The Citizen's Charter and Disabled People (Hansard, 16 December 1992)

Earl Howe
My Lords, public services should be available equally to everyone who uses them. The Citizen's Charter calls on public sector organisations to take account of the needs of all their customers —including those with disabilities—when setting service standards. Singling out particular groups would undermine this important principle.

§ Lord Ashley of Stoke
My Lords, is the noble Earl aware that that is not the case? The Citizen's Charter is largely irrelevant to severely disabled people because they are excluded from many of its provisions. They cannot benefit from the improved interiors of agency offices if there is no access for their wheelchairs. Nor, if they are blind, can they benefit from improved concise communications if those communications are not in braille. Will the noble Earl consider asking the Government to scrutinise the Citizen's Charter line by line in company with the disability organisations to identify those areas where disabled people are excluded and to see what can be done to help them?

Earl Howe
My Lords, the Citizen's Charter already commits the providers of services to consult their users and potential users, and to take their views into account in setting service standards and in determining how best to meet their customers' needs. Individual organisations are responsible for ensuring that the needs of all their customers, including people with disabilities, are properly met.

§ Lord Boyd-Carpenter
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that the statement in the Question that there is discrimination against disabled people is not borne out by the facts? Will he make it clear that the Government have every intention of taking care of the needs of disabled people to the fullest extent possible?

Earl Howe
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend. Our view is that the best way to tackle such discrimination as does exist is to take practical measures to encourage the integration of disabled people into everyday life. Our record is a good one. It is practical measures that are likely to be effective in improving people's awareness of the issues and in promoting positive attitudes towards people with disabilities.

§ Lord Allen of Abbeydale
My Lords, is the Minister aware that not very far from this building there is a large block of flats where it is a condition of the tenancy that no one who is mentally disabled should be permitted to reside there? The Government have set their face against establishing a disablement commission on the lines of the commissions for sex 560 and race discrimination to which complaints of discrimination can be made. According to what we have heard so far, the Citizen's Charter does not really seem to meet a situation of this kind. What remedy is there for the individual who is discriminated against —it is only one example among many—in the manner I have described?

Earl Howe
My Lords, it is the aim of all public sector organisations to cater for the needs of disabled people so far as is reasonable and practicable. The important thing to understand about the Citizen's Charter is that it is not a charter for specific groups; nor is it an anti-discrimination charter. The intention behind it is that high quality public services should be available to everyone.

§ Lord Ennals
My Lords, is the Minister aware that part of the concern is that there are certain groups, such as disabled people, who are positively discriminated against and who are not covered by the Citizen's Charter? Does the Minister recall the Bill that was sponsored by my noble friend Lady Lockwood which passed through all its stages in this House? What action has been taken following the passing of that Bill by your Lordships' House?

Earl Howe
My Lords, I cannot agree with the noble Lord's first statement. As I made clear, disabled people are included in the Citizen's Charter as much as any other private citizen. I believe that generalised anti-discrimination legislation would give rise to particular difficulties in its implementation, but we have introduced a number of measures in the fields of education, transport, access and benefits which, taken together, have enabled many more disabled people to get out and about, to become employed and to enjoy leisure activities.

§ Lord Renton
My Lords, while I fully appreciate all that my noble friend has said, is he aware that the greatest help that the Government could give to disabled people with regard to non-discrimination would be to commend to Members of another place a Bill dealing with the matter which recently passed through your Lordships' House?

Earl Howe
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend because I did not pick up that point from the noble Lord, Lord Ennals. The Bill which has passed through your Lordships' House deserves the most careful scrutiny, and of course the Government take full note of its provisions.

§ Lord Molloy
My Lords, is the noble Earl aware that many local authority buildings and national buildings run by the Government are designed to assist the disabled but that some are designed with little imagination? Some progressive local authorities and government departments do a great deal. Others should be made to follow their example on behalf of the disabled.

Earl Howe
My Lords, it may interest the noble Lord, Lord Molloy, to know—I am sure that he does —that building regulations of 1985, which were amended last year, require that all new public 561 buildings should be wheelchair accessible and that provision should be introduced for those who are sensory impaired. That has been welcomed by people who are interested in disability issues.