The Disability Discrimination Act (1995)

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) requires that people with disabilities be given equal opportunities to participate in and contribute to the full range of economic, social, cultural and political activities. Access for people with disabilities, including access to goods, services and facilities provided by the business can no longer be an afterthought.

From October 1999 all providers of goods and services, including accommodation providers, have been required to take reasonable steps to provide an alternative method of making their services available to disabled people.

The third and final part of the DDA will be introduced this year and will deal with the physical features that make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to make use of a service.

From October 2004, it may be necessary to remove physical barriers where they make access by disabled people impossible or unreasonably difficult. The DDA does not define precisely the meaning of reasonable - however a service provider will have to take steps to remove or avoid barriers if they cannot find an alternative method. Factors to be considered will include the practicality of the action you need to take and the cost in relation to the financial scale of your operation.

You are essentially required to review your operation and do what is reasonable to improve accessibility. A VisitScotland Access Assessment is a useful way of identifying the physical accessibility of the property and is a useful marketing tool. However it is no guarantee that you are automatically meeting your current or future obligations.

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