Mental illness to be a listed disability
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Andrew Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said that the groundbreaking legislation, to be included in a new Disability Discrimination Bill, would make Britain a world leader in the field. “In years to come, the treatment of disabled people typical of the 19th century — and still too often the case today — will be seen as an affront to their humanity. It is the last great cause of emancipation of our time,” he said. The reform aims to strengthen the Draft Disability Discrimination Act, published in December 2003, and in particular to ensure that people with mental illnesses are properly protected. It will remove the stipulation that mental illnesses must be “clinically well recognised” before they count as disabilities. “We don’t have the ‘clinically well recognised’ requirement to other conditions, so why should we apply it to mental health?” Mr Smith said. Instead, consideration will be given to how long a person has been suffering mental ill- health. “The general rule is that the person must have suffered the condition for at least 12 months,” he added. Bert Massie, chairman of the Disability Rights Commission, said that the move would end the “perverse injustice” of the current Act, which deprives people with mental health problems of the same protection under law as other disabled people. The protection of disability legislation will also be extended to cover people with progressive illnesses, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and HIV/Aids, in a move that will benefit an estimated 175,000 people, Mr Smith said. Source : timesonline.co.uk |