Disabled Access to Buildings Remains a Problem in Many Areas of the UK



April 29 2005 Many of Britain's 10 million disabled people cannot access education employment social or leisure facilities because they are physically barred from participation A couple of steps or a heavy door are enough to prevent someone in a wheelchair from gaining access In the 21st century we all agree that it isn't acceptable to exclude people because they happen to be disabled Yet it continues to happen Real life discrimination The following examples taken from the Disability Rights Commission website highlight the shocking difficulties faced by some disabled people when trying to carry out every day tasks able bodied people take for granted · A wheelchair user who paid more than 400 a year for membership of a wellknown gym found out too late that twothirds of the club is out of bounds to wheelchair users · A wheelchair user and selfconfessed book lover is unable to get to the upper floors of her favourite bookshop to browse among the book sections because the shop has no lift · A woman who uses a wheelchair can get into a single shop in her home town because they all have steps She has to carry a portable ramp in the back of her wheelchair She also can get into her bank or use the cash machine which isn low enough Her husband has to do her banking for her New regulations The introduction of the most recent phase of the Disability Discrimination Act DDA introduced in October 2004 is aimed at combating problems such as these It states that all those who provide services to the public must ensure that their services are fully accessible to people with disabilities This may mean removing or altering physical barriers such as steps and applies equally to both new and existing buildings This together with the removal of the exemption from the DDA for small businesses coupled with the recent changes to Part M of the building regulations means that providing sufficient access to buildings is now more important than ever and the new laws are equally important for interim building solutions as they are for permanent buildings Enter the Portakabin Access team With its team of qualified experts the Portakabin Access department is well placed to help customers understand the regulations and offer advice and solutions on all aspects of access Portakabin Access Business Development Manager Haz BasarabKing explains In essence the changes in the law means that service providers now need to ensure that their httpwwwportakabincoukproductsandservicesservicesportaloobproductsandservicesbuildings are accessible to everybody The changes to Part M stipulate that everyone should be able to gain access to all buildings and facilities from people with pushchairs to the visually impaired and the introduction of the latest part of the DDA means that there should be no obstruction for disabled people to access a building However there is no doubt that these new laws can be confusing and knowing exactly what you do and don't need to adhere to can be difficult to understand At Portakabin we have a team of access experts who have all had access auditing training This means that we can offer customers thorough advice on exactly what they do and don't need to do to comply with the regulations Not only can we provide advice on the Portakabin products which can be tailored to suit any customer needs but we can also advise on aspects of access internally The training the team undertook was carried out by a company that specialises in access audit training and is affiliated to the CAE Centre for Accessible Environments an advisory body to the Government The training course has provided the team with an increased awareness and working knowledge of issues relating to all aspects of access to buildings which in turn provides Portakabin customers with complete peace of mind What the FDSO thinks Kevan HallidayBrown Regional Manager of the Federation of Disability Sports Organisations FDSO said Situations such as the one highlighted above and indeed those real life scenarios at the beginning of this article illustrate that there is still a long way to go before everyone appreciates the difficulties faced by disabled people when it comes to access In the leisure industry it is equally important for disabled people to be able to gain access to facilities from the swimming pool to the showers Legislation such as the DDA is helping though and it's prompting service providers to think It's estimated that disabled people have an annual spending power of 50 billion in all sectors money that business and venue owners may be missing out on if disabled people cannot access their premises and facilities And finally... Since October 2004 anyone not complying with the regulations may be faced with legal action For all public access buildings regardless of size failure to make 'reasonable provision' may lead to legal action under the DDA Whilst the Federation of Small Businesses says that 42 of its 185000 members have done nothing to comply with the Act the message that they need to is definitely getting through as the Portakabin Access team has seen its orders double year on year Haz concludes Portakabin fully supports the aims of the Act and changes to Part M It's absolutely right that everyone should be able to enjoy the same level of access to work and leisure opportunities Notes to Editors Portakabin and Portakabin Access are registered trade marks



Disabled Access to Buildings Remains a Problem in Many Areas of the UK