Memorandum from the British Polio Fellowship
(DDB 20)
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS:
— The British Polio Fellowship [BPF]
welcomes the draft Bill as the next stage towards progress in
extending basic rights and opportunities for disabled people.
— However, the BPF would endorse a
Single Equality Act. This legislation would incorporate disability
issues and the rights of disabled people affording them equal
status in law. It would also establish a level playing field on
equal rights for all discriminated groups.
— Effective sanctions need to be identified
to ensure that disabled people can be confident that the updated
Act, once implemented, will protect their rights and quality of
life. Operation of sanctions would improve monitoring and appraisal
systems used to evaluate the impact of an enhanced Disability
Discrimination Act.
— The future of the Disability Rights
Commission needs clarifying because the success and credibility
of an extended Disability Discrimination Act will rely on sufficient
financing and staffing resources. The legal service should be
expanded to accommodate both the existing and new duties once
they come on stream. Without adequate resources, it will not be
possible to deliver equality for disabled people or monitor implementation
and disability issues will once again become the poor relation
in the field of social justice.
— Clause 3—transport services
1. On trains there is a lack of wheelchair
spaces—more spaces to be identified.
2. There is a lack of reliable staff assistance
at train stations—systems to improve assistance need to
be formalised so that disabled people are not stranded on arrival
at their destination despite having booked staff assistance.
3. Inaccessible stations should offer courtesy
taxis or other suitable accessible transport to and from the nearest
accessible station for disabled passengers.
4. Road coaches should be accessible by
2020 not 2025 as proposed.
5. Air and shipping: the recent Ryan Air
test case which successfully found against the company for charging
disabled people for wheelchair assistance and treating them "less
favourably", should set a precedent for other service providers
in the field.
February 2004
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