• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About DNS
  • Subscribe to DNS
  • Advertise with DNS
  • Support DNS
  • Contact DNS

Disability News Service

the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues

  • Home
  • Independent Living
    • Arts, Culture and Sport
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Housing
    • Transport
  • Activism & Campaigning
  • Benefits & Poverty
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
You are here: Home / Politics / Real voices bring home day-to-day struggles to ‘horrified’ peers
Baroness Campbell in her wheelchair, with two other disabled people on either side listening

Real voices bring home day-to-day struggles to ‘horrified’ peers

By John Pring on 18th September 2015 Category: Politics

Listen

Members of a House of Lords committee examining the impact of the Equality Act 2010 have visited a user-led organisation to hear from disabled people on how the legislation has affected their day-to-day lives.

Six members of the committee – including the disabled crossbench peer Baroness [Jane] Campbell – visited Real, a support organisation for disabled people in Tower Hamlets, east London, to hear from them directly about the reality of their lives five years after the act became law.

Only last week, four legal experts told the committee, which is examining the act’s impact on disabled people, of their serious concerns about the government’s commitment to enforcing disabled people’s rights through the Equality Act.

Mike Smith, chief executive of Real, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s former disability commissioner, said the peers were “horrified” by what they were told by his members.

He said: “It was really good for them to hear it from real voices, as opposed to the formulaic responses they get from other organisations.”

Smith said he believed that hearing the “reality of people’s lives” would “galvanise” the peers into making “positive and constructive” recommendations.

He said there had been an “incredible energy in the room” as the committee listened to his members’ evidence.

He said: “Today we heard some amazing stories of day-to-day struggles disabled people experience trying to achieve equality.

“Although direct discrimination is less common than 20 years ago when the Disability Discrimination Act was first introduced, too often people were reporting unintentional indirect discrimination, failure to make reasonable adjustments, poor understanding and awareness, and a lack of ability to enforce their rights.

“Many still didn’t know what their rights were or how to find out more.”

Faiz Rehman, a member of Real, said: “I felt it was a good event, and I found it really encouraging that the Lords committee have made this connection to our organisation.

“I personally think the Equality Act is ambiguous and not as concise as the previous Disability Discrimination Act, and I am glad that the committee plan on producing a report on the new legislation.”

Baroness Deech, who chairs the Lords committee, said: “For the committee to get out and speak to disabled people is invaluable for our investigation.

“We heard some frank views on the Equality Act 2010, both good and bad, and they have given us a great deal of food for thought, which will inform our eventual findings.”

Picture: Copyright House of Lords 2015/Photography by Annabel Moeller

Share this post:

Share on X (Twitter)Share on FacebookShare on WhatsAppShare on RedditShare on LinkedIn

Tags: Equality Act 2010 and disability committee House of Lords Mike Smith Real

A photograph shows an audience raising their hands in a BSL sign. The words say: 'BSL Conference 2025. The future starts with us. Leeds 17-18 July. Be part of shaping the future of Deaf cultures and identities. Get 10% off with BDA10'

Related

Disabled peers speak of ‘daily fight’ against access barriers in House of Lords
22nd May 2025
Lords is ‘aeons ahead’ of Commons on access, disabled MP tells colleagues
3rd April 2025
Lords committee led by Tory banker calls for stricter assessments and conditions for disabled benefit claimants
23rd January 2025

Primary Sidebar

On the left of the image are multiple heads of different colours - white, aqua, red, light brown, and dark green - all grouped together, then the words ‘Campaign for Disability Justice. Sign up to support. #OpportunitySecurityRespect’
A photograph shows an audience raising their hands in a BSL sign. The words say: 'BSL Conference 2025. The future starts with us. Leeds 17-18 July. Be part of shaping the future of Deaf cultures and identities. Get 10% off with BDA10'

Access

Latest Stories

Disabled MP who quit government over benefit cuts tells DNS: ‘The consequences will be devastating’

Disabled peers plan to ‘amend, amend, amend, amend, amend’ after assisted dying bill reaches Lords

Minister finally admits that working-age benefits spending is stable, despite months of ‘spiralling’ claims

This bill opens the door to scandal, abuse and injustice, disabled activists say after assisted dying bill vote

Timms says cuts must go ahead, despite being reminded of risk that disabled claimants could die

Absence of disabled people’s voices from assisted dying bill has been ‘astonishing’, says disabled MP

Timms misleads MPs on DWP transparency and cover-ups, as he gives evidence on PIP review

Ministers are considering further extension to disability hate crime laws, after pledge on ‘aggravated’ offences

Making all self-driving pilot schemes accessible would be ‘counter-productive’ and slow us down, says minister

Involve disabled people ‘meaningfully’ from the start when developing digital assistive tech, says report

Advice and Information

Readspeaker
A photograph shows an audience raising their hands in a BSL sign. The words say: 'BSL Conference 2025. The future starts with us. Leeds 17-18 July. Be part of shaping the future of Deaf cultures and identities. Get 10% off with BDA10'

Footer

The International Standard Serial Number for Disability News Service is: ISSN 2398-8924

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site map
  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Threads
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 Disability News Service

Site development by A Bright Clear Web