Written question asked by Paul Robert Holmes (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 25 October 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 2 November 2006. It was answered by Parmjit Dhanda (Labour) on Monday, 6 November 2006 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Literacy

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of educational institutions have had written materials available in a format accessible to those with reading disabilities in each year since 1997.

Answer: [holding answer 2 November 2006]: The Government do not collect this information centrally. Under part 4 of the Disability Discrimination Act, schools, colleges and universities have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled pupils and students are not put at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to those who are not disabled. With the exception of schools this could include the provision of written materials in alternative formats. For schools the reasonable adjustments duty does not include the provision of auxiliary aids or services as they have a duty to plan strategically to increase access, over time, to schools. This duty includes planning to provide written material in alternative formats to ensure accessibility.

Secondary information