failure to meet disability equality duty why?

Dear Sir or Madam,
I have asked through my MP but have still not received a
satisfactory response to the question of why when the secretary of
states' report on Disability Equality states that 1 in 4 people
living in the private rented sector(p62) are disabled did DWP feel
that they did not need to carry out a disability impact assessment
in relation to the Local Housing Allowance regulations that came
into force in April 2008.

Why when the Department of Health are requesting such an impact
assessment are DWP still not doing anything about these regulations
and their impact on disabled people?

Why do DWP feel that they are above the law?

Yours faithfully,
Linda Burnip

Dear DWP Adelphi Freedom-of-Information-Request,

I asked you to explain to me why you felt it was acceptable for you
to Introduce the new Local Housing Allowance regulations without
carrying out a Disability Impact Assessment. It is now over 20 days
ago that I requested that and I have still received no response
from your Department. This means that you are breaking the law so I
would urge you to send me an immediate response to my enquiry now.

Yours sincerely,

Linda Burnip

Dear DWP Adelphi Freedom-of-Information-Request,
thank you to the late response to my request for information. about
your failure to carry out a Disability Impact Assessment in
relation to the Local Housing Allowance regulations. I have tried
to find out through my MP from Kitty Ussher where in the Regulatory
Assessment you claim that the impact of Local Housing Allowance on
disabled people was addressed as I was unable to find this. I would
like you to tell me which page number, paragraph you claim this can
be found at.

Yours sincerely,

Linda Burnip

Dear DWP Adelphi Freedom-of-Information-Request, I am writing
further to my 2 previous requests for information regarding the
implementation of the new Local Housing Allowance legislation and
your department's failure to carry out a full Disability Impact
Assessment which I am led to understand you should have done in
order to meet your Disability Equality Duty.

Initially your department, and various DWP ministers, stated that
you had met your legal duty by carrying out a Regulatory Assessment
in relation to the Welfare Reform Bill 2007, and links to this were
given out to numerous people who have made enquiries about this
issue. Yet now you seem to be saying that this Regulatory
Assessment did not need to consider disability issues at all, as
the bill was debated in parliament, so please could you explain how
this could in any way meet your duties through the DED and DDA?

Secondly you state in your most recent reply that the purpose of a
Regulatory Assessment is ‘ …to consider how they (the government’s
proposals) impact on the public, private and third sectors….’ Yet
having read the LHA amendment to the original act

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/uksi_20...

It states here that

“A full regulatory impact assessment has not been published for
this instrument as it has no direct impact on the costs of
businesses, charities, and the voluntary sector.”

So from your own summation of the what the Regulatory Impact
Assessment, that you claim was carried out in relation to the
Welfare Reform Bill 2007, should have covered it appears not to
have covered any of these issues, let alone even the most scant
consideration of the impact on disabled people.

Did you carry out any type of assessment other than in relation to
the impact of this bill on Landlords?

I look forward to your full response to this request under the
Freedom of Information Act..

Yours sincerely,

Linda Burnip