Disability Equality Duty (DED)

This legal duty was introduced in 2005, with the update of the  Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). It means that all public bodies need to actively look at ways of ensuring that disabled people are treated equally. It requires organisations across the public sector (including local authorities) to be proactive in ensuring that disabled people are treated fairly. From April 2011 it will be superseded by the Public Sector Equality Duty which accompanies the Equality Act.

There are two main elements to a public body achieving disability equality:

• the general duty
• the specific duties

The general duty
This requires public authorities, when carrying out their functions, to have ‘due regard’ to disability equality in terms of the need to:

• promote equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people
• eliminate discrimination that is unlawful under the DDA
• eliminate disability-related harassment
• promote positive attitudes towards disabled people
• encourage participation by disabled people in public life
• take steps to meet disabled people’s needs, even if this requires more favourable treatment

'Due regard' means that authorities should give due weight to the need to promote disability equality in proportion to its relevance.

The specific duties
A number of public bodies are subject not only to the general duty, but also have a set of specific duties that are designed to help them effectively meet the overall general duty. At the heart of this is the Disability Equality Scheme (DES).

The DES is a framework to assist authorities in planning, delivering, evaluating and reporting on their activities to ensure compliance with the general duty.

Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED)

From April 2011, the Public Sector Equality Duty will be in force. This aims to ensure that public sector bodies promote equality across the protected characteristics of the Equality Act, including disability.

A consultation on the proposed PSED has been undertaken.  The proposals for the specific duties differ for the specific for England, Scotland and Wales, although some of the provisions proposed by Westminster will affect bodies which operate across the UK. Only the Welsh PSED proposes to retain an Equality Scheme, which requires public sector bodies to consult with different groups to create objectives for promoting equality.

Further information on the PSED can be found at the Equality and Human Rights website.