Implementing the Disability Discrimination Act 2005

• Posted by Ian Eggleton on 16th Jan ’07 at 12:08 UTC
• 1 comment

The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (DDA) came into effect on the 4th of December 2006. The Act introduces a "general duty" on public bodies to promote disability equality.

The Acts states that public bodies shall:

• Promote equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people
• Eliminate harassment of disabled people
• Take steps to meet the needs of disabled people EVEN if this requires more favourable treatment
• Promote positive attitudes towards disabled people
• Encourage participation by disabled people in public
• Encourage participation of disabled people in public life

The DDA 2005 also makes other provision regarding the definition of disability, access to private members clubs and clarification of other associated matters.

Public Authorities

What does this mean in reality? The range of public bodies is not actually specified but definitely includes Local Authorities. This may be helpful in the processing of planning applications. Evans Jones has acted for a number organisations where their requirements may not have been fully understood by the Planning Authority. The new obligations will be very useful in ensuring that all factors are fully considered by a Planning Authority in planning applications that involve works specifically for disabled users.

Evans Jones opinion

The Disability Rights Commission’s view is that Public Authorities will need to take care when assessing the relevance of details as many areas of their functioning are likely to be of relevance to disabled people (DOC).

We support this position as our experience is that many authorities do not understand the disability agenda and have a misunderstanding of the needs of disabled people.

The explanatory notes to the Act, that received Royal Assent on the 7th of April 2005 seem to indicate a robust approach to promoting the disability Agenda. In our view, this is based on the general principle of inclusion that runs through a broad range of inclusive legislation that also affects race, sex and equal opportunities. This has to be a good thing for a mature society and particularly one which should lead by example.