§ Rev. Martin SmythTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what guidance she plans to issue to the Benefits Agency on its forthcoming obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to produce generic benefits information and information on individual benefits in a range of formats which blind and partially sighted people can access. [54069]
§ Mr. McFallThe Northern Ireland Disability Council and the Department of Health and Social Services will shortly be consulting on proposals for a revised Code of Practice and supporting regulations to take account of the next phase of implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The Code of Practice will give practical guidance to service providers on how to prevent discrimination against disabled people in accessing the goods, facilities or services they provide.
§ Rev. Martin SmythTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the difficulties which blind and partially sighted people experience in obtaining access to information on benefits. [54068]
§ Mr. McFallResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Social Security Agency under its Chief Executive, Mr. Chris Thompson. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Chris Thompson to Rev. Martin Smyth, dated 29 July 1998:
I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about what assessment has been made of the difficulties which blind and partially sighted people experience in obtaining access to information on benefits.The Social Security Agency has not yet carried out any formal assessment of the needs of blind and partially sighted people. However, as you are aware the Benefits Agency are looking into the needs of these customers as part of the research for "Project Access". The findings of this project will be considered by the Social Security Agency.However, I am giving further consideration to the issue in Northern Ireland and I will write to you again shortly.