Accessibility / DDA

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) is being introduced in stages and by now all churches and Church premises should have implemented Part III of the Act. This requires those who provide goods or services (‘providers’) to make reasonable changes to include disabled people.

Here is a quick overview of what the Act states.

The three stages are:

• Since December 1996: It has been unlawful for service providers to treat disabled people less favourably for a reason related to their disability
• From October 1999: Service providers have been required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled people, such as providing extra help or making changes to the way they provide their services
• From 2004: Service providers will also have to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to the physical features of their premises to overcome physical barriers to access.

“A physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.”

Impairment includes: learning disabilities, mental illness affecting senses.
Substantial = more than minor, e.g. inability to turn taps.
Long term = lasting more than 12 months.
Day-to-day activities include: mobility, continence, speech, ability to concentrate, ability to recognise danger.

This list will give an idea of the kind of people that you should be seeking to help. Those with:

• mobility impairment
• visual impairment
• hearing impairment
• learning disabilities
• mental illness
• speech difficulties
• people unable to attend church meetings/functions
• epilepsy
• dyslexia
  

• Treating the disabled person less favourably
• Being unable to show the treatment is justified
• Failure to comply to duty without justification

Discrimination includes: refusing to provide service; standard or manner of service; terms on which service provided; not making reasonable adjustments therefore making it impossible or unreasonably difficult, (time, inconvenience, effort, discomfort, loss of dignity), for disabled people to use the service.

• Varies according to types of services being provided
• Takes into account nature of service provider and it’s size and resources
• Depends on effect of disability on client.

• Whether steps could be taken to overcome access difficulties for clients
• How practical it is to take those steps
• Costs - financial and otherwise
• Disruption would cause
• Available money and resources to use – practicability / size of provider
• How much has already been spent on making accessible
• Financial help available (grants etc.)

We should be considering policies, practices and procedures and provide aids or services to help access. Our duties are anticipatory and continuing and not just for when an individual with a disability asks to use our service. Need to be seen to be thinking (on paper?). However, it is understood that can’t anticipate everything, although when we become aware of something we should seek to make reasonable adjustment.

We need to consider full range of access needs of disabled people (sight impairments, hearing impairments, physical/mobility impairments, mental ill health, learning disabilities).

We should be thinking of and starting to make reasonable adjustments now. Maybe practice, perhaps unintentionally, makes it difficult for a disabled person to use service – if this is the case we need to take reasonable steps to change this practice. We should provide auxiliary aids and services as appropriate – these may be temporary or permanent. What we offer will depend on resources available and cost of auxiliary aid. We need to think about equality, dignity and respect. For small service providers the emphasis is likely to be on practical, low-cost adjustments.

Children’s workers should be familiar with disability policy of the church. They should be disability aware and have had training, as our understanding can improve access. We should do periodic disability audits so that we become aware of barriers – many unintentional. It’s our duty not to treat disabled persons less favourably (relating to their disability without justification).

We cannot refuse to provide a service to someone because of their disability unless we can justify why. Even if we say it’s because someone else could provide a better service or give different/lower standard service, we need to be able to justify. We need to be seen to be making reasonable adjustments – positive steps to make services accessible to disabled people.
If we make an adjustment to a service that might have been difficult to use previously we should make this known e.g. hearing loop on signs.

The Act cannot be used as a pretext for disruptive or anti-social behaviour unrelated to a person’s disability. This is hazy because some disabilities are not visible or the extent of the impairment may be masked (e.g. autism). Only if: “it is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for that person to hold that opinion.” – related to:

• Health and safety – we are not required to do anything that would endanger the health and safety of any person, but we would need to consider whether could make reasonable adjustment for safe access. “Service providers should ensure that any action taken in relation to health and safety is proportionate to the risk. There must be a balance between protecting against risk and restricting disabled people from using the service”.
• Being otherwise unable to offer service – if extra help needed by child is so great that couldn’t provide service to others – not enough to just inconvenience others.
• Offering a slightly different service/lower standard/on worse terms if it’s the only way to provide the service – not to pander to other’s preferences/prejudices.

You can find out more information on making your accessible from: Through the Roof, "Through the roof" using the related link or phoning, 01372 749955