Disability equality duty arrives today

The public sector disability equality duty comes into force today. The duty will oblige all public bodies including the NHS and local authorities to take account of disability in advance - from the formation of policy to the way services are delivered and to publish a plan, called a disability equality scheme, showing how they intend to do it.

Some 45,000 public bodies across Great Britain should have produced and published such a scheme by today. Has your trust or local authority?

The disability duty will affect many men. The 2001 census suggests that there are some 10 million disabled men and women in the UK.

The duty is similar to the race equality duty introduced in 2001 and to the gender equality duty which will be introduced on 6 April 2007. Men's health activists will therefore be watching the impact of the disability duty with interest.

Another key date for next year has also just been announced by the government - smoking in enclosed public places will be banned in England from 1 July 2007.

• More on the disability duty here and more on the MHF's work on the gender equality duty here.