Written question asked by Jim Cunningham (Labour) on Wednesday, 9 June 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 15 June 2010. It was answered by Maria Miller (Conservative) on Tuesday, 15 June 2010 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Poverty: Children

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to improve levels of access to public services for deaf children.

Answer: The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 places a duty on providers of services in the public sector [as well as those in the private and voluntary sectors] to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, which includes deaf children and the duty to make reasonable adjustments has been carried forward in the Equality Act. My Department is working with the Government Equalities Office to ensure that service providers are provided with appropriate advice and guidance on how to fulfil their duties under the Equality Act when it is implementedThe Disability Equality Duty (DED) requires public authorities to have due regard to disability issues when carrying out their functions and delivering their services. The DED applies across the full range of public sector activity and it means that public authorities should consider the impact of their work on disabled people, and take action to promote equality.

Secondary information