Public bodies must implement disability duty

A fundamental change to the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 will force public bodies to take the needs of disabled people into account when planning everything from buildings to websites.

The new Disability Equality Duty (DED) places a legal obligation on public bodies to consider the needs of the disabled when planning services, as well as promoting positive attitudes towards disabled people. The DED does not just demand that public bodies act in a non-discriminatory way when it comes to people with disabilities, but that they actively promote equality.

Under accompanying Regulations, all public bodies should have published a Disability Equality Duty scheme by today that outlines how it will fulfil the new equality duty. A 196-page Code of Practice from the DRC gives guidance on what is expected.

"Public bodies – from the local library to the NHS – will have to consider what disabled people need when planning their services," said Disability Rights Commission (DRC) chairman Bert Massie. "This is a step-change away from individual disabled people having to complain about discrimination after an incident has taken place."

This will have a huge impact on how these 45,000 bodies implement technology. For example, websites and other means of electronic communications, through which many services are now delivered, must be designed with the needs of the disabled in mind.

Struan Robertson, editor of Out-Law.com and a technology lawyer with Pinsent Masons, said: "A Government department that is planning to procure a new IT system should ensure that its action plan includes the work it will do to ensure that the new system is suitable for use by disabled employees."

If they do not then they could face legal action from the DRC, which will be the enforcement body for the Disability Equality Duty.

"Only the DRC can issue a compliance notice on an authority which does not comply with the specific duties," the DRC said. "If it is not complied with then action can be taken by the DRC in the county or sherrif court.

Media and telecoms regulator Ofcom published its version of the Disability Equality Duty yesterday. This outlines not only how it will behave as an employer but also how it will promote equality in its work as a regulator.

It said it will review communications networks and services to assess how well they meet disabled users' needs and will ensure that broadcasters produce enough programming with sign language and subtitles.

"New communications technologies continue to emerge, providing more choice and opportunity for consumers to access entertainment and information and to interact with each other," said David Currie, Ofcom chairman, in the document.

"But full participation for all is not a given; service providers and manufacturers need to take into account the needs of disabled people.

"As the UK's communications regulator, Ofcom has a number of duties designed to ensure disabled people have fair access to electronic communications," he said. "These include setting and monitoring targets for television access services (subtitling, audio description and signing) and encouraging the availability of easy-to-use equipment."