Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that businesses comply with the Equality Act 2010 by allowing people with sight loss to enter their premises with an assistance dog.

Under the Equality Act 2010, businesses and public bodies that provide goods and services to the public must not unlawfully discriminate against disabled people, including those with assistance dogs.

The Act places a duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve access to premises, buildings and services. This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.

This is an anticipatory duty, meaning businesses should expect that some customers will have assistance dogs and should put in place arrangements to assist their access. Failure to do so could ultimately leave the service provider open to legal action by the disabled person.

To help businesses comply with the law and disabled customers know their rights, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has published a range of guidance and codes of practice, for all to consult.