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A private member's bill intended to strengthen current disability legislation has been presented to the House of Lords, writes Katie Leason.

Lord Ashley of Stoke welcomed the second reading of his Disability Discrimination (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to amend the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Disability Rights Commission Act 1999.

He said the bill's aim was to create "a pervasive attitude so that discrimination is totally unacceptable…there is a great deal of good will in the government, but good will does not protect disabled people".

Lord Ashley's bill includes proposals to ensure that people with HIV are included in the definition of who is disabled from the point of diagnosis. It would also give the Disability Rights Commission power to provide assistance to individuals bringing claims under the Human Rights Act 1998.

Other clauses would ensure that the Disability Discrimination Act covers all employers regardless of the number of employees, as well as the police, prison officers, firefighters and the armed services.

But a spokesperson for the department for work and pensions said that the government did not believe that Lord Ashley’s bill was the "right vehicle at the right time" for taking forward legislation.