In 1995, following decades of campaigning from disabled activists, a conservative government enacted the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), now part of the Equality Act 2010.
The Act made discrimination on the basis of disability unlawful and introduced disabled people’s rights to reasonable adjustments in businesses, services and education to meet their needs.
Thirty years on, disability rights activists and charity leaders advocating for disabled people say the Act - and those who made it happen – deserve recognition for marking the path towards inclusion. But they stress that more needs to be done.
“Let’s celebrate the DDA and those who achieved it and build on its foundations,” says Fazilet Hadi MBE, Head of Policy at Disability Rights UK.
“I have personally benefited from the DDA, including receiving bank statements and utility bills in my preferred format, getting passenger assistance for train and tube travel and receiving support to use the equipment at my gym.
“But while the Act gives us some great foundations, we now need to go further.”
Fazilet says there is a need for legislation that puts the onus on service providers to drive systemic change towards disability inclusion.
Fazilet adds: “We need accessibility standards that service providers must comply with. And we need enforcement that isn’t solely reliant on individual disabled people bringing cases and enforcement processes that disabled people can afford.”
Jon Sparkes OBE, Chief Executive of learning disability charity Mencap, says that while the charity has seen some progress in tackling the exclusion of people with a learning disability over the last three decades, significant work lies ahead.
He explains: “People with a learning disability are still dying nearly 20 years earlier than the general population and are twice as likely to die avoidably. The employment rate for people with a learning disability is below half that for all disabled people, with the cost-of-living crisis and benefits cuts driving more people and families into hardship.
“Social care remains chronically underfunded, with levels of unmet need escalating and growing isolation and loneliness.
“And whilst we have seen changes to meet the needs of children and young people in educational settings, families still face unacceptable battles to get the support their child needs.”
Next year marks major milestone for Mencap, and the opportunity for further reflection.
Jon says: “It will be 80 years since Judy Fryd started Mencap. It’s a moment to look at how far we have come and to face the challenges ahead with determination that future generations of people with a learning disability will not face the inequalities that exist today.”
The DDA in Action: A Campaigner’s Story of Inclusion and Change
Sarah Leadbetter, a disabled activist and media supporter of Leonard Cheshire, a charity providing care, accommodation and employment support to disabled people in the UK, explains how the DDA and Equality Act have positively impacted her life.
Sarah Leadbetter is in her early fifties and lives in Leicester. She is registered blind and has a guide dog, a golden retriever called Nellie.
Paying tribute to the campaigners who fought for the DDA, she said: “I have to remember that if people hadn’t demonstrated for the DDA in the 1990s, we wouldn’t have these protections and rights. We wouldn’t have some of the progress we’ve had with accessibility and attitudes.”
Before the DDA was enacted, Sarah struggled through mainstream school with no support, and years later, after she lost her sight, her employer tried to unlawfully dismiss her.
“They wanted to get rid of me,” she said. “And they sent me letters about this in a format that was not accessible.”
Thankfully, the new law led to positive change for people like Sarah.
She said: “I was able to show my employer how they were failing to comply with the law, and I received compensation from the company. Later, when I started college, the college made the necessary adjustments for me. None of this would have happened without the DDA.”