equality act

Politics

Jared O'Mara reading from a piece of paper in the Commons chamber

September 13, 2018 0

Autistic MP calls for change in equality laws to make parliament less hostile

An autistic MP who has only been able to make two speeches in the main Commons chamber since being elected is calling for a change in equality laws to force the authorities to make parliament a more accessible place to work. Jared O’Mara has had a series of requests rejected by the authorities that

Education

Michelle Daley speaking into a microphone as someone holds up a large piece of paper in front of her

August 16, 2018 0

Legal ruling secures new protection for autistic pupils

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Thousands of disabled children have won new protection from being unfairly excluded from school after a judge ruled that the government’s equality laws were unlawful. The upper tribunal ruled last week that a 13-year-old pupil, known as “L” for legal reasons, should not have been excluded from his school because his behaviour was linked

Transport

August 2, 2018 0

Government repeatedly ignores its own advisers on ‘toxic’ train access

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The government has repeatedly ignored concerns raised by its own accessible transport advisers about the “toxic” impact on disabled people of running trains without a member of customer service staff on board, official documents have revealed. The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) has been warning the Department for Transport (DfT) of its concerns

Politics

August 2, 2018 0

MPs launch probe into enforcement of Equality Act

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A committee of MPs has launched an inquiry into the difficulties faced by disabled people and other protected groups who need to enforce their rights under the Equality Act. The Commons women and equalities committee said it was concerned that the 2010 act “creates an unfair burden” on individuals who want to enforce their

Human Rights

Sue Bott giving evidence to a parliamentary committee

July 19, 2018 0

Brexit bill ‘will give ministers power to exchange trade deals for rights’

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The government’s trade bill – which will give ministers powers to give up disability rights protections in exchange for deals with other countries – proves disabled people were right to be concerned about the impact of Brexit, say campaigners. Disability and human rights organisations have written to trade secretary Liam Fox to express alarm

Education

July 5, 2018 0

Autistic teen’s legal fight over ‘physical abuse’ school exclusion

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A legal case being heard this week highlights how disabled children who can be physically aggressive because of their impairment are currently being failed by equality laws, say inclusive education campaigners. The upper tribunal this week heard the appeal brought by the parents of a 13-year-old disabled boy, known as L, who was excluded

Activism and Campaigning

Ministry of Justice sign on the wall of a building, overlooked by windows

June 28, 2018 0

Campaigner defeats third government department on accessible information

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A disabled campaigner has won his third legal case against separate government departments over their failure to provide information in accessible formats. Graham Kirwan had already secured victories over the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department of Health. DWP previously paid him £1,700 damages for refusing to communicate by email over

Independent Living

James Plummer sitting in his wheelchair in front of some trees

June 14, 2018 0

Landmark court ruling over leisure club’s inaccessible swimming pool

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A company that runs a leisure club on a luxury housing estate discriminated against a disabled man by repeatedly refusing to make the adjustments that would allow him to use the swimming pool, according to a court’s “landmark” judgement. James Plummer (pictured) has secured the legal judgement after an “epic struggle” that has lasted

Human Rights

May 10, 2018 0

EHRC appoints eight disabled people to advisory committee

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The equality and human rights watchdog has appointed eight disabled people to its disability committee, including leading activists, advisers and academics. The new appointments mean that all 14 members of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) disability advisory committee (DAC) will be disabled people. The committee was formed last year to replace the

Transport

May 10, 2018 0

A year on from new taxi discrimination laws… and not a single prosecution

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Local authorities have failed to prosecute a single taxi-driver for discriminating against wheelchair-users under new legislation introduced more than a year ago, according to new figures released under the Freedom of Information Act. The figures show that not one taxi-driver out of more than 30,000 so far covered by the new legislation has appeared

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