PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
DEAF PEOPLE AND THE DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT 1995 (1 December 1997)

That this House notes that 2nd December 1997 is the first anniversary of the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 which seeks to outlaw in specific circumstances discrimination against disabled people; notes the importance of anti-discrimination legislation for disabled people, especially in relation to employment where the talents and skills of disabled people are frequently wasted; further notes with concern that amongst deaf people the level of unemployment is twice that of the general population while deaf people in work are 50 per cent more likely to be in semi-skilled or unskilled jobs than the working population as a whole; believes that the exclusion of deaf people and other disabled people from the labour market is caused to a large extent by discriminatory practices in employment, including the low expectations held by many employers and fellow employees towards deaf people as well as the refusal of many employers to consider even the most modest of adaptions at the workplace such as the use of textphones; and therefore calls on the Government to ensure that the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is widened to cover all employers and enforced through the establishment of a Disability Rights Commission as part of the establishment of full civil rights legislation for all disabled people.

Sponsored by:
Tom Levitt (Labour)