Anna’s Blog – The Disability Discrimination Act Turns 30

The Disability Discrimination Act Turns 30

This year marks 30 years since the government passed the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). It was a landmark moment – for the first time, disability discrimination in employment, education, and services became illegal. After years of disability civil rights activism, particularly from groups like the Disabled People’s Direct Action Network (DAN), the DDA sent an unequivocal message that disabled people should have full access to public life.

In 2010, the DDA was incorporated into the Equality Act which remains the primary legislation protecting disabled people. The Act expanded definitions of disability to include long-term conditions, protected disabled people applying for jobs, and ensured disabled people are not discriminated against by universal rules. However, the DDA and Equality Act only “cracked open the door to inclusion,” as Access Consultant David Burdus puts it, “Today, we’re still nudging it wider.”

In 2025 the gaps are still there. Disabled people face severe financial insecurity – nearly half of everyone in poverty is either a disabled person or lives with a disabled person (Disability Rights UK) and up to 44% of homeless people have a disability (Census 2021). This year, the government announced further proposed cuts to Personal Independence Payments and Universal Credit, changes that could have pushed nearly half a million people in disabled households into severe hardship by 2029/30 (WPI). These proposals prompted widespread backlash from disabled people, charities, and campaigners including Rachael Maskell, MP for York, who led a significant backbench rebellion and described the proposals as “Dickensian”. As a result of the backlash, the government has paused or amended some, but not all, of the proposed measures.

Initiatives like “Get Britain Working” and “Access to Work” aim to get disabled people into work and alleviate poverty, but there is just one disability-confident job advert for every 121 people receiving incapacity benefits (JRF). The Access to Work scheme has severe backlogs and imposes hidden costs on employers. As a result, many disabled people are unable to get jobs, paying for their own reasonable adjustments that should be supplied by the employer, or being forced out of work. Angela Matthews, Director at the Business Disability Forum, says businesses and their disabled employees are being “set up to fail” (BBC) while Mikey Erhardt, Policy Lead at Disability Rights UK, warns that disabled people “pushed into work by cuts” often end up in poor, precarious conditions, leading to “a vicious and unrelenting cycle of sickness and poverty” (Barnet Post).

A recent example involved Tom Boyd, an autistic man who spent four years stacking shelves as part of an unpaid placement at Waitrose. When his mother asked in July whether he could be offered “just a few paid hours,” Waitrose head office instead ended his placement. He received “no apology, no thanks, and no recognition for his commitment. Just silence.” Following huge public outcry, Tom was offered paid shifts by Asda, which he accepted. Later, Waitrose also reversed its original decision and finally offered him paid employment, which he has agreed to start in the new year.

Accessibility in public services also remains a major barrier. The term “public services” implies accessibility for all, but in practice this is far from true. Actress, comedian, and author Samantha Baines has described navigating maternity and healthcare services as a deaf person: “I had to fight at every stage of my difficult pregnancy just to get the support I needed. Despite telling healthcare professionals that I’m deaf and can’t answer calls, they consistently ring me. During my NHS C-section, I had specifically requested a lip-speaker so I could follow what was happening. Staff had no idea what a lip-speaker was, and I had to direct the midwife team to a website explaining how to book one. Eventually one was arranged, but when my waters broke early, none was available on site, so I had no lip-speaker during my surgery. It left me feeling even more vulnerable in an already vulnerable situation. I was already exhausted from the pregnancy itself, and the added stress of constantly having to advocate for myself was overwhelming.” (RNID).

Crucially, the Equality Act still relies on disabled people bringing a discrimination case to a tribunal, a process which is lengthy and fraught with fear of retaliation. The law exists on paper, but its enforcement is a challenge. Only by strengthening legal obligations and ensuring the resources exist to uphold them, can we move closer to an inclusive society. The DDA brought lasting change, including recognising mental health conditions, learning disabilities, and neurodiversity, not just physical impairments. But ongoing welfare reforms and cuts continue to fuel stigmatisation.

Driving forward changing attitudes and introducing new provisions are imperative to delivering the barrier-free environment that disabled people envisaged when they first took to the streets to campaign for the Disability Discrimination Act.