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Disabled Access to Buildings

In October 2004 Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), covering access to goods and services, came into effect. Service providers may have to consider making permanent physical adjustments to their premises where these have previously made access impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people. Here at Polar we have experienced surveyors, specifically trained in the applications of the DDA, who are able to identify DDA requirements in both new-build and refurbishment applications.

Some useful steps you can take to ensure you comply with the spirit of the Disability Discrimination Act include*:

• Think and plan ahead to meet the requirements of your disabled customers
• Don’t make assumptions about disabled people based on speculation or stereotypes. Think about the wide range of disabilities that there are when planning adjustments
• If in doubt, ask disabled people themselves how they can best be served. Listen carefully and respond to what they really want. You could also consult with disabled staff and disability organisations
• Think about the way you treat disabled customers. Let them know how to request assistance, and have a customer complaints procedure that is easy for them to use
• Ensure that you respect the dignity of a disabled person when providing them with your services
• Establish a positive policy on providing services to ensure it includes disabled people. Communicate this policy to your staff and monitor its effectiveness
• Consider putting in place positive practices which will encourage disabled people and others to use your services
• Make sure your staff training includes your policy towards disabled people and their legal rights, and disability awareness and disability etiquette training
• Regularly review whether your services are accessible to disabled people
• Don’t delay removing any physical features of your buildings that create a barrier to access for disabled people – remember the law came into operation in October 2004. Consider doing this at the same time as any building or refurbishment work you are planning, which could help reduce costs and disruption.

* Courtesy of the Stationery Office, ppCOI/39058/0999/54

There are several Government publications and links for further guidance: see www.disability.gov.uk for more details.

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