The draft RIA quantifies costs and benefits to organisations of
the proposed changes in the draft Disability Discrimination Bill.
The gains to disabled people, and the rest of society, will in
part be financial and are already captured in the draft RIA.
However, there will also
be other gains which are non-financial in nature, such as improvements
in personal well-being and changing attitudes and perceptions
to disability. There are also benefits to society from removing
institutional and other barriers to participation for disabled
people, and the changes we are proposing in the draft Bill will
do this in a way which minimises the costs.
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