HC Deb 05 December 1994 vol 251 cc5-6
4. Lady Olga Maitland

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has had with regard to the proposed disability Bill.

The Minister for Social Security and Disabled People (Mr. William Hague)

The legislative and other measures that I announced on 24 November have been widely welcomed.

Lady Olga Maitland

I warmly welcome my hon. Friend's proposals in the new disability Bill, which has my personal support. Will he confirm that the consultation process on the Bill goes far wider than the process proposed in the summer and that, moreover, the proposals are widely welcomed by disabled groups and their representatives?

Mr. Hague

Yes, I can certainly confirm that. It is a comprehensive package to tackle discrimination across the board, including wide-ranging legislation. We have put the proposals together in recent months with the constant encouragement of my hon. Friend and many other people around the country.

Mr. Corbett

The Minister will know that we have broadly welcomed the Bill, although we want to see the detail of it. In that spirit, will he place copies of the responses to his consultation in the Library? Will he pay particular attention to those who argue strongly for incorporation in the Bill of a commission to ensure that those denied rights under the Bill will have some machinery to try to secure them?

Mr. Hague

I certainly intend to publish an analysis of the responses, which will be placed in the Library when it is available. I am not sure whether that will include the entire text of all the responses, which would be a document of enormous weight, but the hon. Gentleman and others will be welcome to read those responses if they so wish. There is no difficulty about that. The Government intend that the legislation will be enforced, will mean something and will be effective. We should prefer to ensure that that is achieved through the routes of conciliation procedures and other means of redress that I have outlined. We are determined to ensure that the legislation works and changes once and for all attitudes towards disabled people in our society.