The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (c.13) is the only DWP sponsored primary legislation since April 2005. The criminal offences created in that Act are:
(i) Section (7)(2)(b) adds ‘a rail vehicle accessibility compliance certificate' to the list of relevant documents in section 49(1) of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, in respect of which it is already an offence for such a document to be forged, altered etc or for a false statement be made knowingly for the purpose of obtaining such a document. The amendment has yet to be brought into force;
(ii) Section 8(2) inserts a new subsection (5) into section 49 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Act to make it an offence to falsely pretend to be a person authorised to inspect rail vehicles for conformity with rail vehicle accessibility regulations. The provision has yet to be brought into force;
(iii) Section 9 inserts a new section 21A into the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 (c.44) in relation to badges issued outside Great Britain; subsection (4) of the new section makes it an offence to display a badge purporting to be a recognised badge unless it is a recognised badge and is displayed in accordance with regulations to be made under subsection (3). Subsection (8) makes it an offence to fail without reasonable excuse, to produce a badge when required to do so by a constable or enforcement officer. This provision came into force as regards England on 30 June 2005.
(iv) Section 10(3) inserts a new subsection (2B) into section 16B of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 which makes it an offence for a person knowingly or recklessly to make a false or misleading statement to the effect that publication of a particular advert would not be unlawful by reason of the operation of subsection. (2); For the sake of completeness, the following provisions of Schedule 1 to that Act make amendments to other primary legislation which insert new offences into that legislation:
(v) Schedule 1, Part 2, paragraph 43(3) inserts a new subsection (6A) into section 105 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (c.27). This makes it an offence to leave a vehicle stationary in contravention of any prohibition or restriction, where an immobilisation device could have been fixed to the vehicle if it had not been displaying a current recognised badge (defined by section 21A of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970), where the vehicle was not being used in accordance with regulations under s21A of the 1970 Act and in circumstances where a concession would not be available to a vehicle lawfully displaying a recognised badge. This provision also came into force as regards England on 30 June 2005.
(vi) Schedule 1, Part 2, paragraph 44(3) inserts subsection (1A) into section 117 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (c.27). This makes it an offence for a person to display a badge purporting to be a recognised badge (defined by new section 21A of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970) where they are also breaching a provision of an order relating to parking under the 1984 Act and where the circumstances are such that a concession would be available to someone lawfully displaying a recognised badge. The offence will not be committed provided the badge is a recognised badge and is being displayed in accordance with regulations under section 21A of the 1970 Act. This provision also came into force as regards England on 30 June 2005.
(vii) Schedule 1, Part 2, paragraph 46(3) inserts subsection 2A into section 70 of the Road Traffic Act 1991 (c.40). This creates an offence for cases where an immobilisation device could have been fixed to a vehicle in a designated parking space, had a current recognised badge (defined by section 21A of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970) not been displayed on the vehicle, if the vehicle was not being used in accordance with regulations under that section and the circumstances were such that a disabled person's concession would not be available by virtue of displaying a non-GB badge. This provision also came into force as regards England on 30 June 2005.
(viii) Schedule 1, Part 2, paragraph 48(2) inserts subsection (5A) into section 79 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 (c.18). This states that regulations to be made under that section shall provide that an offence is created where a person is in charge of a vehicle in circumstances where an immobilisation device would have been fixed to the vehicle had a current recognised badge not been displayed on the vehicle and the vehicle is not being used in accordance with regulations under section 21A of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 and the circumstances are such that a disabled person's concession would not be available by virtue of displaying a non-GB badge. This provision also came into force as regards England on 30 June 2005.