Finnigan v Northumbria Police: CA 8 Oct 2013

Officers had searched the claimant’s house on three occasions. Though it was known that he was profoundly deaf, no signer had been brought along to assist. The judge had held that on two occasions communication had been effective, and on the third, the claimant had refused to co-operate. He now appealed against rejection of his assertion that they police had failed to make reasonable adjustments as required by the 1995 Act.
Held: The appeal failed. A court should first establish as a fact whether and what policies existed. The ‘provision, criterion or practice’: ‘represents the base position before adjustments are made to accommodate disabilities. It includes all practices and procedures which apply to everyone, but excludes the adjustments. The adjustments are the steps which a service provider or public authority takes in discharge of its statutory duty to change the [PCP]. By definition, therefore, the [PCP] does not include the adjustments.’
Lord Dyson MR, Jackson, Gloster LJJ
[2013] EWCA Civ 1191, [2014] 1 WLR 445, [2013] WLR(D) 378
Bailii, WLRD
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
England and Wales
Cited by:
CitedFirstgroup Plc v Paulley CA 8-Dec-2014
firstgroup_paulleyCA2014
The claimant a wheelchair user had been unable to travel on a bus when a mother had left her sleeping child in a pushchair. The mother said she was unable to fold down the pushchair, and would not move the child. The claimant said that the driver . .
CitedRowley, Regina (on The Application of) v Minister for The Cabinet Office Admn 28-Jul-2021
Failure to Provide Signers was Discriminatory
The claimant challenged the failure of the respondent to provide sign language interpreters to accompany public service broadcasts during the Covid pandemic. . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 04 August 2021; Ref: scu.516318