Summary of the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act:

DDA Definition of Disability is:

"A physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities".

Parts of the Act will become law at different times:

The above definition of disability became law from July 1996

December 1996:

• Employment
• Parts of Access to Goods & Services (Organisations should have developed policies which illustrate how barriers and discrimination will be overcome).
• Selling & Letting of land and property.

October 1999:

• Part III - Access to Goods & Services

Service Providers must:

• Change the way they do things if such a system discriminates against disabled people. All policies, practices and procedures that make it impossible or unreasonably difficult should be changed to ensure an equal service.
• Ensure they provide the necessary auxiliary aids and adaptations to make their services accessible, e.g. text phones for deaf people, information available in alternative formats, e.g. Braille, on tape, in large print. A plain English policy would also be useful.

2004 Onwards:

• Part IV - Access to Goods & Services (from 2004)

Service providers must:

• Make reasonable structural changes to inaccessible buildings to ensure equal access.
• Offer an alternative but equal service if equal access is not a viable option.

Other parts of the 1995 DDA will be made law from 2004 onwards these shall mainly deal with transport and education.

Access to goods, facilities and services:

These parts of the Act relate to any organisation, which offers a public service.

The Act makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person in the following ways:

• If they refuse to provide goods, facilities or services, which they provide to the public, for a reason which directly relates to a person's disability.

For example: A cinema owner cannot refuse entry to a group of deaf people using BSL on the assumption that they would upset other cinema goers. However, if they were drunk and rowdy, this would be a different matter!

• If they fail to change policies and practices which make it 'impossible or unreasonably difficult' for the disabled person to use the service.

For example: A theatre had a bad experience with allowing guide dogs into the auditorium and so introduced a policy of no dogs including guide dogs!

• If they provide a worse standard of service to disabled people compared to the service offered to non-disabled people.

For example: The organisers of a large open-air festival only provide wheelchair accessible seating right at the back with no alternative choice of view.

• If they offer a service on different terms to that of non-disabled people.

For example: A collection of local poetry is published in alternative formats. The text version costs £10.00 while the alternative format copies cost £15.00 as they cost more to produce.

The meaning of discrimination for the purposes of the 1995 DDA:

A service provider discriminates against a disabled person if all the following conditions are satisfied:

• The provider treats the disabled person less favourably than they would treat a non-disabled person; and
• It can be demonstrated that such less favourable treatment is directly related to their disability; and
• The service provider can not show that the treatment is fair or justified.

Example: A disabled person is made to stand and wait whilst other people behind them are served first. This is done because the shop is short staffed and it is 'assumed' that the disabled person will take longer to serve.

The duty to make 'reasonable adjustments':

• Organisations that offer a service must make sure that they have done everything they possibly can to ensure the service is accessible.

Example: A large organisation such as BT would be expected to provide text phones in all their offices to ensure equal access for deaf people.

However, a small, struggling organisation would not be expected to move to more accessible premises if this meant that they would go out of business.

• Service Providers housed in inaccessible buildings must make a reasonable adjustment to enable people to access their services.

Example: The local library is not accessible to wheelchair users because there are steps and no ramp up to the entrance. The courts may consider a reasonable adjustment to be the provision of a mobile library in the short term. However, being aware of the issue should mean that any future alterations or change of venue should take access issues on board.

(Note: Reasonable structural changes will be required from 2004)

• Service providers, from October 99, have a duty to provide auxiliary aids and adaptations, e.g. text phones, loop systems, information on tape, in Braille and large print which will allow disabled people better access to their services.

Example: If a blind person wishes to attend a public meeting or performance and requested information to be produced in Braille, it would be reasonable to expect the request to be honoured within a reasonable time scale which will allow equal access.

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