Disabled People: Publicly Accessible Amenities

Alison Thewliss Excerpts

Thursday 23rd February 2017 Westminster Hall

[Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron), who is a great champion for disabled people’s rights.

It is always a pleasure to speak in debates where there is, broadly speaking, so much consensus. We all want disabled people to be socially included to the fullest possible extent. We all want to live in a society that sees the person, not the disability. We all want to remove the barriers that fate has placed in the way of any individual so that they can play a full role in society.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

Is my hon. Friend aware of the challenge that some councillors and individuals undertook in Inverness during the week? They took to wheelchairs in the streets to get a better idea of those barriers. Would she encourage other people to do that in cities around the UK?

[Patricia Gibson]

I would indeed. That useful initiative gives those of us who are lucky enough not to have to live with a disability a unique insight into the kinds of challenges that disabled people have to face every single day of their lives, and I commend such practices.

We have heard poignant and human examples of such barriers and the effects that they can have on individuals who live with a disability, such as the constituent that my hon. Friend the Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow mentioned. She also outlined the distressing example of Ms Wafula Strike, which I am sure is not an isolated one. Like the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Chris White), I commend the work that Changing Places has done to promote fully accessible toilets. The problem is that work still needs to be done, which throws into stark relief how far we still have to go in catering for people who live with a disability and removing the barriers they face.

The Equality Act 2010 is important legislation. It contains the public sector equality duty and requires “reasonable adjustments” to be made to avoid a person with a disability being placed at a “substantial disadvantage” to a non-disabled person when accessing services and facilities. However, we have heard that there are loopholes in that Act. It does not prescribe what a reasonable adjustment is in particular circumstances or place a duty on all service providers to make specific disabled adaptations such as installing lifts or hearing loops, as my hon. Friend the Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (Corri Wilson) so clearly set out.

There is no doubt that we have an absolute duty as a society to ensure equality of access to facilities. That ought to apply equally in the private sector and the public sector. It was absolutely correctly pointed out that equality of access should not be an afterthought. We must always guard against the marginalisation of disabled members of our communities. The disability employment gap shows that that is a real and present danger, and we cannot afford to be complacent, as my hon. Friend the Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow so eloquently pointed out.

This issue is not just about access to work, important though that is. It is about all elements of life: work, social life and leisure. Justice and fairness demands that. I commend the No More Floor campaign in the constituency of the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington, but the fact that such a campaign is needed should be cause for shame. It is a reminder of how little progress we have made in reality. A shortage of basic facilities consigns some people with a disability to being trapped in their homes, which can have a hugely negative impact on their lives, as my hon. Friend the Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock pointed out. It is surely bad enough that people living with a disability often face negative attitudes without finding themselves excluded in and from public spaces—although perhaps those negative attitudes lead to exclusion.

It is worth repeating that there is an economic dimension as well as social and moral elements. Some 7 million working age people have a disability. That adds up to an awful lot of spending power. The so-called purple pound is apparently worth £249 billion to the economy. Is it not madness for 7 million people to be excluded from the ordinary, mainstream life that so many of us do and should take for granted? As has been mentioned, many people with a disability rely on Motability vehicles to access amenities in our communities, and Motability must continue to be supported.

I am proud that the SNP Scottish Government have devised a new disabled delivery plan—a policy commitment to disabled people—based on the need to remove any further barriers and ensure full access to buildings, including disability-inclusive housing, transport and communication. Some 93 actions will be achieved by 2021. We aim to secure transformational change in support for disabled people in Scotland. I urge the Minister to look at the Scottish Government’s plans to see what can be learned from that policy commitment.

It would be remiss of me, while we are debating publicly accessible amenities for disabled people, not to mention that, with their new powers, the SNP Scottish Government are committed to establishing a social security system based on dignity and respect that will allow people with a disability to live as full and independent a life as possible, which I am sure we all agree with. Unfortunately, the UK Government have made cruel and punitive cuts to support for people living with a disability, as my hon. Friend the Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock set out.

I hope the Minister will pledge that any laws regarding disability rights and equality will be fully repatriated to Scotland in the wake of Brexit. It is essential that the SNP Scottish Government’s good work continues and develops. [Interruption.] The Minister really should pay attention. There is a very real concern among disabled people that their rights in law will no longer be protected by European Court of Justice judgments post-Brexit. That could lead to equality rights being more narrowly interpreted, as well as the loss of vital research funding and pooling of expertise that EU membership provides. Through European research, important treatments have been developed for diseases so rare that no one country could have developed them alone. As we agree that people living with a disability must have access to amenities, so we should agree that the rights of disabled people should be protected in the widest sense. I hope we do.

[Marie Rimmer (St Helens South and Whiston) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Buck. I thank the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron) for securing this important debate.

Disabled people were not necessarily born disabled. In fact, 90% of disability is acquired. I am one of the 90%. As some Members may know, I have a disability. For the last 20 years, I have worn a bone anchored hearing aid, without which I cannot hear a sound. I understand the difficulty facing many disabled people and the trauma that they go through.

Since the passing of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, it has been illegal to discriminate against a disabled person. The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on providers of goods, services and facilities to make “reasonable adjustments” in order to avoid a disabled person being placed at a “substantial disadvantage” compared with non-disabled people when accessing services and facilities. Service providers’ failure to comply is a form of disability discrimination.

How many times have we seen disabled people denied basic access to vital services such as public transport? As recently as mid-January, the Supreme Court ruled, on a case bought by disability campaigner Doug Paulley, that bus drivers must ensure that there is sufficient space for wheelchair users to ride the bus safely. Outside the big cities and in many rural communities, the local bus service is often the only lifeline for disabled people to get out and about. Without access to that vital service, many disabled people may be left alone and housebound.

Many hon. Members here will have heard the frankly appalling story—the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow outlined it—of Anne Wafula Strike. How disgusting that she was forced to urinate on herself. That is humiliating, inhumane and totally unacceptable; unfortunately, it is not uncommon. Last week in Bristol, I came across a disabled lady in a wheelchair who told me how she was pushed to the sidings and left sat in her wheelchair while she waited for assistance to get on a train that she had booked some days previously. For too long, transport providers have failed to provide adequate basic facilities for disabled passengers. When will the Minister liaise with rail providers to ensure that they make the correct adjustments, so disabled passengers can travel in dignity and comfort?

I will quickly discuss the term “reasonable adjustments”. It seems to mean one thing to disabled people and a completely different thing to many employers. To some employers, it means doing the bare minimum to meet the legal requirements. Will the Government legislate for all employers to provide disability awareness training for their staff, and provide the right support for small to medium employers to achieve that? A Government review found that the number of cases taken to employment tribunals has fallen by 70% since court fees were introduced. It has therefore become very difficult for disabled employees to bring their employers to task for failing to make reasonable adjustments. Will the Minister urge the Government to scrap the extortionate fees that make it harder for disabled people to challenge bad practice in the workplace?

Disabled people who believe that they have experienced discrimination as a result of not being able to access a good, a service or a facility are typically responsible for taking action themselves, via the courts, against their employer. That is often a difficult, daunting and arduous process—more so for a person with a disability. Reasonable adjustments do not only mean adjustments to accommodate physical disabilities. Many people have learning disabilities or a mental health condition. Those so-called hidden disabilities are often forgotten. They require a different set of reasonable adjustments to someone who has a physical impairment.

I have experience of a case involving one of my constituents, who suffers from autism, learning difficulties and a severe form of tinnitus. He was called in for an assessment by the Department for Work and Pensions and was escorted by his 84-year-old mother. When she tried to explain that her son was not able to hear because of the noise around the room, she was told that the hearing would be terminated if she did not refrain from interfering. His assessment resulted in a major reduction of points, from 32 to six. He and his 84-year-old mother were left traumatised. It placed him in a difficult situation, and he was placed in what they call a support group. Anyone who meets this gentleman—he is a gentleman—will fully realise that he should not have been put in that group.

I took the case up. He had a reassessment in an appropriate place where there was no noise, his mother could accompany him, and there was someone who empathised with his difficulties. He wears ear muffs around his neck. He puts them on. Just one sound can set him off and make him severely ill. His reassessment resulted in the reinstatement of the original points. It was the most traumatic experience that that man has gone through. His mother still suffers from the after effects of being with him.

For too many disabled people, the legal requirements are nowhere near good enough. It is a shame that the Equality Act 2010, which replaced the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, failed to set out exactly what reasonable adjustments entail. That lack of clarity has a real impact on disabled people’s ability to live full and independent lives.

[Alison Thewliss]

I thank the hon. Lady for the great case that she is making. I have spoken to a number of organisations based in my constituency that work with deaf people, which have also found it difficult to get around the phrase “reasonable adjustments”. They feel as though they do not get access to the interview stage, never mind getting past that and getting a job, because people think that they will unable to do it because of their disability.

[Marie Rimmer]

I concur. I know of and have been involved in many cases like that. I urge the Minister to provide urgent clarity on exactly what constitutes reasonable adjustments to stop irresponsible employers from skirting around the law.

There are too few disabled people in public office, including in this place. The access to elected office fund, which enables disabled people to stand for elected office and meet additional access requirements, has been suspended, and the Government’s evaluation report has been kicked into the long grass. Will the Government publish that evaluation and ensure that disabled people seeking to represent any party have support to meet the additional costs they face in standing for election?

A recent report by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on the accessibility of sports stadiums highlighted the failure of some clubs to provide adequate facilities for disabled fans attending matches. Having a disability should not prevent someone from attending and enjoying a sports match. Provision for disabled fans should not be patchy depending on which club they support. Everyone has the right to see their favourite sports team win or lose. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that premier league clubs, with their huge revenues, prioritise improving access for disabled fans?

The majority of the daily problems faced by disabled people arise from confusion over the rules, poor or insufficient communication, inadequate training of service providers and/or a lack of enforcement by the relevant authorities. Will the Minister explain what mechanisms are in place to enforce the Equality Act to ensure that disability discrimination does not go unchallenged?

Organisations such as Euan’s Guide offer information on accessibility for disabled people by offering access reviews of a range of service providers. It aims to inspire disabled people to try out new places and

“remove the fear of the unknown.”

What are the Government doing to ensure that more organisations like Euan’s Guide are better supported to ensure that disabled people get the information that they need to access all facilities? That fear of the unknown prevents too many disabled people from being able to fully participate in society—and society suffers for that. The Government must do more to provide disabled people with the right information. By doing so, they would empower so many more disabled people to go out and lead full and independent lives.