Is it time for an Accessibility Act?
Disability Rights UK is consulting on the case for a new Accessibility Act to sit alongside existing equality law. The proposal would replace some accessibility provisions within the Equality Act 2010 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which remains in force in Northern Ireland.
The organisation accepts that both laws have helped challenge discrimination. It argues, though, that they have not made the UK accessible in practice. Many disabled people still face daily barriers in transport, work, services, and information.
Around 16 million people in the UK are disabled. Inaccessibility brings real personal and social costs. Disability Rights UK says accessibility must be planned into systems from the start, rather than left to complaints after the fact.
The case for a new law is linked to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which the UK has agreed to implement. Other countries have introduced specific accessibility laws. Disability Rights UK argues the UK now needs to catch up.
Current equality law includes some accessibility duties, but these are limited and often unclear. Wider duties rely on ideas like “reasonableness” and “due regard”, which leave too much to interpretation and delay.
A new Accessibility Act would take a planned, system-wide approach, with clear standards, monitoring, and enforcement. The aim is to remove barriers before they arise, rather than relying on individuals to challenge them.
PCS supports the principle that disabled people should have a direct voice in shaping the laws that affect them. Many PCS members are disabled. Others see the impact of inaccessibility on staff and service users in their day-to-day work.
PCS is encouraging members to take part in the consultation by sharing their own experiences directly with the Disability Rights UK research team. These individual submissions will help build the evidence for a law that delivers lasting, practical accessibility.