Government may not deliver on wider disability rights

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) is bitterly disappointed at reports that the government is not planning to include further legislation on disability discrimination in the next parliamentary programme.

Bob Niven, chief executive of the DRC, told the campaigning newspaper Disability Now that civil servants at the Department for Work and Pensions had lead the DRC to believe that legislation would be included in the November Queen's speech.

The legislation would have provided important new rights in transport and housing, where discrimination is still legal. It would also have extended protection from unfair discrimination, including in employment, to more than half a million people with conditions such as cancer and HIV.

Bert Massie, DRC chair, said: "Disabled people will fear this is a betrayal of their rights, leaving them open to the most blatant forms of discrimination without redress." He has written to the prime minister, and said: "We can only hope that this is a promise delayed not a promise broken".

* The Employers' Forum on Disability has launched a "best practice" reference kit on disability and employment. The Knowledge - disability solutions for employers aims to challenge employers' misconceptions about disability and is designed to provide them with information on the benefits of employing disabled people, and the tools needed to do this. JobCentre Plus will distribute the packs.