1.1

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA 1995) aims to end the discrimination that many disabled people face. This Act gives disabled people rights in the areas of:

• Employment
• Education
• Access to goods, facilities and services
• Buying or renting land or property

1.2

In April 2005 a new Disability Discrimination Act (DDA 2005) was passed by Parliament, which amends or extends existing provisions in the DDA 1995, including:

• Making it unlawful for operators of transport vehicles to discriminate against disabled people
• Making it easier for disabled people to rent property and for tenants to make disability-related adaptations
• Making sure that private clubs with 25 or more members cannot keep disabled people out, just because they have a disability
• Extending protection to cover people who have HIV, cancer and multiple sclerosis from the moment they are diagnosed
• Ensuring that discrimination law covers all the activities of the public sector
• Requiring public bodies to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA 2005)amendment now places a duty on all public authorities, when carrying out their functions, to have due regard to the need to

• Promote equality of opportunity between disabled persons and other persons
• Eliminate discrimination that is unlawful under the Act
• Eliminate harassment of disabled persons that is related to their disabilities
• Promote positive attitudes towards disabled persons
• Encourage participation by disabled persons in public life; and
• Take steps to take account of disabled persons’ disabilities, even where it involves treating disabled persons more favorably than others

The DDA 2005 introduced this new duty on all public authorities, which now requires them to produce a Disability Equality Scheme under the Disability Equality Duty.

The Disability Equality Duty (DED) is an important new duty aimed at promoting disability equality across the public sector. The VOA is also covered by specific duties, which set out a framework to assist in meeting the general duty. All public authorities covered by the specific duties must:

• Publish a Disability Equality Scheme
• Publish an Action Plan taking forward the proposed actions from within the scheme
• State how they have involve disabled people in producing the Scheme and Action Plan
• Have arrangements in place for assessing the impact of the activities of the authority on disability equality and improving these when necessary (disability equality impact assessments)
• Detail how the authority is going to use the information gathered, in particular in reviewing the effectiveness of its Action Plan, and preparing subsequent Schemes.
• Review and revise the Scheme.
• Actually improve and change things for people with disabilities

The VOA fully understands the importance of the Scheme in promoting disability equality to underpin its business performance standards.

The functions carried out by the Valuation Office Agency are listed below:

• The assessment of property for rating and council tax purposes in England and Wales
• Valuation services for HM Revenue & Customs in England, Wales and Scotland
• A range of Valuation and Estate Surveying Services for Other Government Departments, the Devolved Administrations and other Public Bodies

The VOA has assessed its functions listed in 3.1 above to see which are appropriate for inclusion in the Disability Equality Scheme. The assessment process included the following steps:

• The listed functions were tested to see whether or not they involved or affected members of the public in some way. If they did in any way then they remained in the assessment process
• A decision was then made to establish whether the inclusion of a particular function within the scheme was proportionate to the potential impact on the public. Any areas of doubt about the potential impact of a particular function on the public were included in the scheme.

4.2

Following stages one and two in compiling the list of functions for inclusion in the scheme, the list will be:

• Used to determine any impact, or potential impact, for physically or mentally impaired persons. This should assist in determining the functions that may have the greatest impact on disability discrimination.

6.1

Within three years of this Disability Equality Scheme, the Agency will assess

• The extent and adequacy of existing monitoring within each of the operational policy areas, and
• The scope for extending it.

In some cases, an equality impact assessment of an operational policy may identify a potential adverse impact on particular groups. If there is no feasible, alternative policy, the Agency will:

• Take steps to lessen any such adverse impact (mitigating action)
• Consider special monitoring and analysis to confirm the extent of the adverse impact and/or the success of any mitigating measures
• Take into account any information collected through the special monitoring arrangements in any future review of the policy

The Valuation Office Agency will:

• Make publicly available the outcome of any equality impact assessment and of any monitoring undertaken
• Make this material available on the Valuation Office Agency's Internet Website
• Make this material available in printed form and in alternative formats on request to The Diversity Manager

Any material the Valuation Office Agency publishes on equality impact assessments will include:

• The aims of the policy
• Details of the outcome of the assessments highlighting whether there is any adverse impact
• Relevant, available, monitoring data
• Details of consideration given to mitigate any adverse impact of the policy on the elimination of unlawful disability discrimination and the promotion of equality of opportunity and good relations between disabled and non-disabled people
• Details of any consideration given to alternative policies, which might better, achieve the elimination of unlawful disability discrimination and the promotion of equality of opportunity and good relations between disabled and non-disabled people

The Agency through its Diversity and Equality Coordinators and Diversity team is engaged in delivering a programme of awareness and training to all staff on

• The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 obligations
• Requirements of this Disability Equality Scheme, and
• The arrangements for equality impact assessment
• This awareness training in some cases forms part of a broader equality and diversity programme

9.2

Specific training measures will include:

• Raising general awareness of the Disability Equality Scheme through internal communication channels
• Delivery of Disability Discrimination Act 2005 awareness training to key staff
• Production of a Disability Equality Scheme training brief and delivery of awareness training to all staff
• A review of existing training briefs with a view to including the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 - Equality duty references where appropriate, for example Induction Training

The VOA will obtain, monitor, analyse and equality proof by disabled group all recruitment, vacancy filling, performance appraisal, training, grievances, disciplinary action and staff leaving the VOA. The VOA will also:

• Require Group Valuation Officers, District Valuers and Heads of Specialist Sections to be responsible for Disability within their own areas of responsibility. They will be responsible for disability equality planning, monitoring and evaluation progress as well as close liaison with the Diversity and Equality team. This requirement will form part of their Performance Management Narrative.
• Ensure all new job applicants are asked to complete a disability status form that correlates with the guidance from the Cabinet Office
• The VOA will actively encourage its entire staff to provide accurate and up-to-date details of their disability status so that the VOA's database correlates with the guidance from the Cabinet Office
• Continue to equality proof the results of the procedures on vacancy filling to test the process for fairness and impartiality.
• Provide all VOA staff that sit on recruitment and selection panels with appropriate training to ensure that all selection is based on fair and open principles.
• Require all new entrants to the VOA to receive induction training that will include a diversity and equality workshop or E-learning sessions on equality and diversity.
• Ensure that all VOA training is monitored and equality proofed so that disability and diversity issues are an integral part of training courses, including a diversity and equality session for the line manager course and the management development programmes.
• Require all new Group Valuation Officers, District Valuers, Heads of Specialist teams and new team leaders to attend a one day diversity and equality workshop run by the Government Centre for Management and Policy Studies
• Seek staff feedback in the form of Staff Surveys
• Consult with staff through its own internal consultative groups
• Seek the views of staff leaving the VOA through exit questionnaires

The Diversity Manager will then

• Acknowledge receipt of the complaint within three working days

Where appropriate, the Equality and Diversity Manager will bring it to the attention of the VOA Management Board and let the complainant know that this has been done.