Inclusion London response to consultation on GLA Draft Disability Equality Scheme.

We have set out key areas that we want the Mayor’s new draft Disability Equality Scheme to address and have explained the practical steps that the Mayor can take, and how the DES needs to be improved.
We explain that the Mayor has a range of direct powers and responsibilities which impact on disabled people in London and have the potential to improve our lives.

Disabled people are citizens of London, and are concerned with all areas of the Mayor’s remit, whether economic development, environment, land-use, transport, policing, housing, health, culture and leisure, safety, resilience or a range of other issues. Inclusion London sees the DES as a key tool in setting out how the Mayor will use his powers to improve the lives of disabled Londoners.

We explained that, though much remains to be done, over the period since 2000 the Mayor and the GLA have worked with Deaf and disabled people and their organisations to develop and implement inclusive policies and practices (in areas such as planning, policing, transport). These have had a positive impact and made London a trailblazer in addressing disability discrimination. We argue that this work needs to be continued and developed, particularly in light of government spending plans that are likely to have a very negative impact on disabled people. Some of these proposals, such as on capping Housing Benefit and restricting Mortgage Aid, threaten thousands of disabled people with homelessness or being driven out of London.

We explain how the DES needs to be made more consistent, comprehensive and transparent. In particular we call for the ‘measures to monitor’ to be significantly improved and be made more transparent, and actually measurable. At the moment the measures are aspirational rather than goals against which change can be assessed.

Our comments are set in the context of potential changes to the public sector equality duties (which are also currently out for consultation). These may weaken the detailed constructive equality obligations on public authorities, and Inclusion London is opposing this trend. Whatever the outcome, we urge the Mayor to be mindful of his duties under the general duty and the Equality Act as a whole and to promote good practice by developing a longer term Disability Equality Scheme which sets out strategies for disability equality and measurable objectives, in partnership with disabled people and their organisations.

A copy of Inclusion London’s response to the consultation can be downloaded from the link on the right.

14/10/2010