Legislation

Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Special Education Needs & Disability Act 2001
Disability Discrimination Act 2005
Codes of Practice
Standards (BS8300 and Approved Document M)

Disability Discrimination Act 1995

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) introduced a range of new measures aimed at preventing the discrimination faced by people with disabilities. These measures place a duty on those providing employment; public goods, facilities or services; selling, letting or managing premises; education; transport and established an organisation now called the Disability Rights Commission (DRC). It is important to recognise the focus is on the provision of accessible services rather than accessible buildings.

The meaning of 'disability'

A person is defined as having a 'disability' if they have a substantial impairment that has a long term adverse effect on day-to-day activities. A common misconception is that disabled people are 'wheelchair users' and all that is required is a ramp and an accessible WC. In fact wheelchair users are not the largest group, there are a greater number of people with mobility difficulties, sensory loss or mental health issues and their needs are as varied and equally important. For example consideration of well designed steps, a visual contrast scheme, or wayfinding is just as relevant as ramps and accessible WCs.

Employment

Employers have certain duties to ensure that disabled people are not discriminated against on grounds of employment. Disabled people cannot be treated less favourably and there is a duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments. This duty is triggered by an individual disabled person rather than the anticipatory duties in the following section. An individual's needs may result in the adjustment of some of the physical features of the premises.

Public Goods, Facilities and Services

Providers of public goods, facilities and services have an anticipatory duty to the disabled population at large under Part III of the DDA 1995. The legislation imposes duties on these service provides at three key stages -

December 1996 - made it unlawful to discriminate against disabled people by treating them less favourably or by offering them a lower or sub-standard service, because of their disability.
October 1999 - service providers to review policies, procedures and practices; provide auxiliary aids or provide a service in an alternative way.
October 2004 - make 'reasonable' adjustments to physical features to overcome barriers when accessing services.

A key concept of the legislation is the recurring theme of 'reasonableness'. What is reasonable for one service provider will be different for another, this depends on -

the type of services being provided;
the nature of the service provider and its size and resources;
the effect of the disability on the individual disabled person.

Factors, which may need to be taken into account when determining whether an action is reasonable include, practicality; effectiveness; cost and resources; availability of assistance and the extent of disruption.

Selling, letting and managing of premises

Since December 1996 it has been unlawfully for landlords to treat disabled people less favourably. Also see The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 below for new duties.

Education

The education provisions under Part IV of the DDA 1995 were amended in 2001, see The Special Education Needs & Disability Act 2001 below.

Transport

Transport infrastructure, such as bus and train stations to be accessible under Part III of the DDA (see above under Public goods, facilities and services). Regulations also cover the accessibility standards for new public transport. There are also new duties for the management of transport, see The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 below.

For more detailed information on the DDA 1995, the legislation can be found at www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/1995050.htm

Special Education Needs & Disability Act 2001

The Special Education Needs & Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) amends the Education provisions (Part IV) of the DDA 1995. For pre-16 year old education it provides three main sources of support for disabled children -

Disability discrimination duties - these cover the responsibility not to provide less favourable treatment to disabled children and the requirement for reasonable adjustments.
Planning duties - Schools and LEAs have to produce accessibility plans and strategies, which should improve access to the curriculum; physical improvements and the provision of information in alternative formats.
SEN framework - to meet individual children's needs, including the provision of auxiliary aids. These provisions are already in place under the Education Act 1996.

Providers of post-16 year old education services (including adult education, further and higher education) have similar duties to public service providers under Part III of the DDA 1995 but with different timescales:

September 2002 - unlawful to treat a disabled person less favourably.
September 2003 - duty to provide auxiliary aids and services.
September 2005 - duty to make reasonable adjustments to physical features.

Where educational establishments are opened up to the public, e.g. for parents evenings or polling stations, they also fall back under the anticipatory duties for public goods, facilities and services under Part III of the DDA 1995.

Disability Discrimination Act 2005

This amends parts of the original DDA 1995. Its provisions are implemented at two key dates:

December 2005 -

Extension of the definition of 'disability' to cover progressive conditions such as cancer and MS from the point of diagnosis. Mental illness no longer has to be clinically well-recognised.
Removal of the private clubs exemption (with >25 members), so they fall under the public goods, facilities and services duties of Part III of the DDA 1995.

December 2006 -

Public Sector Duty to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. Extension of Part III DDA 1995 duties to all 'public functions' and the need for Disability Equality Schemes for certain public bodies.
Land-based transport systems to be brought within Part III of the DDA 1995 (Public goods, facilities and services). Introduces duties for the management of transport services.
Landlords and managers of premises will have a duty to undertake reasonable adjustments (other than to physical features) for tenants. Landlords cannot unreasonably withhold consent to adapt rented accommodation.

Codes of Practice

The Disability Rights Commission publishes Codes of Practice to cover various parts of the legislation, for example - Employment provisions; Goods, facilities and services; Pre & post 16 year old Education. These codes give commentary on the legislation and include practical examples, they can be found at www.drc.org.uk

Standards

The British Standard - BS8300 entitled, 'Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people' is the key technical reference in relation to the DDA. It is based on authoritative research of a wide range of users needs.

Originally published in 2001, it has been recently amended (A1, June 2005) to provide further guidance on visual contrast, door pressures, etc. It is acknowledged as the technical standard to the DDA and is used for assessing existing buildings and designing new ones.

Approved Document M 2004 is the relevant part of the Building Regulations in relation to 'Access to and use of buildings'. This should be adhered to for all works executed within the remit of the Building Regulations 2000. Whilst not as comprehensive as BS8300, it regularly refers readers back to BS8300 for further detail which is not appropriate to include within an Approved Document. Designing only to Approved Document M will not meet the requirements of the DDA.

There are also numerous good practice guides which cover specific areas of design or specific environments, e.g. Easy Access to Historic Buildings by English Heritage.