Post by Funky-Fran on Sept 7, 2002 12:32:47 GMT -5
It’s illegal, Eagle
The government department responsible for disability rights has been fined for discriminating against a deaf man.
Alistair Appleby, 37, brought the case after he was humiliated at a benefits office in 1999. The Blackfriars Benefits Agency office refused his request for an interview without a glass partition screen to allow him to lip-read.
Lambeth County Court ruled that the office had breached the Disability Discrimination Act and ordered the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to pay damages of £850.
The DWP, where Maria Eagle is Minister for Disabled People, was formed last year, taking over responsibility for benefits at the same time.
Mr Appleby, who was backed by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, said: “I felt belittled and humiliated by the way I was treated.”
A spokesman for the DWP said that with the the current roll-out of Jobcentre Plus, which is replacing benefits offices, most services are being offered without screens.
He added: “Mr Appleby’s experience is certainly the exception, not the rule.”
Posted: 2 Sept, 2002
The government department responsible for disability rights has been fined for discriminating against a deaf man.
Alistair Appleby, 37, brought the case after he was humiliated at a benefits office in 1999. The Blackfriars Benefits Agency office refused his request for an interview without a glass partition screen to allow him to lip-read.
Lambeth County Court ruled that the office had breached the Disability Discrimination Act and ordered the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to pay damages of £850.
The DWP, where Maria Eagle is Minister for Disabled People, was formed last year, taking over responsibility for benefits at the same time.
Mr Appleby, who was backed by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, said: “I felt belittled and humiliated by the way I was treated.”
A spokesman for the DWP said that with the the current roll-out of Jobcentre Plus, which is replacing benefits offices, most services are being offered without screens.
He added: “Mr Appleby’s experience is certainly the exception, not the rule.”
Posted: 2 Sept, 2002
cant believe that!! 