The pandemic has seen disabled people distanced even further from policymaking that directly affects them, with dire consequences for their rights and interests. At the time of writing, disabled people were expressing concern about the way the exemptions to the new requirement for face coverings on public transport were being ignored by politicians and the media.
Two disabled people threatened judicial review litigation over the mandatory requirement for face coverings, backed with criminal sanctions, given the anxiety and distress covering the face can cause to autistic people and other groups and the stigma and prejudice caused by the lack of understanding of the exemptions. However, no claim was ultimately issued and the government did promote the existence of the exemptions more extensively once the threat of judicial review was made.
Actual or threatened legal action has been repeatedly necessary to prevent indirect discrimination against disabled people arising from the pandemic.
