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Disability Rights Task Force

Following a series of meetings of the Task Force and its "working groups", the final recommendations for the proposed Disability Rights Commission have been put forward. The following is a summary of the decisions made.

The Commission will have between 10 and 15 Commissioners and at least 50% of these will be disabled people with the relevant expertise.

The Commission will have a similar role to the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) and the Commission on Racial Equality (CRE). However, they will not be restricted to pursuing individual cases under UK law. Their remit will also include European Union law.

They will draw up codes of practice on employment, access to goods and services to ensure compliance with both current and future legislation. They may do this on their own initiative and they may decide who they should consult in drawing up codes.

They will have full powers of investigation and enforcement in line with those of the EOC and CRE.

It is expected that the proposals for the establishment of the Commission will be in the "Queen's Speech" in October '98 and the Commission will be set up by July 1999.

The Disability Rights Task Force now moves on into its second major piece of work, that of recommending the content and details of future comprehensive civil rights legislation. The timetable for this is as follows:

May 1998: "Who should be protected and what should they be protected from?"
This will cover the definition of disability and the definition of discrimination.

Sept 1998: "Work". Covers employment and matters such as training.

Oct 1998: "Education". Covers higher and further education, access to
mainstream schools and the role of special schools.

Dec 1998: "Goods and Services". Includes financial, retail, public, health,
planning, buildings regulations and highways legislation.

Feb 1999: "Housing and the Environment". Includes accessible housing, renting
and letting and public spaces and buildings.

Feb 1999: "Travel". Covers buses, trains, taxis, cars, airlines and ferries.

April 1999: Further work on Housing and the Environment, Travel.

June 1999: Further work on the provision of Goods and Services.

June 1999: "The provision of targeted services". Health and Social Services.

The Task Force is expected to finish its work by the end of June 1999 when the new Disability Rights Commission begins its work. BCODP will be working to persuade the government to bring the schedule forward. Whilst the discussions are welcome, we are not happy that there is little prospect of new legislation before the year 2001 at the earliest.