To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he takes to ensure that learning materials imported or downloaded from abroad for dissemination to persons with learning difficulties are compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [125004]
Local education authorities and schools are required under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to plan strategically to increase the accessibility of schools to disabled pupils and to produce accessibility strategies and plans. The planning duty includes access to the physical environment, to the curriculum and to written information in alternative formats. It is up to local education authorities and schools to decide how they fulfil those duties and which resources to use with pupils, including disabled pupils, whether or not those resources come from abroad. In June 2002 guidance entitled "Accessible Schools: Planning to increase access to schools for disabled pupils" was made available to local education authorities and schools on carrying out these duties.