Comments on: Single Equalities Bill about to be published http://www.lynnefeatherstone.org/2008/06/single-equalities-bill-about-to-be.htm Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:02:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Anonymous http://www.lynnefeatherstone.org/2008/06/single-equalities-bill-about-to-be.htm/comment-page-1#comment-1195 Anonymous Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:56:00 +0000 http://localhost/wp28/?p=1790#comment-1195 I hope that Lib Dems will campaign for the closing of a major loophole in current law by repealing Section 21ZA of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005.<br/><br/>This section gives a total exemption for airlines, amongst other transport providers, from the DDA.<br/><br/>http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2005/ukpga_20050013_en_2#pb2-l1g5<br/><br/>“21ZA Application of sections 19 to 21 to transport vehicles <br/>(1) Section 19(1) (a), (c) and (d) do not apply in relation to a case where the service is a transport service and, as provider of that service, the provider of services discriminates against a disabled person— <br/><br/>(a) in not providing, or in providing, him with a vehicle; or <br/><br/>(b) in not providing, or in providing, him with services when he is travelling in a vehicle provided in the course of the transport service.<br/><br/>This has led to outrageous discrimination where an airline refused carriage to 23 young deaf passengers simply because they are deaf- without any safety justification whatsoever, as they could all read, lip-read and speak fluent English. <br/><br/>No other country in the world gives airlines a total exemption from disability discrimination legislation, as the UK does- in other countries, such as the US and Canada, airlines are only allowed to refuse carriage to disabled people if there are genuine safety reasons to do so.<br/><br/>107 different disability rights organisations, and hundreds of thousands of disabled people, have called for this law to be repealed, but the Govt. has refused to do so.<br/><br/>It is also, I would argue, incompatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People, which the UK has ratified, and which requires signatories to repeal laws which discriminate against disabled people. I hope that Lib Dems will campaign for the closing of a major loophole in current law by repealing Section 21ZA of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005.

This section gives a total exemption for airlines, amongst other transport providers, from the DDA.

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2005/ukpga_20050013_en_2#pb2-l1g5

“21ZA Application of sections 19 to 21 to transport vehicles
(1) Section 19(1) (a), (c) and (d) do not apply in relation to a case where the service is a transport service and, as provider of that service, the provider of services discriminates against a disabled person—

(a) in not providing, or in providing, him with a vehicle; or

(b) in not providing, or in providing, him with services when he is travelling in a vehicle provided in the course of the transport service.

This has led to outrageous discrimination where an airline refused carriage to 23 young deaf passengers simply because they are deaf- without any safety justification whatsoever, as they could all read, lip-read and speak fluent English.

No other country in the world gives airlines a total exemption from disability discrimination legislation, as the UK does- in other countries, such as the US and Canada, airlines are only allowed to refuse carriage to disabled people if there are genuine safety reasons to do so.

107 different disability rights organisations, and hundreds of thousands of disabled people, have called for this law to be repealed, but the Govt. has refused to do so.

It is also, I would argue, incompatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People, which the UK has ratified, and which requires signatories to repeal laws which discriminate against disabled people.

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