§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent progress has been made by further and higher education providers to ensure that course materials are accessible to disabled students; and if he will make a statement [76001]
§ Margaret HodgeThrough the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 200, the Government have amended the Disability Discrimination Act to place new duties on providers of post-16 education. These duties started to be effective from September 2002. It is now unlawful to discriminate against disabled students by treating them less favourably than others, and responsible bodies have a duty to provide reasonable adjustments to provision where disabled students might otherwise be substantially disadvantaged. This duty includes ensuring that any course materials provided to disabled students are available in an accessible format.