DRC calls for review

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) this week called on the government to close legal loopholes that exclude disabled people from using services - including those provided by law firms and the tribunal system.

Launching its first review of current disability laws, the DRC said it had been 'powerless' to deal with more than 2,000 cases related to discrimination by service providers and employers, and urged the government to remedy the situation when it introduces new legislation later this year.

Proposals included extending the definition of 'disability' to cover progressive conditions, mental illness and people associated with the disabled.

It also recommended that the test assessing whether less favourable treatment is justified should be based on objectivity rather than reasonable opinion, and called for clarity on how extra cost should factor into this.

'Where, for example, a solicitor charges by the hour and takes longer to communicate via an interpreter, such extra time could amount to a reasonable adjustment which cannot be charged for,' it explained.

'Alternatively it could be argued that it amounts to a bespoke service and attracts the justification of extra cost.'

Another proposal was bringing service providers under the remit of employment tribunals, as a 'significant proportion' of complainants were deterred from going to court owing to complexity and cost.

DRC chairman Bert Massie said: 'It is vital that some of these changes - such as bringing people with multiple sclerosis within the protection of the law - are introduced this year.'

Paula Rohan