Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether ulcerative colitis is classified as an official disability; and what protections in law are available to people with that condition.

The Government does not provide an exhaustive list of recognised or protected disabilities. Rather, the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) defines disability as “a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”. The Act describes “long-term” as an impairment that has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least 12 months, or where the impairment is likely to last for the rest of a person’s life; while “substantial” is defined as an impairment that is more than minor or trivial.

The Act is clear that it is not necessary for the cause of the impairment to be established, nor does the impairment have to be the result of an illness. A disability can therefore arise from a wide range of impairments, and any person that falls within this definition - which may include those with ulcerative colitis - will already be protected as having a disability.