Disability Discrimination Act 2005

1 Councillors and members of the Greater London Authority

In the 1995 Act, after section 14D there is inserted—

“Relationships between locally-electable authorities and their members

15A Interpretation of sections 15B and 15C

(1) Sections 15B and 15C apply to the following authorities—

(a) the Greater London Authority;

(b) a county council (in England or Wales);

(c) a county borough council (in Wales);

(d) a district council (in England);

(e) a London borough council;

(f) the Common Council of the City of London;

(g) the Council of the Isles of Scilly;

(h) a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994;

(i) a parish council (in England); and

(j) a community council (in Wales or Scotland).

(2) In relation to a member of an authority to which sections 15B and 15C apply, a reference in those sections to his carrying-out of official business is to his doing of anything—

(a) as member of the authority;

(b) as member of any body to which he is appointed by, or is appointed following nomination by, the authority or a group of bodies that includes the authority; or

(c) as member of any other body if it is a public body.

(3) In this section and sections 15B and 15C “member”, in relation to the Greater London Authority, means Mayor of London or member of the London Assembly.

15B Authorities and their members: discrimination and harassment

(1) It is unlawful for an authority to which this section applies to discriminate against a disabled person who is a member of the authority—

(a) in the opportunities which it affords the disabled person to receive training, or any other facility, for his carrying-out of official business;

(b) by refusing to afford, or deliberately not affording, the disabled person any such opportunities; or

(c) by subjecting the disabled person to any other detriment in connection with his carrying-out of official business.

(2) It is unlawful for an authority to which this section applies to subject a disabled person who is a member of the authority to harassment in connection with his carrying-out of official business.

(3) A member of an authority to which this section applies is not subjected to a detriment for the purposes of subsection (1)(c) by reason of—

(a) his not being appointed or elected to an office of the authority;

(b) his not being appointed or elected to, or to an office of, a committee or sub-committee of the authority; or

(c) his not being appointed or nominated in exercise of any power of the authority, or of a group of bodies that includes the authority, to appoint, or nominate for appointment, to any body.

(4) Regulations may make provision as to the circumstances in which treatment is to be taken to be justified, or is to be taken not to be justified, for the purposes of section 3A(1)(b) as it has effect for the interpretation of “discriminate” in subsection (1).

(5) Regulations under subsection (4) may (in particular) provide for section 3A(3) to apply with prescribed modifications, or not to apply, for those purposes; but treatment of a disabled person cannot be justified under subsection (4) if it amounts to direct discrimination falling within section 3A(5).

(6) If, in a case falling within section 3A(1) as it has effect for the interpretation of “discriminate” in subsection (1), an authority to which this section applies is under a duty imposed by section 15C in relation to a disabled person but fails to comply with that duty, its treatment of that person cannot be justified under subsection (4) unless it would have been justified even if it had complied with that duty.

15C Authorities and their members: duty to make adjustments

(1) Subsection (2) applies where—

(a) a provision, criterion or practice applied by or on behalf of an authority to which this section applies, or

(b) any physical feature of premises occupied by, or under the control of, such an authority,

places a disabled person who is a member of the authority at a substantial disadvantage, in comparison with members of the authority who are not disabled persons, in connection with his carrying-out of official business.

(2) It is the duty of the authority to take such steps as it is reasonable, in all the circumstances of the case, for it to have to take in order to prevent the provision, criterion or practice, or feature, having that effect.

(3) Subsection (2) does not impose any duty on an authority to which this section applies in relation to a member of the authority who is a disabled person if the authority does not know, and could not reasonably be expected to know, that the member—

(a) has a disability; and

(b) is likely to be affected in the way mentioned in subsection (1).

(4) Regulations may make provision, for purposes of this section—

(a) as to circumstances in which a provision, criterion or practice, or physical feature, is to be taken to have the effect mentioned in subsection (1);

(b) as to circumstances in which a provision, criterion or practice, or physical feature, is to be taken not to have the effect mentioned in subsection (1);

(c) as to circumstances in which it is, or as to circumstances in which it is not, reasonable for an authority to have to take steps of a prescribed description;

(d) as to steps which it is always, or as to steps which it is never, reasonable for an authority to have to take;

(e) as to things which are, or as to things which are not, to be treated as physical features.”