Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA)

There are estimated to be around 10 million disabled people in Great Britain, yet it is only in recent years provisions for a sufficient level of accessibility have been made. The 1995 Disability Discrimination Act was the first of its kind to call for gradual improvements in the way that the owners and property managers of public buildings achieve equal access for all members of the public.

The Act was introduced in 1996 and had three successive stages of implementation:

Stage 1 – Dec 1996 – Recognise overall problem
Stage 2 – Oct 1999 – Start making reasonable adjustments
Stage 3 – Oct 2004 – Need to comply

Those buildings that need to comply include:

* Offices
* Restaurants
* Public Buildings
* Retail Outlets
* Leisure Facilities
* Educational establishments

Improvements to access to upper floor levels, multi-levelled surfaces, and items that may be too high to reach for the wheelchair user, are all examples of issues that need to be addressed.

It is the duty of the service provider to remedy the situation, i.e.:

• Remove the feature
• Alter it so it no longer has that effect, or
• Provide a reasonable alternative method of making the service in question available to a disabled person.

In 2005 the act was extended to:

• Transport Operators
• Private Clubs
• All Public Sector Activities

For further information on the Disability Discrimination act visit www.opsi.gov.uk or www.equalityhumanrights.com.

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