Bettina Rigg Veale Wasbrough Vizards Disability key legal risks - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Bettina Rigg Veale Wasbrough Vizards

Disability – key legal risks in an ever changing world

• 1. The starting point
• The Public Sector Equality Duty and the

Equality Act 2010

• Risks identified and managed at local level
• BUT the world has changed!

• 2. Some key changes
• Changes to DSAs
• The Office for Students
• The TEF
• Consumer legislation
• GDPR

• 3. Changes to DSAs
• “We will look to HEIs to play their role in

supporting students with mild difficulties, as part

• f their duties to provide reasonable adjustments

under the Equality Act. These are partly anticipatory duties and we expect HEIs to introduce changes which can further reduce reliance on DSAs and help mainstream support.”

• 4. Changes to DSAs – key risks
• HE providers not fully understanding the

Equality Act 2010 duty to make reasonable adjustments and what it means in practice

• Failing to comply with the anticipatory duty
• Failing to comply with the public sector

equality duty

• 5. The Office for Students
• Working for positive outcomes for students from

all backgrounds

• The four regulatory objectives
• Risk of Access and Participation Plan not being

approved and impact on OfS registration

• Risk of student complaints about quality and

standards and impact on OfS registration

• 6. The TEF
• Quality – learning environment, student
• utcomes and teaching quality
• Flags and split metrics
• The relevance of the need for teaching to be

accessible to disabled students

• 7. Consumer legislation
• The requirements of consumer protection law

apply to the relationship between HE providers and their students

• Accurate and unambiguous information
• Don’t over promise!

• 8. GDPR
• Greater obligations
• Greater financial and reputational risks
• The benefits of inclusive teaching and learning

as opposed to individual support

• 9. Conclusion
• Accessibility for disabled students needs to be

at strategic and institutional level

• Less focus on ad hoc/individual support
• The importance of disability services to

strategic planning