New Disability Discrimination Bill

United Kingdom
15/12/2004
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The new Disability Discrimination Bill began its progress through Parliament on 26 November 2004. The Bill has just been made available on the Parliament website, click here for a detailed explanatory memorandum.

The Bill will make major changes to the existing law, affecting employers, landlords and managers of rented premises, passenger rail operators, larger private clubs, general qualifications bodies, publishers of advertisements, as well as giving public authorities a duty to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people when exercising their functions.

In particular:-

  • Landlords or managers of rented premises will come under a duty to take reasonable steps to provide auxiliary aids or services to enable a disabled person to occupy the rented premises or to modify any practices or policies which make it unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to occupy the rented premises - this does not however extend to being required to remove or alter any physical features.
  • There are changes to the definition of disability: a mental illness will no longer have to be a "clinically well recognised" one to qualify; and people with cancer, HIV or MS will be deemed to be "disabled", even before the onset of symptoms affecting normal day to day activities.

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