Leonard Cheshire: More help to confront discrimination needed

Tribunals should be set up to rule on cases where disabled people face discrimination from service providers, charity Leonard Cheshire Disability said today.

Tribunals should be set up to rule on cases where disabled people face discrimination from service providers, charity Leonard Cheshire Disability said today.

The recommendation follows a survey of 1,100 disabled people. It found 40% had difficulty accessing services but 63% took no action to challenge this. Just 1% took legal action.

It also found that 5% of disabled people felt they had been patronised by staff providing services.

Leonard Cheshire said disabled people needed easier access to the law to challenge discrimination with greater support and said arbitration services, enabling people to challenge their treatment without going to court, should be piloted.

Guy Parckar, public policy manager at Leonard Cheshire Disability, said: “The impact of goods and services being inaccessible can mean much more than immediate inconvenience – it can contribute directly to the chances of a disabled person living in poverty through barriers to employment, education and other opportunities.”

Under the Disability Discrimination Act providers must make adjustments where it is unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to access a service.

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