It tells you about Defra’s scheme [plan of action] to help disabled and Deaf people.
How we will look at what we do. Check we do not discriminate [treat someone worse because of who they are].
And how we will check we are doing things right in future.
We want everyone to be treated fairly.
This scheme is for our staff and service users.
Many deaf people do not see themselves as ‘disabled’. They are people with their own language - which is British Sign Language (BSL). Deaf with a capital D is a way of describing this.
We know that discrimination can be worse for disabled and Deaf people because of their:
age;
race or background; 
gender – male or female;
sexual orientation [have partners of the same or different sex]; or 
religion or belief.