Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Carter (Labour). It was answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour) on Monday, 20 March 2006.

Disability: Welfare Reform Green Paper

Question: Whether the delay of more than one month in the production of an accessible version of the welfare reform Green Paper A New Deal for Welfare constitutes discrimination against disabled people; and whether disabled people will have the same consultation period as others.

Answer: My Lords, the department would never knowingly discriminate against disabled people. We very much regret that the last of the accessible versions of the Green Paper was not available until 28 February 2006. We are determined to do better in the future. However, we have agreed that, where people need more time to take part in the consultation, we will individually extend the deadline of 21 April to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to respond.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 680 c7
Session: 2005-06
Oral question type: Lead
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Access Disability Administrative delays Equality Publishing Consultation papers