Extending boundaries: Disability Discrimination Act: The rights way forward: The Disability Discrimination Act 2005, which takes effect on Monday, has been described as a major advance in civil rights. There are new definitions of disability and new duties for the public sector. So is there anything left to fight for?

The first week in December is a very important one for the millions of disabled people in Britain. Tomorrow, the annual International Day of Disabled People takes place, and on Monday there will be new rights under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005.

The 2005 act, which received royal assent less than a month before the last general election, both builds on and extends the rights of disabled people contained in another piece of legislation - the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act. The first set of new duties under the 2005 act come into effect on December 5. A further set of duties will be introduced a year later, in December 2006.

Guy Parckar, parliamentary officer at disability charity Leonard Cheshire, says the 1995 act meant the beginning of a new era. The new law challenged the status quo where disability discrimination - in employment, and access to goods and services - was "not only rife, but considered acceptable".

The new 2005 duties have been described as a key step forward for disabled people in Britain. They bring the protection of anti- discrimination to a large group of new people, close loopholes and end injustices which had become apparent since the original 1995 legislation was introduced.

One of the key changes covers who is defined as a disabled person in law. The new act broadens the definition contained in the original 1995 act and brings legal pro-tection to all people who are diagnosed with HIV, multiple sclerosis and cancer -...