672.Part 1 of this Schedule clarifies the definition of disability in section 6 and provides a number of regulation-making powers to enable the definition to be amended at a later date if required.
673.Part 2 describes what can be included in guidance about the definition of disability and prescribes adjudicating bodies which are obliged to take account of guidance, the role of Ministers in developing and publishing guidance and the associated parliamentary procedures.
674.This Schedule replaces similar provisions in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. However, the Act introduces one change by removing a requirement to consider a list of eight capacities, such as mobility or speech, hearing or eyesight, when considering whether or not a person is disabled. This change will make it easier for some people to demonstrate that they meet the definition of a disabled person. It will assist those who currently find it difficult to show that their impairment adversely affects their ability to carry out a normal day-to-day activity which involves one of these capacities.
675.A man with depression finds even the simplest of tasks or decisions difficult, for example getting up in the morning and getting washed and dressed. He is also forgetful and can’t plan ahead. Together, these amount to a “substantial adverse effect” on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The man has experienced a number of separate periods of this depression over a period of two years, which have been diagnosed as part of an underlying mental health condition. The impairment is therefore considered to be “long-term” and he is a disabled person for the purposes of the Act.