§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received from the Disability Rights Task Force. [137908]
§ Maria EagleThe Disability Rights Task Force was set up in 1997 to advise the Government on how best to meet our Manifesto commitment on comprehensive and enforceable civil rights for disabled people. Following its recommendations to Government, it was disbanded in December 1999.
We have already legislated to meet many of the Task Force's recommendations, including:
the Disability Rights Commission Act 1999;
the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001;
the Disability Discrimination (Blind and Partially Sighted Persons) Regulations 2003; and
the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment) Regulations 2003.
We have also announced that we will take forward other Task Force legislative recommendations in a draft Disability Bill. The draft Bill will be published later this year with the intention that it undergo pre-legislative scrutiny. Following this process, the Bill will be introduced into Parliament.