Women and Equalities written question – answered at on 15 April 2026.
Michael Wheeler
Labour, Worsley and Eccles
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the avenues available to disabled persons to (a) access and (b) enforce their rights as prescribed by the Equality Act 2010.
Stephen Timms
The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions
The Equality Act 2010 (the Act) protects people who have a long-term physical or mental impairment that substantially affects their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The Act provides a range of protection for disabled people in a range of areas of life - including employment, services, education and transport. The types of protection include direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, the duty to make reasonable adjustments, harassment and victimisation.
Any disabled person who may have been personally discriminated against because of a disability may also contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS). EASS is a government-commissioned helpline that provides free advice and support to individuals in England, Scotland, and Wales on issues relating to equality and human rights. Although EASS does not provide legal advice or enforce the Equality Act 2010, it supports individuals to resolve their disputes informally and can refer cases to the Equality & Human Rights Commission.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has an enforcement role and is able to provide individuals with support in bringing cases. As an independent body, it makes its own decisions on how best to use its resources to offer support in cases that have a strategic or wider significance.
Further details about the referral process is available on the Equality and Human Rights Commission website: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/our-work/our-legal-work/our-legal-powers/contacting-us-about-legal-issue.
Yes0 people think so
No0 people think not
Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
