Landlords should not be allowed to withhold
consent unreasonably from a tenant who wants to make changes to
the physical features of their home.The Government should
write a list of public authorities. This should include schools,
further education and higher education institutions, the Qualifications
and Curriculum Authority and general examination bodies. It should
also say what a public authority is so that other bodies which
the Government does not put in the list, but which match the description
of a public body, would also be included under the new equality
duties.
The Government should say more clearly what the
disability equality duties will mean for each public body, particularly
in relation to education and employment.
- Volunteers should be covered under the Disability
Discrimination Act powers.
A person should not have to say they have a disability
when they fill out a job application. An employer should only
be allowed to ask if someone has a disability before a job is
offered if it is absolutely necessary.
- There should be accessible tribunals rather
than courts to enforce Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination
Act because courts are often too expensive and scary for people
with a learning disability to use.
2. Introduction
The following organisations representing
people with a learning disability have written this to say how
we feel about the draft Disability Discrimination Bill:
- British Institute of Learning
Disabilities (Bild)
- Home Farm Trust
Leonard Cheshire
Mencap
National Autistic Society
Popan
Respond
Sense
Turning Point
3. General comments
Many of the people who will help write
the final Bill do not understand the needs of people with a learning
disability very well. Accessibility is not just about being physically
able to get in and out of a building or vehicle.
Some of our comments below reflect our concerns
that things that are important to people with a learning disability
will not be properly considered in this Bill even though there
are 1.2 million people with a learning disability in England alone.
In total, around 15% of the UK population of disabled people
have a learning disability.
We had to wait nearly two months after the publication
of the draft Bill for an accessible version. This does not give
us confidence that the Government is interested in what people
with a learning disability have to say. We hope the Joint Committee
is willing to listen to us.
We welcome the principles behind the draft Bill.
The measures will help improve equality and respect for people
with a learning disability and reduce discrimination but only
if the point at which discrimination occurs (the trigger) is not
set too high.
How far the Bill will improve the lives of people
with a learning disability will depend largely on its detail rather
than its principles. In some areas of the Bill - particularly
transport - the Government has not gone far enough and in other
areas, our concerns are not addressed at all.
People with a learning disability want equality,
opportunity and respect. We recognise that this Bill cannot deliver
all this by itself but we will not get another chance for a Disability
Bill for quite some time. So we feel the Government should do
more in this Bill to improve things.
We also think that changing people's attitudes
is as important as new laws and the Government must do something
about this too.
Recommendations
We welcome the Disability Rights Commission's
idea that the point at which discrimination occurs (the trigger)
should be set at 'substantial disadvantage' throughout the Disability
Discrimination Act and the new Disability Discrimination Bill.
This would mean that a person with a disability would be discriminated
against if they were put at a substantial disadvantage when they
tried to use a service. At the moment we think the trigger is
unfair because people would have to prove they had found it 'impossible
or unreasonably difficult' to use a service which is much harder.
- The draft Codes of Practice should be published
as soon as possible.
We want this new law to happen as soon as possible
so that the Disability Rights Commission is able to decide exactly
how things will work before the Commission for Human Rights and
Equality takes over.
- The Government should set aside money to tell
people about the Bill.
Provisions of the Draft Bill
4. Transport - Clause 3
Transport is the thing that people with
a learning disability are most worried about in this Bill.
We feel the draft Bill does not go far
enough in making sure that people who provide public transport
do not discriminate against people with a learning disability.
This is also a very difficult area of law to understand.
It should be easy. The aim of legislation should be for disabled
people to have the same rights to access public transport as everyone
else. Instead we have a Disability Discrimination Act which is
confusing and a draft Bill which will make things even more difficult
to understand.
Access to public transport is very important
to everyone. It determines whether we are able to hold down a
job, see our friends and family, shop, or take part in leisure
activities. For disabled people in particular, it represents
the difference between social inclusion and exclusion.
We feel the main reasons why little has been done
to make transport easier for people with a learning disability
to use are:
- a poor understanding amongst decision makers
about what 'accessible transport' means.
- because transport providers haven't really
thought about the needs of disabled people or because they see
meeting their needs as too expensive.
In 2003, Mencap did a survey of its members to
find out what difficulties people with a learning disability had
when using public transport. The National Autistic Society did
a study as well. Both organisations agreed that what matters
most to people with a learning disability are:
signs and travel information that can be easily
understood. Timetables, for example, are very difficult to understand.
- audio and visual announcements to say where
the bus or train will be stopping next and if there has been any
change to the route.
proper disability awareness training for transport
staff.
From 1st October 2004, under the current
Disability Discrimination Act, transport providers may have to
change places like stations and airports - including signs and
travel information - but only if it makes it 'impossible or unreasonably
difficult' for someone with a disability to use them.
The draft Disability Discrimination Bill would see
transport services included in Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination
Act for the first time. However, the physical features of vehicles
would still be dealt with under Part 5 of the present law.
The Government has said that putting transport services
under Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act is likely to
mean that people like bus and taxi drivers would need to have
proper disability awareness training. This would be good for
all passengers, not just those passengers who have a disability.
Everyone needs help sometimes and disability awareness
training is really about making sure transport staff understand
how to help better. As such, it would save the transport companies
money in other types of training, like customer care training,
and in dealing with complaints.
Many transport providers say they already have disability
awareness training. But our surveys showed people with a learning
disability are still discriminated against all the time. Learning
disability is often not understood and drivers sometimes wrongly
think that someone with a learning disability is being anti-social.
Many people may have difficulty speaking or working out the right
money to pay for their fare and this can lead to drivers and passengers
being rude to them, especially when they try and take the bus.
Transport providers should have to develop proper
disability awareness training which includes training on the specific
needs of people with a learning disability. We know we would
need to help with this training and would be happy to do so.
The Government has not said yet what else transport
providers are likely to have to do to meet the new law. Nor has
the DRC which will say how the law should be explained through
the Codes of Practice. We would like this to happen as soon as
possible.
However, given that the physical features of vehicles
will remain under Part 5 of the Disability Discrimination Act,
we do not think putting transport services under Part 3 of the
DDA will place too much burden on transport providers and it should
be done immediately for all of them.
If the Government decides that the Part 3 law should
apply to different types of public transport at different times,
then it should say exactly when this will happen for each type
of transport. We are concerned that some transport providers
may not have to do what the new law says for many years unless
the Government says now what it wants to do. But we would stress
that proper disability awareness training for all transport providers
should be happening now.
Under the draft Bill, the physical features of transport
vehicles would remain under Part 5 of the DDA and many transport
providers would still not need to put in new audio-visual information
systems for their vehicles for many years. Buses, for example,
would still not have to say onboard where the bus was going or
what the next stop was, even though this is when people with a
learning disability most need this information. We think this
is wrong.
Announcements can already be made on most trains
but drivers often do not bother or their announcement isn't loud
enough to be heard. It should not be up to the driver whether
or not they say where the train is going and where it is going
to stop next. This shows a lack of management will to help disabled
people. The Disability Rights Commission should say that transport
providers that already have audio-visual information facilities
in their vehicles must use them. Furthermore, these facilities
should be in all bus services and other forms of public transport
as quickly as possible.
This could be done by changing Part 5 of the Disability
Discrimination Act to prioritise accessible audio-visual information
in transport refurbishment programmes.
We would like to see all buses and trains made fully
accessible by 2017 with suitable targets set before this date
to ensure that transport providers do not wait until the last
minute to make the changes needed.
We do not think voluntary codes will work for certain
transport providers as they do not have a very good record in
making travelling easier for disabled people voluntarily.
For example, on 9 June 2003, EasyJet refused to allow
13 students with a learning disability from Pengwern College,
Rhuddlan, North Wales, to board a plane to fly them back from
an international soccer tournament in Geneva. EasyJet said they
could only fly if they had one carer for every two disabled people.
The team had five carers with them. EasyJet eventually allowed
them on to the plane after other passengers said they would act
as carers but the team was still forced to wait to board the plane
until everyone else had got on.
There have, of course, been other recent well-documented
incidents of discrimination against disabled people involving
airlines.
All these changes will mean nothing if the trigger
for when discrimination occurs is set too high. We are worried
that a court may rule that a person with a learning disability
could be escorted by a carer when they use public transport so
transport providers would not need to make things accessible.
This would not only double the cost of travelling for someone
with a learning disability but would strip them of their independence
when making decisions about their daily lives.
Recommendations
- All transport services should be included in
Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act immediately.
- The draft Codes of Practice, setting out exactly
what this would mean in practice for transport providers, should
be published as soon as possible. Accessible audio-visual information
to customers onboard vehicles should be made a priority by changing
Part 5 of the Disability Discrimination Act.
- We would like to see all buses and trains made
fully accessible by 2017.
- The trigger for when discrimination occurs should
be lowered to 'substantial disadvantage'.
5. Functions of public authorities - Clause 4
The draft Bill says there must be a 'very much
less favourable' outcome. We are concerned that this trigger
is likely to be too high.
Recommendations
- The trigger for when discrimination occurs
should be lowered to 'substantial disadvantage'.
6. Private clubs - Clause 5
We welcome this idea but it is the regulations
which will say how important this change is for disabled people.
We are concerned that the Government wants to set the trigger
at the same level as current Part 3 triggers ('impossible or unreasonably
difficult').
We also want to say that clubs, in particular,
are a place where changing people's attitudes to disabled people
is as important as changing the law.
Recommendations
The trigger for when discrimination occurs should
be lowered to 'substantial disadvantage'.
- Money should be given to help change people's
attitudes.
7. Housing - Clauses 6 & 7
We welcome this idea. It is really important
that all disabled people have accessible and affordable housing
in which they can live.
Recommendations
- We would like any definition of an 'auxiliary
aid' to include accessible tenancy agreements and other signage.
- Landlords should not be allowed to withhold
consent unreasonably from a tenant who wishes to make changes
to the physical features of their home.
8. Disability equality duty for public authorities
- Clause 8
We warmly welcome this new idea and think it could
have a number of good outcomes for people with a learning disability.
We hope it will mean that local authorities will
do more to end the regular harassment of people with a learning
disability.
We would like the Government to say more clearly
how it will monitor specific employment duties. If people with
a learning disability are still finding it difficult to get a
job within public bodies, we would like to see positive measures
to help them.
It
is not clear whether the new duties will remove the current gap
in the law around the health needs of some pupils in education.
At the moment, local education authorities, schools and governing
bodies are responsible for the health and safety of pupils in
their care. Part 4 of the Disability Discrimination Act is intended
to solve the problem of discrimination against pupils. However,
schools have not necessarily had to meet pupils' health needs
all the time.
We would like schools, further education and higher
education institutions, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
and general examination bodies to be included in any definition
of a public authority. We would also like the Government to set
out in more detail what specific duties will be applied to each
of these public bodies.
We would like the Government to provide further
details on how these duties will work with other laws, particularly
the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.
Recommendations
The Government should write a list of public authorities.
This should include schools, further education and higher education
institutions, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and
general examination bodies. It should also say what a public
authority is so that other bodies which the Government does not
put in the list, but which match the description of a public body,
would also be included under the new duties.
- The Government needs to say more clearly what
the disability equality duties will mean for each public body,
particularly in relation to education and employment.
- We want this new law to happen as soon as
possible so that the Disability Rights Commission is able to decide
exactly how the duties will work before the Commission for Human
Rights and Equality takes over.
What's missing from the draft Bill?
We think the following issues should also be included
in the draft Bill:
9. Volunteers
Volunteering is one way for people with a learning
disability to eventually get a paid job. Volunteers should therefore
be covered under the Disability Discrimination Act powers.
10. Disability-related enquiries
Less than 10% of people with a learning disability
are in employment. A person should not have to say they have
a disability when they fill out a job application. An employer
should only be allowed to ask if someone has a disability before
a job is offered if it is absolutely necessary.
11. Part 3 enforcement
One way to help people with a learning disability
speak up against discrimination would be to have accessible tribunals
rather than courts which are often too expensive and scary for
people with a learning disability to use.
For more information
If you would like more information about
what we have said in this joint submission, or about the groups
who have said it, please contact Angus Baldwin, Mencap's Parliamentary
Officer, on 020 7696 5568 or via angus.baldwin@mencap.org.uk
