Disability Act 2005

Codes of practice in respect of employment in public service.

50

50.—(1) (a) A Minister of the Government may approve codes of practice prepared by the Authority or such persons as may be requested by him or her for the purpose of giving guidance to public bodies in relation to which he or she is the relevant Minister in respect of the implementation of this Part or such provisions of this Part as that Minister of the Government may specify.

(b) In performing functions under paragraph (a), the Minister of the Government concerned shall consult with the Authority and the relevant monitoring committee established by him or her under section 48.

(c) A Minister of the Government may, after consultation with the Authority and the relevant monitoring committee, by order revoke or amend an approved code of practice approved by him or her under paragraph (a).

(2) The Act of 1999 is amended—

(a) in section 8(2)(f), by the substitution of “sections 10 and 10A” for “section 10”, and

(b) by the insertion of the following section after section 10:

“Codes of practice in relation to Part 5 of Disability Act 2005.

10A.—(1) The Authority shall, if requested by a Minister of the Government, prepare and submit to that Minister draft codes of practice giving guidance to public bodies in relation to which he or she is the relevant Minister in respect of the implementation of Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 or specified provisions thereof.

(2) In preparing a draft code of practice under subsection (1), the Authority shall consult the relevant Minister concerned and the relevant monitoring committee.

(3) Following the submission of a draft code of practice under subsection (1) to the relevant Minister, he or she may, after consultation with the Authority and the relevant monitoring committee, by order declare that—

(a) he or she does not approve of the draft code of practice,

(b) he or she approves of the draft code of practice and that, accordingly, it is an approved code of practice for the purposes of Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005, or

(c) he or she approves of the draft code as amended by him or her and that, accordingly, it is an approved code of practice for the purposes of Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005.

(4) The relevant Minister concerned may, after consultation with the Authority and the relevant monitoring committee, by order amend or revoke an approved code of practice for the purposes of Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005.

(5) In this section—

‘relevant Minister’ has the same meaning as it has in Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005;

‘monitoring committee’ means a committee established under section 48 of the Disability Act 2005.”,

and

(c) in section 15, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (5):

“(6) (a) Subject to paragraph (c), the Authority shall include in a report under subsection (1), particulars of the information furnished to it in reports under subsection (5)(d) of section 48 of the Disability Act 2005 and send a copy of the report to the Minister and any other Minister of the Government to whom, having regard to his or her functions, the Authority considers it should be sent.

 (b) Subject to paragraph (d), a report under subsection (1) shall include—

(i) an assessment of the extent to which each Department of State or other public body complied with section 47 of the Disability Act 2005 during the year to which the report relates and the extent to which any factors outside its control may have contributed to any non-compliance with that section, and

(ii) if appropriate, a recommendation that, a Department of State or other public body should take specified measures to facilitate or achieve compliance with that section.

 (c) The Authority may, where it considers appropriate, prepare, and submit to the Minister not later than 30 November in each year, a report (other than a report under subsection (1)) setting out the particulars referred to in paragraph (a), and where it so does it shall be deemed to have complied with that paragraph.

 (d) The Authority may, where it considers appropriate, prepare, and submit to the Minister not later than 30 November in each year, a report (other than a report under subsection (1)) containing—

(i) an assessment, and

(ii) if appropriate, a recommendation,

referred to in paragraph (b), and where it so does it shall be deemed to have complied with that paragraph.”.