Browse content similar to 06/09/2016. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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That they enter the date and he has a Commons. We will now be going over | :00:00. | :00:00. | |
to the House of Lords. You can watch all the coverage in the Lords after | :00:00. | :00:00. | |
the Daily Politics tonight. Our NAV was disappointed that the | :00:07. | :00:19. | |
Government response failed to acknowledge the problem which was | :00:20. | :00:25. | |
raised with the Committee that many enunciated system fitted on trains | :00:26. | :00:32. | |
are not switched on. They would like to see on trains such as are already | :00:33. | :00:37. | |
carried out buses. The Government response acknowledges the benefits | :00:38. | :00:45. | |
of AV information on buses but this is urgent that such systems are | :00:46. | :00:51. | |
expensive to fit. Evidence submitted to the Committee 's Stepford it adds | :00:52. | :00:58. | |
only 1% of the cost of a new boss. RNIB is very concerned that the bus | :00:59. | :01:02. | |
operators continue to recruit new buses that were not fitted AV | :01:03. | :01:08. | |
enhancement technology, for example in 2016, Leeds first was announced | :01:09. | :01:15. | |
at 37 new buses which are expected to be used for at least ten years | :01:16. | :01:19. | |
would enter service, none of them having annunciator system is that it | :01:20. | :01:25. | |
is. The Government stated in its response to a recommendation that it | :01:26. | :01:31. | |
has recently trialled vibrating wristbands to improve the | :01:32. | :01:36. | |
accessibility of bus travel. However there is reason to be sceptical | :01:37. | :01:41. | |
about this solution as it is still only at provision of concept stage. | :01:42. | :01:46. | |
RNIB believes that audiovisual technology is the most effective | :01:47. | :01:52. | |
solution, the technology is tried and tested and it has been proven to | :01:53. | :01:57. | |
make bus travel accessible for disabled passengers. It is already | :01:58. | :02:01. | |
in operation on all buses in London as well as in many other regions and | :02:02. | :02:06. | |
can be introduced to new buses inexpensively. The bus services Bill | :02:07. | :02:13. | |
currently awaiting Report Stage in your Lordships' house is the ideal | :02:14. | :02:19. | |
vehicle for the Government to legislate to ensure all new buses | :02:20. | :02:22. | |
are fitted with audiovisual technology. An amendment has been | :02:23. | :02:29. | |
tabled to the Bill to require all bus operators to provide information | :02:30. | :02:33. | |
to bus passengers in an accessible format. The Government is | :02:34. | :02:37. | |
considering the matter sympathetically and I very much hope | :02:38. | :02:41. | |
that they will accept the amendment to require operators to install AV | :02:42. | :02:49. | |
on all new buses. It is gratifying that this recommendation has been | :02:50. | :02:57. | |
highlighted by Lady Deitch, and I think most recently by Lady Brenton | :02:58. | :03:01. | |
and I hope that the Government has been listening and taking note. My | :03:02. | :03:11. | |
Lords, I do think the Noble Baroness, Baroness Deitch and her | :03:12. | :03:17. | |
Committee for the service they have done, not just the disabled | :03:18. | :03:22. | |
community, but also government and indeed society as a whole, in | :03:23. | :03:29. | |
producing such a comprehensive valuable and timely report. As two | :03:30. | :03:45. | |
bonuses have already pointed out, taking as it does, 21 years after | :03:46. | :03:49. | |
the then Conservative government's disability discrimination act. This | :03:50. | :03:58. | |
begs the question, which I feel in truth has probably been hanging over | :03:59. | :04:07. | |
this entire debate. Has that act at 21 years of age truly, of age? | :04:08. | :04:18. | |
Reading this report --, of age. Reading throughput and the various | :04:19. | :04:24. | |
responses to it, I think it is her it hasn't come of age. But | :04:25. | :04:32. | |
nonetheless, -- fair to say. I do welcome with real hope, based on my | :04:33. | :04:41. | |
work with her previously, the promotion of penny fault as Minister | :04:42. | :04:47. | |
for disabled people to Minister of State. There is in line with | :04:48. | :04:54. | |
recommendations seven, paragraph 115 of the report. I also welcome the | :04:55. | :05:03. | |
Government's acceptance that it is clearly reasonable to expect that | :05:04. | :05:10. | |
some effort be made to establish the cost of making an adjustment prior | :05:11. | :05:17. | |
to rejecting a request on such grounds rather than relying on | :05:18. | :05:24. | |
arbitrary and potentially inaccurate assumptions about cost. This being | :05:25. | :05:32. | |
in line with recommendations 17, paragraph 200 25. My Lords, I would | :05:33. | :05:39. | |
have liked to be able to welcome the equality and Human Rights | :05:40. | :05:43. | |
Commission's response to the crucial, in my view, recommendation | :05:44. | :05:53. | |
eight paragraph 137 of the report, that it engages with disabled people | :05:54. | :05:59. | |
and their organisations to co-produce a disability specific | :06:00. | :06:03. | |
action plan which other Noble Lords have already mentioned. I regret | :06:04. | :06:11. | |
that I can't do so, because commission mistakenly in my view has | :06:12. | :06:15. | |
said as we have already heard that it does not consider that a separate | :06:16. | :06:22. | |
co-produced action plan would be the most effective way forward. As a | :06:23. | :06:29. | |
former member of a national disability Council set up by my | :06:30. | :06:35. | |
noble friend from Richmond, when he was Mr, several people had taken the | :06:36. | :06:42. | |
then disability discrimination Bill through the House of Commons. | :06:43. | :06:48. | |
Despite the Council only being advisory, none the less it had a | :06:49. | :06:56. | |
disability specific focus. I also beg to differ, like the Noble | :06:57. | :07:05. | |
Baroness, Baroness Campbell and my noble friend Lord North but have | :07:06. | :07:12. | |
already done. I also do not understand the position taken by the | :07:13. | :07:17. | |
commission on recommendation that name, paragraph 144 rejecting the | :07:18. | :07:26. | |
need to re-establish the disability Committee as a decision-making body. | :07:27. | :07:35. | |
And to ring fence specific resources for the Committee. Surely both are | :07:36. | :07:39. | |
essential if the commission is to enjoy the confidence of the | :07:40. | :07:46. | |
disability community and an important consideration which I | :07:47. | :07:49. | |
don't feel the commission has really taken into account, I therefore urge | :07:50. | :07:59. | |
the commission to reconsider their response to both recommendations | :08:00. | :08:05. | |
eight and nine. And indeed I would respectfully urge the Government to | :08:06. | :08:12. | |
encourage them to do so. The Conservative government that brought | :08:13. | :08:20. | |
ten the GGA in 1995 was right to ensure sharp disability focused | :08:21. | :08:26. | |
then, and notwithstanding the amalgamation since that time of | :08:27. | :08:33. | |
different commissions, including as we have already heard the disability | :08:34. | :08:37. | |
rights commission under the umbrella of the equality and Human Rights | :08:38. | :08:42. | |
Commission, this Conservative government would be right to ask now | :08:43. | :08:47. | |
that that sharp disability focus be maintained. I feel this is | :08:48. | :08:57. | |
particularly important given the Government's manifesto aim of | :08:58. | :08:59. | |
halving the disability employment gap. I Lords, I am not sure I | :09:00. | :09:07. | |
entirely shared the Government's optimism when it states in its | :09:08. | :09:10. | |
response that the concept of reasonable adjustment is now | :09:11. | :09:18. | |
familiar to employers and service providers. The concept they will be | :09:19. | :09:24. | |
familiar, but that is the case, then the old adage, that familiarity | :09:25. | :09:30. | |
breeds contempt remains all too often sadly true in my experience. | :09:31. | :09:36. | |
Awareness of a concept is not the same as awareness of a legal | :09:37. | :09:46. | |
obligation. I am all for maximising incentives by using carrots rather | :09:47. | :09:50. | |
than sticks where possible, but I do wonder whether carrots in the form | :09:51. | :09:57. | |
of it more guidance on how to make your business accessible have been | :09:58. | :10:07. | |
on Jews cropped very long time. To paraphrase -- on used. It isn't | :10:08. | :10:15. | |
going to get us very far. If they don't understand there has to be a | :10:16. | :10:25. | |
damn big stick behind that smile. Might I suggest that the Government | :10:26. | :10:33. | |
pursue a slightly more robust approach by introducing a steam of | :10:34. | :10:38. | |
tapered incentives for reasonable adjustment to be made, so for | :10:39. | :10:46. | |
example, business is to be told they have a certain number of years, I | :10:47. | :10:52. | |
only take the figure five as Brandon, it could be more or less, | :10:53. | :10:58. | |
to make the necessary adjustments with a declining tax break for the | :10:59. | :11:03. | |
first three years, no tax break in the fourth, and a tax penalty led by | :11:04. | :11:11. | |
government, any noncompliance in the 50th. Obviously the -- fifth year. | :11:12. | :11:20. | |
Obviously the Government would need to work in partnership with trade | :11:21. | :11:27. | |
bodies, disability organisations and other disability aims to make | :11:28. | :11:32. | |
service providers and particularly SMEs are aware that reasonable | :11:33. | :11:38. | |
adjustments need not cost the earth. Might I also suggest that any | :11:39. | :11:46. | |
guidance produced to publicise the scheme has, as its title, the simple | :11:47. | :11:54. | |
message, the law is the law, it pays not to break. My Lords, this report | :11:55. | :12:06. | |
shows that after 21 years after the disability discrimination act was | :12:07. | :12:10. | |
passed, we still need to join the dots. I wonder if I could welcome | :12:11. | :12:20. | |
the Government's stated commitment in paragraph four of the preamble to | :12:21. | :12:25. | |
its response to improving attitudes. I also welcome its restated | :12:26. | :12:34. | |
commitment to taking steps to implement the UN Convention on the | :12:35. | :12:40. | |
rights of Persons with disabilities. And they clear acknowledgement that | :12:41. | :12:45. | |
such a commitment means that all government departments need to | :12:46. | :12:51. | |
consider what the Convention says when developing a policy that | :12:52. | :12:56. | |
affects disabled people, including in the case of the UN Convention | :12:57. | :13:05. | |
disability before birth. This is particularly important, because I am | :13:06. | :13:09. | |
concerned that one department, the Department of Health, may be in | :13:10. | :13:14. | |
breach of at least the spirit if not the letter of that convention, as it | :13:15. | :13:23. | |
relates to disability before birth. If this excellent report is to have | :13:24. | :13:29. | |
a lasting impact, if we are too submitted to policy, we must allow | :13:30. | :13:37. | |
disabled babies to have a future to enjoy equality. At the moment many | :13:38. | :13:43. | |
of them do not. They said, shocking fact is that a diagnosis of | :13:44. | :13:48. | |
disability in the womb means they are all too often lucky to make it | :13:49. | :13:54. | |
out alive. Disability discrimination may have been outlawed after birth | :13:55. | :14:04. | |
21 years ago, but for disability diagnosed before birth, | :14:05. | :14:09. | |
discrimination remains enshrined in 2016 in the law of our land. Take | :14:10. | :14:21. | |
down syndrome, for example. 90%, 90% of Down's syndrome diagnoses result | :14:22. | :14:27. | |
in termination. That figure is likely to increase if the Department | :14:28. | :14:35. | |
of Health improves the national screening Committee's recommendation | :14:36. | :14:39. | |
that a test being produced to make it even easier to identify. | :14:40. | :14:45. | |
It is one thing to eradicate disability discrimination as this | :14:46. | :14:54. | |
excellent report powerfully shows the way forward for. It is an | :14:55. | :14:58. | |
entirely different thing to eradicate disability itself through | :14:59. | :15:06. | |
termination. But that is what is happening and not just on grounds of | :15:07. | :15:12. | |
severe handicap, to use the terminology of legislation. Not that | :15:13. | :15:19. | |
severity justifies discrimination. The Department of Health in 2015 | :15:20. | :15:34. | |
records 11 terminations having been carried out for cleft palate, and | :15:35. | :15:38. | |
cleft chin, easily rectified able conditions. I asked my noble friend | :15:39. | :15:46. | |
the Minister if the Government wants to prove its commitment to tackling | :15:47. | :15:52. | |
the discriminatory attitudes, let it back by Private members Bill. Let it | :15:53. | :16:01. | |
make the time available so that my bill can reach its passage through | :16:02. | :16:06. | |
your Lordships' house and MPs, as people's elected representatives | :16:07. | :16:13. | |
have a chance to debate and vote on removing disability as grounds for | :16:14. | :16:17. | |
termination. My thoughts, in closing. We all know that some | :16:18. | :16:25. | |
reports not from your Lordships' house I hasten to add, absolutely | :16:26. | :16:28. | |
deserve to gather dust. This is not one of them. This report deserves to | :16:29. | :16:37. | |
be a living document to which we return on a regular basis and | :16:38. | :16:44. | |
against which we measure progress. I look forward to doing everything I | :16:45. | :16:53. | |
can to ensure that by eradicating disability discrimination in all | :16:54. | :17:02. | |
areas of life, after and before birth, with this report, we do | :17:03. | :17:07. | |
parliament and Society Justice in the years to come and help this | :17:08. | :17:12. | |
Government embark on real, lasting and inclusive social reform. | :17:13. | :17:20. | |
My Lords, it has been a great privilege to listen to this debate, | :17:21. | :17:24. | |
as much as it was to serve on the select committee. What the debate | :17:25. | :17:27. | |
has demonstrated is the extraordinary range of experiences | :17:28. | :17:34. | |
that members of our Lordships' house bring to the subject of disability | :17:35. | :17:38. | |
and I would like to thank every of them has spoken, particularly from | :17:39. | :17:45. | |
their own experiences in life, to be able to bring such light on the | :17:46. | :17:56. | |
subject. Almost every Speaker has revoked to our noble Baroness for | :17:57. | :18:00. | |
the way in which she chaired the committee. -- they have referred to | :18:01. | :18:04. | |
her. And the way that she introduced this debate today and I would like | :18:05. | :18:08. | |
to join them both in that respect. It was a remarkable committee, | :18:09. | :18:12. | |
chaired brilliantly by her. She should also be congratulated for | :18:13. | :18:17. | |
persuading the usual channels to hold this debate in prime time, so | :18:18. | :18:23. | |
soon in the autumn session. Not something I expected to see happen, | :18:24. | :18:30. | |
so that is a great achievement. As we come lovable baroness Lady Thomas | :18:31. | :18:34. | |
of Winchester say, we produced a really good read, and that is a good | :18:35. | :18:42. | |
epitaph on the committee report. -- noble Baroness. It was unanimous, | :18:43. | :18:47. | |
hard-hitting and full of recommendations that if they were | :18:48. | :18:50. | |
all entered upon would make a huge difference to the well-being and | :18:51. | :18:54. | |
life experiences of disabled people across a very wide range of | :18:55. | :19:00. | |
activities. And it was, therefore, a pity that the Government's response | :19:01. | :19:05. | |
was really so feeble and unambitious. When it came out on the | :19:06. | :19:11. | |
7th of July, which was one month and 13 days later than the Cabinet | :19:12. | :19:20. | |
Office's guidance for responses to select committee report, the lady | :19:21. | :19:25. | |
was quoted as saying she was dismayed to put it mildly. It was a | :19:26. | :19:32. | |
really unfeeling response, not helpful to make life more productive | :19:33. | :19:37. | |
for disabled people. I think are totally with that, my Lords, and I | :19:38. | :19:45. | |
support the cause made in that debate for the response from the | :19:46. | :19:49. | |
Government to be withdrawn and rewritten. I am much it is a new | :19:50. | :19:53. | |
Government but a new sort of administration. -- I'm not sure it | :19:54. | :19:57. | |
is a new Government but a new sort of administration. Other members | :19:58. | :20:01. | |
have spoke of new areas of this report and Government response where | :20:02. | :20:04. | |
they have their own areas of expertise. I shall concentrate | :20:05. | :20:11. | |
briefly and recommendations 21 and 22, relating to disabled access to | :20:12. | :20:19. | |
sports grounds, which are covered in paragraphs 245 - 249 of the report. | :20:20. | :20:24. | |
I remind the House of my interest as a vice president of the charity | :20:25. | :20:30. | |
Level Playing Field. Lord Northbrook, Lord Harrison and | :20:31. | :20:35. | |
Baroness Brinton all referred to the Accessible Sports Grounds Bill which | :20:36. | :20:41. | |
I took through this house in 2015. With the exception of the then | :20:42. | :20:46. | |
minister, not the minister replying tonight, who was approaching that | :20:47. | :20:52. | |
debate and can best be described as lukewarm, every member who spoke in | :20:53. | :20:56. | |
the second reading debate on the 17th of July, were strongly | :20:57. | :20:59. | |
supportive. Particularly in respect of the principle that each stadium | :21:00. | :21:04. | |
should follow accessible stadium guidelines, and improve the | :21:05. | :21:07. | |
experience for disabled people attending their matches. Now, whilst | :21:08. | :21:12. | |
it was evident the bill would not make progress in the other place | :21:13. | :21:18. | |
with our Government's support, it did produce one positive consequence | :21:19. | :21:24. | |
and that was the response from the English Premier League on the 10th | :21:25. | :21:30. | |
of September 2000 and 15. This stated, and I quote, all Premier | :21:31. | :21:33. | |
League clubs have agreed to make their stadiums compliant with the | :21:34. | :21:38. | |
accessible stadium guide by August 20 17. Clubs also agreed to ensure | :21:39. | :21:45. | |
the appropriate number of wheelchair bays are located in the correct | :21:46. | :21:52. | |
sections. If this commitment were fulfilled to the letter, it would | :21:53. | :21:59. | |
represent a huge step forward by the best supported and most affluent | :22:00. | :22:03. | |
clubs in British football. Particularly if the lead given by | :22:04. | :22:06. | |
the Premier League will follow by the other football leagues in | :22:07. | :22:11. | |
England, Wales and Scotland, and those sports with significant | :22:12. | :22:13. | |
numbers of fans attending their matches. In its report, our select | :22:14. | :22:21. | |
committee quoted approvingly the comment of Justin Tomlinson MP, who | :22:22. | :22:25. | |
was then Minister for disabled people. He is sadly no longer in | :22:26. | :22:33. | |
that post. He told me that most football clubs in this country are | :22:34. | :22:36. | |
behind when it comes to disability access to their grounds the Mac. It | :22:37. | :22:42. | |
is my belief that football should be enjoyed by everyone and someone with | :22:43. | :22:45. | |
a disability should have as much opportunity to watch the game as | :22:46. | :22:50. | |
someone without a disability. The following paragraph of our report | :22:51. | :22:57. | |
says this, and provision of disabled people, Justin Tomlinson similarly | :22:58. | :23:00. | |
confirmed that frankly some of it is disgraceful. There is no provision | :23:01. | :23:04. | |
in some grounds. Supporters are split up or put in with the away | :23:05. | :23:07. | |
fans. I find that totally unacceptable. We are in the last | :23:08. | :23:12. | |
chance saloon with those of football bodies saying, you need to get your | :23:13. | :23:18. | |
house in order. Had my members bill become law, clubs which failed to | :23:19. | :23:22. | |
comply with the accessible stadium guidelines could have lost their | :23:23. | :23:28. | |
safety certificates and their stadiums prevented from operating. | :23:29. | :23:35. | |
Without that sanction, disabled people would have two rely on the | :23:36. | :23:40. | |
goodwill of the clubs themselves to deliver what they promised by summer | :23:41. | :23:44. | |
next year. I am afraid, my Lords, I am not holding my breath. I advise | :23:45. | :23:46. | |
that the long-awaited report from the Premier League regarding the | :23:47. | :23:52. | |
progress of its clubs with one year to go, it was sent to the Secretary | :23:53. | :24:02. | |
of State. I am told that it seems to say very little and contains no | :24:03. | :24:06. | |
detail about the real progress at each club. It appears that there | :24:07. | :24:12. | |
will be at least some Premier League clubs that will not meet the pledge | :24:13. | :24:17. | |
by August 2017 as agreed and previously promised. The range of | :24:18. | :24:19. | |
excuses put forward by clubs as to why they will not or frankly | :24:20. | :24:24. | |
unacceptable. Liverpool football club, for example, seems far more | :24:25. | :24:29. | |
interested in providing general hospitality places than installing | :24:30. | :24:33. | |
sufficient disabled fans seats in order to comply with football's own | :24:34. | :24:40. | |
minimum standards. No cc for disabled people would ensure that | :24:41. | :24:45. | |
the club meets its pledges, but instead it's disabled fans are | :24:46. | :24:51. | |
expected to wait for phase two of its stadium expansion whenever that | :24:52. | :24:56. | |
may be. Watford seems to be removing disabled fans seats at a time when | :24:57. | :24:59. | |
they should be seeing an increase. Crystal Palace believes it only | :25:00. | :25:02. | |
needs to come up with a plan by 2017 rather than comply with the | :25:03. | :25:09. | |
amendment. It further transpires that the newly promoted clubs will | :25:10. | :25:13. | |
be given a one-year extension to meet the premiership pledge, as they | :25:14. | :25:17. | |
had not been part of the original decision. It is thought that they | :25:18. | :25:20. | |
should be afforded the same two-year cycle. This misses the point | :25:21. | :25:24. | |
completely, my Lords. It is more than 20 years, as other noble lords | :25:25. | :25:29. | |
have said Mr Gray, since the introduction of part three of the | :25:30. | :25:35. | |
DDA, and it is lot that they are required to provide that | :25:36. | :25:37. | |
accommodation and disgrace they have not done so. -- it is the law. It is | :25:38. | :25:42. | |
clearly Premier League has no intention to appeal is essentially | :25:43. | :25:45. | |
clubs which do not meet their own pledge. -- no intention to sanction | :25:46. | :25:54. | |
the clubs. Quite recently, the noble lord Lord Ashton reply to a written | :25:55. | :25:57. | |
question for me in these words. Ministers expect all sports and all | :25:58. | :26:01. | |
clubs to his guns do not make the reasonable adjustments to | :26:02. | :26:05. | |
accommodate disabled spectators are set out in the equality act 2010 to | :26:06. | :26:11. | |
take action to fulfil this legal obligation. Given the vast financial | :26:12. | :26:17. | |
resources at the disposal of premiership clubs, which noble lords | :26:18. | :26:20. | |
have referred to, the time has surely come for this action to be | :26:21. | :26:24. | |
taken now and taking any more drastic way. It is so disappointing | :26:25. | :26:28. | |
that, in response to the select committee's recommendation 21, that | :26:29. | :26:33. | |
the Government should include provisions similar to those of the | :26:34. | :26:38. | |
Accessible Sports Grounds Bill in a Government bill, but they have said | :26:39. | :26:42. | |
they have no plans to introduce one as existing legislation in the form | :26:43. | :26:48. | |
of the Equality Act remains "Untested" on access to sports | :26:49. | :26:50. | |
stadiums for disabled people. That is a truly bizarre excuse my Lords | :26:51. | :26:57. | |
and publicly ignores what the select committee said in paragraph 240 | :26:58. | :27:05. | |
seven. The equality act 2010 has not succeeded in getting disabled sports | :27:06. | :27:07. | |
fans the access to stadiums to which they are entitled and new measures | :27:08. | :27:16. | |
are needed. A particular problem is the wall's requirement that only | :27:17. | :27:19. | |
individuals may take actions against institutions which are filling in | :27:20. | :27:22. | |
their duty to comply with the act. The nature of the relationship | :27:23. | :27:28. | |
between a football fan and his or her own club is often deep rooted | :27:29. | :27:34. | |
and passionate and makes it hard but I would say it makes it impossible | :27:35. | :27:37. | |
for the fan to initiate proceedings. This my Lords is why we recommend | :27:38. | :27:43. | |
recommendation 42 that the Government should consider changing | :27:44. | :27:46. | |
the law to allow charities and other bodies which do not have a legal | :27:47. | :27:53. | |
interest to bring proceedings in the interest of classes of disabled | :27:54. | :27:55. | |
people who are not themselves claimants. I hope that when the | :27:56. | :28:02. | |
minister replies, she is able to give a convincing reason for not | :28:03. | :28:05. | |
allowing charities to bring class actions. I would also ask her to | :28:06. | :28:09. | |
give a response to the Premier League's report on progress towards | :28:10. | :28:14. | |
meeting their August 2017 accessibility commitment. Also, an | :28:15. | :28:19. | |
indication of what they plan to do if the clubs let the disabled | :28:20. | :28:24. | |
supporters down. My Lords, as somebody who did not | :28:25. | :28:29. | |
serve on the committee, I think this whole experience with this debate | :28:30. | :28:34. | |
has been incredibly interesting, and the equality of the speeches takes | :28:35. | :28:38. | |
away some of my irritation at not having been able to get onto that | :28:39. | :28:43. | |
committee. However, my Lords, even a committee of this type, doing this | :28:44. | :28:48. | |
much work, could not cover everything to do with the field of | :28:49. | :28:56. | |
disability. I say that as the first declaration of interest that I am | :28:57. | :29:00. | |
dyslexic. And the president of the British dyslexia Association, and | :29:01. | :29:07. | |
there is more than one BDA involved in this. The British deaf | :29:08. | :29:13. | |
Association is as well. My Lords, if we don't do this, a series of themes | :29:14. | :29:18. | |
come out. The big thing is that you have got the law, so implement it. | :29:19. | :29:24. | |
Drive it forward. I, my Lords, and one of the veterans of the DDA. At | :29:25. | :29:30. | |
the time, it was before we celebrate it too much, just remember the pain | :29:31. | :29:36. | |
of the birth. Baroness Campbell was outside the building and I was in it | :29:37. | :29:41. | |
at the time. Shall we say, the birth of that bill was a painful and | :29:42. | :29:46. | |
prolonged labour? It was dragged out of a Government that did not want | :29:47. | :29:50. | |
it, largely by the action of its own backbenchers... | :29:51. | :29:56. |