§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when she proposes to make regulations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in respect of the questions procedure. [3499]
§ Mrs. GillanWe have today laid regulations under section 56 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. These regulations will provide someone, the complainant, who believes he or she may have been discriminated against under the Act's employment provisions with a questionnaire to ask questions of the person believed to have discriminated, the respondent. The regulations also provide for a form with which the respondent can reply. These forms will be included in a booklet together with guidance on how to complete them. The booklet will be available free of charge from jobcentres, citizens advice bureaux and the DDA information line and can be provided in Braille and audio cassette format. The procedure will assist the complainant in deciding whether or not to start proceedings and, if proceedings are started, in formulating and presenting a case in the most effective manner.