The Disability discrimination act (DDA) 1995 aims to end the discrimination that many disabled people face. This Act has been significantly extended, including by the Disability discrimination act 2005. It now gives disabled people rights in the areas of employment, education, access to goods, facilities and services, buying or renting land or property, including making it easier for disabled people to rent property and for tenants to make disability-related adaptations. It is a civil rights law. Other countries use constitutional, social rights or criminal law to make similar provisions. The Disability discrimination act says a disabled person is someone with ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. Examples include cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and heart conditions, hearing or sight impairments, or a significant mobility difficulty, and mental health conditions or learning difficulties.

The Disability discrimination act applies to all employers and everyone who provides a service to the public, except the armed forces. It is a law designed to end discrimination against disabled people. It also meets the needs of small to medium sized businesses because it is flexible enough to take account of your business’s individual circumstances. A person with a “disability” is defined in the disability discrimination act as someone with a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his/her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The Disability discrimination act aims to end the discrimination which many disabled people face. The Disability discrimination act will affect community dance organisations of all scales and types, potentially impacting on the way community dance organisations deliver services and provide access for disabled people.