Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (DDA 2005)
In April 2005 a new Disability Discrimination Act was 
passed, which amends or extends existing provisions in 
the DDA 1995, including:
➤
making it unlawful for operators of transport vehicles 
to discriminate against disabled people
➤
making it easier for disabled people to rent property 
and for tenants to make disability-related adaptations
➤
making sure that private clubs with 25 or more mem-
bers cannot keep disabled people out, just because 
they have a disability
➤
extending protection to cover people who have HIV, 
cancer and multiple sclerosis from the moment they 
are diagnosed

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Introduction to Health and Safety at Work
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➤
ensuring that discrimination law covers all the activ-
ities of the public sector
➤
requiring public bodies to promote equality of 
opportunity for disabled people.
Others changes will come into force in December 2006 – 
the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) website has 
more details on these.
17.34.3 Electrical (Safety) Regulations 1994
These Regulations came into force in January 1995 and 
relate to the supply of electrical equipment with a working 
voltage between 50 and 1000 volts and are made under 
the Consumer Protection Act 1987. They apply to sup-
pliers, which include both landlords and letting agents.
The Regulations apply to all mains voltage household 
electrical goods and require them to be safe so that there 
is no risk of injury or death to humans or pets, or risk of 
damage to property. They do not apply to fi xed electrical 
wiring and built-in appliances like central heating 
systems. The Regulations also require that instructions 
be provided where safety depends on the user being 
aware of certain issues and equipment should be labelled 
with the CE marking.
There are other electrical consumer regulations, like 
The Plugs and Sockets Regulations 1994 and the Low 
Voltage Electrical Equipment Regulations 1989.