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Need help defining "Disability" in The Equality Act 2010!

Okay folks so I'm having bother actually understanding what is being asked of me in this essay question, and what information to include/what my argument should be.

This question is as follows:

"Critically evaluate the definition of a “disability” in the Equality Act 2010, section 6(1), which states “… a person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if he has 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.”
Is this in your view the most appropriate definition for the purposes of discrimination law? Discuss its advantages and its failings."

The term "discuss" suggests that I need to take this definition of a disability apart and critically analyze what is meant by terms such as "impairment" and "substantial long-term" as well as defining what an "adverse effect" and "day to day activities" are.

The problem I'm finding is that these words are already explained in detail within the act in various different sections, and that any possible misinterpretation of these terms are addressed in the act.

Ultimately the Act is very precise in terms of clarifying exactly what it means by each of these terms.For example I could argue that the term "impairment" is highly subjective, and the defintion may differ from person to person. Similarly, I could argue that what may constitute a "day to day activity" to one person, may not be a regular activity to another.

However, a definition as to what these terms actually mean are explicitly stated elsewhere in the act to avoid any such misinterpretations! So I'm not really sure what I should be discussing here? I could just state what the Act considers to be an impairment etc. but that would mean my answer would be far too descriptive.

I'd really appreciate any help you guys could give me with this question, feel like I'm running round in circles here! Also, my apologies if I've not explained my problems in the most simplest of terms, I don't even know if I'm sure of what I'm trying to say haha!!

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 1

josieeeee

Original post by blairhalliday

Okay folks so I'm having bother actually understanding what is being asked of me in this essay question, and what information to include/what my argument should be.

This question is as follows:

"Critically evaluate the definition of a “disability” in the Equality Act 2010, section 6(1), which states “… a person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if he has 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.”
Is this in your view the most appropriate definition for the purposes of discrimination law? Discuss its advantages and its failings."

The term "discuss" suggests that I need to take this definition of a disability apart and critically analyze what is meant by terms such as "impairment" and "substantial long-term" as well as defining what an "adverse effect" and "day to day activities" are

The problem I'm finding is that these words are already explained in detail within the act in various different sections, and that any possible misinterpretation of these terms are addressed in the act.

Ultimately the Act is very precise in terms of clarifying exactly what it means by each of these terms.For example I could argue that the term "impairment" is highly subjective, and the defintion may differ from person to person. Similarly, I could argue that what may constitute a "day to day activity" to one person, may not be a regular activity to another.

However, a definition as to what these terms actually mean are explicitly stated elsewhere in the act to avoid any such misinterpretations! So I'm not really sure what I should be discussing here? I could just state what the Act considers to be an impairment etc. but that would mean my answer would be far too descriptive.

I'd really appreciate any help you guys could give me with this question, feel like I'm running round in circles here! Also, my apologies if I've not explained my problems in the most simplest of terms, I don't even know if I'm sure of what I'm trying to say haha!!

hello,
i am currently in my 3rd year at Newman University and we have discussed this a lot and although taking it apart and looking at the language used was important and sounds like you have a lot of ideas there that look good to me :smile:

. we also looked at the general idea of a definition as that suggest certain people have to fit into tick certain boxes to be classed as disabled because we are all so different with different perspectives of ourselves there will always be a person who is excluded and therefore excluded from he support the label of disability brings. we concluded as a class that it should be down to the perspective of a person as people are experts of themselves and their needs better then another person or law can judge. we then also looked at how that would be difficult because with disability it often brings the label and stigma that means that their voice is often not heard and in some cases they may even need an advocate and thats when we stated to explore the importance of working in a person centred way and working with individuals rather then grouping people . don't know if that will help but hope it does :smile: