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Disability Discrimination Act

Answer

In common with other transport infrastructure such as stations and ports, airports are covered by Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) which covers access to goods, facilities and services. The Disability Rights Commission has produced a code of practice for service providers on meeting the Part 3 duties.There is currently an exemption in Part 3 for"““any service insofar as it consists of the use of any means of transport””"which means that the element of the service involving air travel is not covered. We have, however, amended that exemption under Section 5 of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 to make clear that it applies only to services involving the provision and use of a vehicle (including an aircraft) and to allow for it to be lifted to different extents, for different services at different times.We have said that we would use the new power in respect of air services if the voluntary code of practice which we issued in March 2003 proves to be ineffective. That code, ““Access to Air Travel for Disabled People—Code of Practice””, was developed in close co-operation with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (the Government's statutory advisers on transport and mobility for disabled people) and industry representatives. It draws on internationally agreed best practice from the European Civil Aviation Conference and the International Civil Aviation Organisation and includes specific advice on all aspects of air travel, from accessing information through to on board services and disembarkation at the final destination.Research is currently under way to monitor the sector's compliance with the code's recommendations. The study is due to report around the end of this year and will inform our decision on whether to use the provisions in the 2005 Act to bring air services within the scope of Part 3.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

5288; 435 c1037-8W;435 c1041-2W

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Disability Aircraft