Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Jolly on 21 November 2014 (Hl Deb, col 664) that, if “a service-provider fails or refuses to make a reasonable adjustment, the disabled person could take their custom elsewhere … [or] bring a case of alleged disability discrimination before the civil courts”, how many cases have been brought in the civil courts concerning shops being inaccessible to wheelchair users; and whether they recommend that wheelchair users should take their business elsewhere as an alternative to bringing a civil claim.

The county court central case management system does not hold the information requested, which could only be obtained from the paper records of each county court.

It is for a person who believes they have been subject to discrimination because of disability (including a failure to provide reasonable adjustments, such as access ramps) to decide whether or not to bring a case to court. Government does not seek to advise individuals about specific courses of action when pursuing a particular claim.

If an individual does wish to consider pursuing a claim, there are organisations and groups that are available to help disabled people through this process through either advice or direct support. For example, if someone has a complaint against a specific service provider, they may seek advice from the Equality Advisory and Support Service which provides bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with discrimination problems.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has powers to enforce compliance with the Equality Act 2010, including those provisions relating to disability discrimination and reasonable adjustments.