The Disability Discrimination Act, passed by Parliament in 1995 and amended
in 2001 and 2005, covers people in Britain with physical or mental
impairments that have a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their
ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The Act has been
important in setting a framework for good practice and it can stimulate more
systemic change through formal investigations of organisations or whole
sectors, and through the Disability Equality Duty, in force since December
2006. The Disability Discrimination Act has implications for people working
in mental health services when they are considering employment and
educational opportunities for service users, and when they are considering
how to redress systemic disadvantage, including inequalities in physical
health.