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| | November 2011: Public authorities in England (and non- devolved bodies in Scotland and Wales) need to prepare for the deadline of 31 January 2012 to publish information to demonstrate compliance with the general equality duty. Click for more details |
| | October 2011: On 6 April 2011, the Equality Act 2010 Codes of Practice relating to employment, services and equal pay came into force, replacing equivalent Codes under previous equality law. Click for more details |
| | March 2011:The Government Equalities Office (GEO) has announced that, while the general duty of the public sector Equality Duty will now come into force on 5 April 2011, the introduction of the specific duties for English and non-devolved public bodies is to be postponed pending further consultation. Click for more details |
| | December 2010: The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has published a document setting out what it intends to do next with the Building Regulations. Thanks to the volume of responses relating to Changing Places, an investigation will take place into how the Building Regulations can be used to ensure suitable sanitary facilities for people with profound and multiple disabilities. DCLG is also considering whether there is scope to rationalise Parts M, K and N of the Building Regulations, and the performance and use of access statements is also to be reviewed. Click for more details |
| | November 2010: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published draft Equality Act 2010 Codes of Practice relating to Employment, Services and Equal Pay, which were laid before Parliament on 12 October. Click for more details |
| | October 2010: The Government Equalities Office (GEO) has published a list of the provisions of the Equality Act coming into force on 1 October 2010. It has also indicated which provisions the Government is still considering, including dual discrimination, provisions relating to providing auxiliary aids in schools and provisions relating to taxi accessibility. Click for more details |
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September 2010: The British Standard Institute has made slight modifications to the best practice guidance BS 8300:2009 Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people. The revised document is called BS 8300:2009 + A1:2010. Click for more details |
| | August 2010: The Government Equalities Office (GEO) has confirmed that the Equality Act will go ahead according to the original timetable, so that the first wave will be implemented in October. Following the election of the coalition Government there had been suggestions that the Act, which brings together nine separate pieces of legislation including the Disability Discrimination Act, would not begin to come into force in October. Click for more details |
| | July 2010: Formerly known as 'Access for Disabled People' this updated guidance conveys current requirments for accessible sports facilities under the Building Regulations Document M:2004 Click for more details |
| | June 2010: A new guide to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons (UNCRPD) has been published by the Commission to make disabled people aware of their rights and how to use them. It will help individuals challenge injustices and improve services for themselves and others and will help organisations understand their responsibilities. Click for more details |
| | April 2010: The Equality Bill passed its third reading in the House of Lords this week, meaning that it will almost certainly come into force in October this year. Click for more details |
| | March 2010: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is drafting non-statutory guidance to cover all aspects of the Equality Bill once it becomes law. The main purpose of this guidance is to help people understand the Equality Act and how it will affect them. There is an online consultation portal to comment on the non-statutory guidance, which allows the user to view the most relevant version of the guides. Click for more details |
| | February 2010: The 16 Lifetime Homes criteria are currently being revised. The revision comes two years after the launch of the Government strategy Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods: A national strategy for housing in an ageing society, which committed to making Lifetime Homes a mandatory part of the Code for Sustainable Homes, and which also committed to ensure that all new publicly funded housing is built to Lifetime Homes standards by 2011. Click for more details |
| | January 2010: Between January and April the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is holding a formal consultation on the non-statutory guidance and Codes of Practice for the Equality Bill, which is due to become law in 2010. The non-statutory guidance is to be published before the Act is implemented, and is designed to help readers understand the new Act and how the current legislation will change. Click for more details |
| | December 2009: The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has lost an appeal against a landmark ruling that it failed to provide adequate access to its services. David Allen, 18, took legal action against RBS after it failed to provide wheelchair access at his local branch in Church Street, Sheffield. Click for more details |
| | November 2009: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Disability Committee has published its work plan, setting out how it will tackle some of the major issues faced by disabled people. Click for more details |
| | October 2009: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has produced guidance for public authorities that advises on reviewing and republishing their Disability Equality Schemes (DES). Click for more details |
| | September 2009: Abercrombie and Fitch have been ordered to pay a former disabled employee more than £9,000 for unlawful harassment, after the clothing chain failed to comply with employment law. Click for more details |
| | July 2009: A landmark decision from the House of Lords says that people with a physical or mental condition that varies in severity over time can still be referred to as ‘disabled’ if their condition is likely to become substantial again in the future. They should therefore receive the same legal protection as people whose condition is more stable over a long period of time.
Click for more details |
| | June 2009: The UK finally ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 8 June 2009. The Convention aims to ensure that disabled people enjoy the same rights as everyone else. Although it does not give disabled people any additional rights, it reaffirms that disabled people should be treated in the same way as everyone else, including rights to dignity, freedom, equality and justice. Click for more details |
| | May 2009:The Equality Bill has now been published in a trial format. Most of it is expected to come into force from Autumn 2010. The Bill aims to simplify the law, which has become progressively more complex over the last few decades as equality legislation has been introduced and amended. Click for more details |
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