[modeleng] Re: Disability Discrimination Act
- From: "Peter J. Cathcart" <peter.cathcart@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <modeleng@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2004 22:55:21 +0100
Alan
You are right generally that the Act has not been explained as well as it
should have been. However, the general view seems to be that compliance on
day one is simply a pipe dream for most businesses and that the objective is
to change the culture over a period of years. It will really take a
disabled person to complain to make an issue for anyone. Large corporations
will be targeted first as they can bear litigation costs and gradually it
will become clear what is and what is not reasonable.
Besides cost we have a major defence, and that is safety. Safety of the
public, and our members, comes before anything. If you intend to allow a
seriously disabled persons to use your railway you must first make a safety
case for it. Their safety has to be assured.
Thankfully we are a generally civilised nation and common sense will
prevail. Trust me, I'm a lawyer.
Peter
----- Original Message -----
From: "alanjstepney" <alan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <modeleng@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 9:13 PM
Subject: [modeleng] Re: Disability Discrimination Act
What I find slightly disconcerting, is that this Act does not seem to have
received the publicity that perhaps it should. Or rather, the impression
seems to be that it only applies to the big boys, and I suspect any ME clubs
dont realise it also applies to them.
Secondly, I feel that it is bad legislation. (So whats new?!!)
There is such a wide range of abilities among the disabled but this Act
seems to assume that ALL can do anything.
I know that some blind people sail yachts, but this does not mean that
everyone who is blind can sail.
In our hobby, there must be some people who have a specific disability that
effectively bars them from some aspect of this hobby, whereas others with
the same disability might be quite capable of enjoying model engineering.
I fear that anyone who IS excluded might immediately cry "foul" and claim
that it is on the basis of their disability.
alan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.alanstepney.info
Model Engineering, Steam Engine, and Railway technical pages.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter J. Cathcart" <peter.cathcart@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <modeleng@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 6:16 AM
Subject: [modeleng] Re: Disability Discrimination Act
Alan
That is a pretty good summary of the issues.
Access for the disabled is very much a part of health and safety generally.
We have combined the two issues. We have a health and safety committee
which reviews all work carried out on our site and also periodically walks
the site and chews the cud. One of the committee members is significantly
disabled which means we get a very good perspective on disability issues.
We are facing another issue. We have another member who is much more
seriously disabled. He can't walk very well and suffers spasmodic
movements. His speech is extremely difficult to follow. He has announced
recently that he intends to buy a steam loco to run on our track. This
disturbed many members, particularly as he got his driving licence about six
months ago. However it is not an issue. Safety comes first and it would
not be safe to let him loose on our track.
Compliance with the Act is going to take most businesses many years. The
vast majority of buildings throughout the country do not comply. Billions
will have to be spent over the next 10 to 20 years to make buildings
compliant.
By all means take the issue seriously but don't panic. Most modifications
required, as we have found, are generally easy to implement.
Peter
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