Sense tells MPs government breached Equality Act with coronavirus communications

There has been “many, many breaches” of the Equality Act by the UK Government during the coronavirus pandemic, the disability charity Sense has told the Women and Equalities Committee.

The evidence session, which took place on Wednesday, was the latest in the MPs’ inquiry into the “unequal impact” of coronavirus on those with protected characteristics.

Emma Boswell, National Usher Co-ordinator at the organisation, said now is a “time for a change in attitude for access”.

“We should have a government who are forward-looking, who see disabled people as just that – as people first. As contributors, as workers, as people with normal lives.

“I think what has happened in fact, through the many, many breaches of the Act that I’ve seen, we’ve been set back, because we’re seen as a label.

“This is the government clearly not seeing the merits of the disability, but seeing the problem of it and by labelling us this way, I think we will begin to see the impact,” she said.

Emma also told committee members that receiving information from the Government has been “particularly difficult”.

She said: “The broadcasts haven’t had British Sign Language at all, so of course that puts up an immediate barrier for somebody who uses sign language. The letter that was sent out to everybody by the Government didn’t come in alternative formats.

“There is an equality duty for the Government to provide information and I think they’ve fallen foul of that duty and haven’t made things accessible at all, in as many ways as possible.”

When asked about social media communications about the pandemic and whether these have been accessible, Emma said the Government cannot “rely just on social media and the press” to share information.

“The government has a duty to make the information accessible for everyone.

“So some people have just not been able to access social media at all because of their disability, so it’s a case of working with people and actually finding out what their communication needs are,” she said.

Caroline Noakes MP, Chair of the Committee, went on to ask about the GOV.UK website, and how helpful it would be to have information overlaid with British Sign Language – something which she says the committee knows is “technically possible”.

Emma replied: “For me, that would be wonderful because it would make everything accessible, but also there are other things to think about like subtitles and closed captions.

“Going to the website… I mean, it’s enormous. So finding something is incredibly difficult.

“[SignHealth] have produced bulletins on a daily basis about the crisis. However, that doesn’t suit everybody, nor should it be down to a charity like SignHealth to be doing that piece of work.”

The discussion later moved on to face masks on public transport, and what this means for those who rely on lipreading when communicating.

It comes after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced last week that face coverings will become mandatory on buses, trains and more from Monday.

Mr Shapps said: “While respecting social distancing and maintaining good hand hygiene remain the most important steps we can all take to stay safe, wearing a face covering can play a role in helping us to protect each other.

“This is about the small changes we can take to help control the virus, which is why I urge everyone using transport to wear a face covering, to help keep us all safer.”

Commenting on this issue, Emma said “communication is key”.

“The amount of fear that comes from a breakdown in communication, I couldn’t describe.

“I’ve heard that there are designs on clear, see-through masks, but I’m not sure they’re altogether developed yet.

“Lipreading is not just the mouth, it’s the whole face. If half the face is missing, then it’s going to be very difficult,” she said.

On the topic of misinformation around the coronavirus, Emma went on to add that the Government “needs to get a handle on effective communication with communities” and make information “simple and easily understood”.

“We get misinformation. It comes directly and it goes through all sort of filters as well.

“Then, when it gets to a community basis, it’s about interpretation – what one person has understood [from] something that’s hugely ambiguous to understand anyway.

“I’ve worked with groups in the community and found that there’s very, very differing, disparate understandings of advice that’s being given.

“This is hugely risky because it breeds even further misinformation,” she said.

Today, we have launched three sub-inquiries 🧐 pic.twitter.com/SRS4r2wKvH

— Women & Equalities Committee (@Commonswomequ) June 10, 2020

Today’s meeting came as the Select Committee announced the launch of three sub-inquiries relating the “unequal impact of coronavirus”, after the group received over 500 pieces of written evidence on the issue.

One sub-inquiry will focus on “disability and access to services”, with committee chair Caroline Noakes MP saying coronavirus and emergency measures have “already had a severe impact on disabled people”.

“Access to essential public services is a huge problem, for example for people with complex disabilities and communication support needs. There have even been reports of problems with access to food.

“We want to understand the lived experience of disabled people so that we can make robust proposals to Government.

“Restrictions that severely affect people’s daily lives must be fully justified and clearly communicated, and hard-won rights must be protected,” she said.

More information about the work of the Women and Equalities Committee, including how to submit evidence, can be found on the UK Parliament website.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and blogger from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.