Equal rights for disabled staff and students

Recent amendments to the Disability Discrimination Act will introduce a new Disability Equality Duty from December 2006. This will require a shift away from a reactive approach to tackling discrimination of disabled people to a proactive approach that encourages inclusion and promotes the full participation of disabled people in all activities.

In response to the requirements of the new legislation, the University is taking steps to publish, implement and monitor a Disability Equality Scheme.

The Scheme will set out arrangements for gathering information and assessing the impact of activities for promoting disability equality, priorities for action including timescales and progress indicators, and mechanisms for involving disabled people in developing the Scheme.

The Disability Equality Scheme will also need to take into account the dynamic and often unseen nature of disability, the specific impact attitudinal and environmental barriers can have on disabled people, and the legal duty of the University to make reasonable adjustments to provision where disabled people would otherwise be substantially disadvantaged.

The University is keen to engage the active involvement of disabled people in the development of the Disability Equality Scheme and has established an open forum on My Dundee for staff and students with personal experience of disability and/or expertise in disability or other equality and diversity issues.

A key role of the forum is to help the University identify:

• Any existing barriers faced by disabled people in accessing education, employment and public services
• Priorities for action
• Measures for assessing and monitoring the impact of policies and practices on disabled people

Anyone interested in participating in the forum should contact Shirley Hill, Head of Disability Services, on s.hill@dundee.ac.uk.

More information is also provided on the University's website at: http://www.dundee.ac.uk/disabilityservices/disability/DDA.html.