Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will meet Guide Dogs UK to discuss improving access to local businesses for guide dog owners.

Under the Equality Act 2010 it is the legal responsibility of businesses, whether as employers or providers of services, to ensure that guide dog owners can access their premises and services where reasonable to do so. This “reasonable adjustments” duty is anticipatory in the provision of services, meaning that businesses should expect that a proportion of their customers will be, for example, visually impaired and put in place measures to accommodate this, before being asked to do so.

If Guide Dogs UK wishes for a meeting, my officials would be happy to accommodate this. However with respect to how the law operates, it is important to be clear that the onus is on businesses to know their responsibilities and a range of guidance and codes of practice is available on this. Where things go wrong, enforcement will fall to the person who considers that they have experienced unlawful discrimination, or a person acting on their behalf.

Before considering any legal action, a disabled person who may have been personally discriminated against because of a disability may contact The Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), the government helpline established to provide free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with discrimination concerns. The EASS can be contacted via their website - http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/, by telephone on 0808 8000082 or text phone on 0808 8000084. The EASS has the ability to intervene on an individual’s behalf with a service provider to help resolve an issue. The EASS can also advise people who wish to take their complaint further on their options.