We received a petition asking:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to make Coeliac Disease a recognised Disability.”
Details of Petition:
“I would like to start a petition to make Coeliac disease a recognised disability as i feel it is unfair for Coeliac sufferers to have to pay out more money for their food just because they suffer from the condition, i would also like to see better and cheaper food on prescription other than the bog standard loaf of bread and pasta thats on offer at present.”
· Read the petition
· Petitions homepage
Read the Government’s response
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 does not provide a list of impairments that are covered, but instead considers the effect of the impairment on the individual. A person with coeliac disease may therefore be classed as a disabled person for the purposes of the Act and thus be entitled to the full protection from discrimination that is provided by the Act if the effect of their impairment meets this definition.
There is no single means of defining disability or recognising a disability. There is a range of services, concessions, schemes and financial benefits for which disabled people may qualify. These include, for example, local authority services for disabled people; the Blue Badge parking scheme; tax concessions for people who are blind; and disability-related social security benefits. Each of these has its own individual eligibility criteria which the disabled person would have to meet.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) defines who is a disabled person for the purposes of protection from disability discrimination, but is only relevant for the purposes of that Act. In general, the Act defines a person as a disabled person if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Entitlement to incapacity benefits and disability benefits, such as Disability Living Allowance, is based on the effects of a particular condition, which can vary widely between individuals. The Government feels that introducing specific benefits for each condition would add unnecessary complexity to the benefit application process for our customers.
Medical experts have advised that the only way to avoid the pain and discomfort caused by coeliac disease is to avoid eating all foods containing gluten. There are now approximately 200 gluten-free foods available on NHS prescription.
There are no plans to change the current system for prescriptions, Primary Care Trusts should make a sufficient range of gluten-free foods available to provide a varied diet for those requiring prescription. If Primary Care Trusts are not meeting this responsibility, those requiring food prescriptions should raise their concerns directly with their local Primary Care Trust. The contact details can be obtained on the NHS website (www.nhs.uk) or by calling NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.
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