Disability Discrimination Bill [HL]

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 5:41 pm on 28 February 2005.

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Photo of Baroness Hollis of Heigham Baroness Hollis of Heigham Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions) 5:41, 28 February 2005

My Lords, I hope that I am able to give the assurances asked of me and that, therefore, the noble Lord, Lord Rix—I will call him my noble friend— will withdraw his amendment. We all pay tribute to his work and I think he was anxious to have a government statement in Hansard today, so that the situation is unambiguous.

I fully agree with your Lordships that the purpose of the Bill and of this duty are to make a difference to the lives of disabled people, whether they have a learning disability or any other impairment. It is a sad fact of life that learning disabled people still experience institutional discrimination when they interact with public services. The health sector is no different.

For example, one study that I was reading over the weekend has found that learning disabled people are 58 times more likely to die before the age of 50 than non-disabled people. The statistic is due not to their impairments but to their access to suitable health care. It also gave the example that although 75 per cent of non-learning disabled women take up mammography, only about 25 per cent of learning disabled people do so.

Such figures illustrate why it is so important that the duty to promote equality is implemented effectively in the health sector as in other parts of public life. It is precisely this type of discrimination that the Bill seeks to address.

The Government will be working closely with the DRC to ensure that the duty is implemented effectively. As your Lordships will be aware, we published draft regulations recently that could be made under powers granted by Clause 3. Our consultation document, Delivering Equality for Disabled People, made it clear that the duties will be applied widely across the health sector.

The DRC has already published its draft code of practice on the duty. I am glad that the consultation on the code will include events particularly focused on health issues. I am also sure that the DRC's formal investigation into the health inequalities experienced by learning disabled people and people experiencing mental distress will also be fruitful in informing the development of guidance and best practice.

I hope therefore that your Lordships will accept that we are meeting the spirit of what the noble Lord, Lord Rix, asks for and that he will withdraw his amendment.