Government Failing Disabled People

A damming report has concluded that disabled people in the UK are being let down by the government and drastic improvements are needed.  11 million people in the UK have some form of disability but the report published by a House of Lords committee found that laws designed to eliminate discrimination “simply aren’t working in practice”.

Catalogue of Failures

A catalogue of failures was uncovered and found employers, service providers and public bodies are still not adapting to meet the needs of disabled people. The report highlighted that some pubs and restaurants are using disabled toilets as storage cupboards, taxi drivers are refusing to take guide dogs and sporting venues don’t cater for wheelchair users – forcing fans to sit with opponents.

“Public authorities can easily side-step their legal obligations to disabled people.”

Public transport, private hire taxis and local authority buildings came under fire for not offering acceptable wheelchair accessibility.

Discrimination tribunal numbers have also fallen since fees were introduced in 2003. There are calls to reconsider these fees and the Ministry of Justice was urged to “act on the strong evidence that tribunal fees are unfairly obstructing discrimination claims under the Equality Act”.

Baroness Deech, who chaired the committee, said: “We have been struck by how disabled people are let down across the whole spectrum of life.

“Access to public buildings remains an unnecessary challenge. Public authorities can easily side-step their legal obligations to disabled people and recent changes in the courts have led to disabled people finding it harder to fight discrimination.

“The Government bears the ultimate responsibility for enabling disabled people to participate in society on equal terms and we believe it’s simply not discharging that responsibility.”

Changes to be Made

The peers suggested a number of recommendations including reversal of the government’s ‘red tape challenge’, which was introduced to ease regulatory burdens on businesses.  They also want to see taxi firms legally bound to operate wheelchair accessible vehicles and all train stations offering step-free access.

A government spokesman said: “We’re committed to ensuring disabled people live their lives free from discrimination.

“That’s why we’ve strengthened the Equality Act to create a level playing field and ensure that the law properly protects them. All organisations are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments and we closely monitor to make sure this is happening.”

The government has two months to respond to the report.