Equalities

Disability equality

Disabled people make up 20 per cent of the population of the City of Westminster and the community of disabled people is a broad and diverse one. Westminster City Council is committed to promoting equality for disabled people and to Westminster becoming an accessible and inclusive City for everyone.

Disability Equality Duty

Westminster City Council welcomes the Disability Equality Duty which was introduced by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and came into force on December 4th 2006.

Under the General Duty there are six strands which enhance the obligations placed upon any public agency requiring them to have due regard to:

• promoting equality of opportunity between disabled persons and other persons;
• eliminating discrimination that is unlawful under the Act;
• eliminating harassment of disabled persons that is related to their disabilities;
• promoting positive attitudes towards disabled persons;
• encouraging participation by disabled persons in public life;
• taking steps to take account of disabled persons’ disabilities, even where that involves treating disabled persons more favourably than other persons

The Disability Equality Duty also requires all public authorities to produce Disability Equality Schemes.

Disability Equality Scheme

This is Westminster City Council’s first Disability Equality Scheme and it outlines how we intend to fulfil our general and specific duties.

Involving disabled people

Disabled people and their organisations have been involved throughout the development of the Disability Equality Scheme and Westminster City Council has welcomed the opportunity to follow best practice guidelines from the Disability Rights Commission.

This Disability Equality Scheme will be reviewed on an annual basis and a new Disability Equality Scheme will be produced in December 2009. Disabled people and their organisations will always be involved in the monitoring and review of the DES to ensure that we fully understand the issues and concerns and that progress is accurately measured. WCC understands and recognises that disabled people are the experts on any challenges they experience and promoting disability equality.

The Social Model of Disability

Our Disability Equality Scheme is grounded within the Social Model of Disability which means that we will seek to act inclusively and will examine opportunities for changes that can reasonably be made to achieve this. This includes possible changes to the understanding of those delivering services, the way in which the Council’s services are organised and any physical barriers in the built environment. Whenever possible Westminster will strive to follow the social model of disability and anticipate the access needs of disabled people.

Our Disability Equality Scheme contains:

• A Policy Statement which explains how the scheme was developed and how Westminster City Council will meet its general and specific duties
• An Executive Summary of the DES
• An accessible 'easy read' version of the Executive Summary
• Two Action Plans which explain the steps the Council will take to meet its General Duties and promote equality for Disabled people:
  • An Action Plan for disabled service users and residents
  • An Action Plan to promote equality for disabled staff

If you would like to know more about how WCC is implementing the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, or if you would like to be involved in future consultations please contact:

Janice Markey
Equality Policy Manager
Policy Unit
Westminster City Hall
64 Victoria Street
London SW1E 6QP

Tel 020 7641 2894
Text phone 020 7641 3372
Online: Make an equalities enquiry

General Information for is available from:

• WELDIS - http://www.westminster.gov.uk/socialissues/weldis/

Other useful links include:

• The Disability Rights Commission - http://www.drc-gb.org/  
• Public services for disabled people - http://www.direct.gov.uk/DisabledPeople/