• Refusing to provide a disabled person with a service provided to others.
• Providing a service of a lower standard than we provide to others
• Providing a service on worse terms.

Since October 1999 Service providers also have a legal duty to remove disabling barriers by making ‘reasonable adjustments’ to the way they provide services. Disabled people will be entitled to receive the service without expending the time, inconvenience, effort or discomfort which would be considered unreasonable by other people.

There are 3 categories of adjustments:

1. Changes to practices, policies and procedures e.g. Making exceptions for guide dogs under a ’no dogs’ policy; Making a complaints procedure accessible in alternative formats; The enforcement in practice of a Parking Badge scheme for disabled people; modifying fire evacuation procedures to allow people with mobility or sensory impairments to be evacuated safely.



2. Providing ‘auxiliary aids or services’ e.g. Providing a Sign Language Interpreter; Making documents available in large print and in braille or on tape on request. Providing a temporary induction loop for a meeting or reception area; A portable ramp for an inaccessible community centre; Including a textphone (Minicom) service in a telephone booking service; Or asking staff to communicate with a deaf person by speaking slowly and looking directly at them or by using pen and notepad.



3. Providing an inaccessible service by an alternative method e.g. Making an inaccessible Council inquiry service available also by telephone; home visits where the service location is inaccessible; various other customer assistance schemes e.g. a library fetching books for a disabled person who is unable to reach them.

Under the Act a person is disabled if they have a physical, sensory or mental impairment which is substantial, lasts for at least 12 months and adversely effects their ability to carry out normal day to day activities.

The Act covers people with a wide range of needs, some of which will not be visible and some not immediately perceived as impairments. For example people with asthma, diabetes, migraine, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, back problems or a range of mental health problems.

More often than not a customer will volunteer information about their condition when they ask you to make an adjustment and remove disabling barriers. Please do not feel obliged to make detailed enquiries about a person's impairment but focus your attention on identifying and removing the barriers.

Many adjustments requested by disabled customers will not involve significant additional cost nor require the provision of a different service to that already being provided. The disabled person will however not always be entitled to their preferred adjustment if a simpler solution is available.

The Act also states that there will be limits to the adjustment which service providers will reasonably be expected to make. For instance whether any change is practicable and will be effective for the disabled person, as well as the time, effort and cost involved. What is ‘reasonable’ will vary in each case depending on the type, nature and size of service and on the individual disabled person. Government has not set any limit to what costs would be reasonable to incur but it has indicated that it is more likely to be reasonable for a large service provider (like Wakefield Council) to have to make an adjustment with significant cost than for a service provider with fewer resources.

Some reasonable adjustments have already been made by Wakefield Council like the operation of the Council’s ‘Wheelie Bin’ service for disabled residents and Council Tax information in large print.

You may be able to identify other barriers for disabled service users - for example inaccessible information formats, inaccessible meeting arrangements etc.- and take action in advance of any individual request.

Many adjustments may already be available and budgeted for under existing service procedures without individual disabled people requesting them - e.g. booking Sign Language Interpreters or getting documents in alternative formats.

A positive and flexible approach towards disabled customers by the person providing the service is essential - asking the person what adjustment is required to resolve the problem and acting on any reasonable requests. When you do receive a request from a disabled person for an adjustment to be made the following guidance may assist you in responding promptly and efficiently:-

• Check on any additional Departmental Guidance, but - as long as the adjustment requested is likely to be effective for the disabled person (and, hopefully for other disabled people too), and does not contravene health and safety standards or adversely affect the service provided to other users - it is likely you will be able to make the adjustment without further approval.
• As a yardstick, if the adjustment requested costs up to £100 (for example, to cover the basic cost of a Sign Language Interpreter or putting a document on tape) or involves up to 1 hour of staff time (for example, to make a home visit) then GO AHEAD and make or arrange the adjustment. If it is likely to be more costly or time-consuming or if you are uncertain about whether a particular adjustment is reasonable, practical or will be effective then GET ADVICE or refer it to your line manager or head of service - always ensuring you keep the service user informed of what you are doing.

Any adjustment requested will need to be considered by yourself (and your manager if necessary) and obviously discussed with the service user to make sure that any action taken will be effective. If the adjustment requested fails to meet the ‘reasonable’ criteria you may be able to propose an alternative which will be effective in meeting the person’s needs.

If you are not able to make the adjustment requested by the service user then make sure you or your manager gives the service user an explanation of why you cannot make the adjustment at present and any future plans which may help. Likewise, keep details of any alternative adjustment you offered even if it was rejected by the disabled service user. Give the person details of the Council’s complaints procedure if requested.

As the DDA introduces a right for individual disabled people, most of the adjustments will be requested at the point of delivery by the disabled service user themselves. In some cases it may be that the adjustment requested by the individual customer is not available immediately. For example: booking a Sign Language Interpreter will be dependent on availability and it will also take some time to get a document put onto tape. Where a delay is unavoidable give the service user as much notice and as much accurate information as possible.

Plan ahead where you can to prevent delays - the Government’s Code of Practice on Access to Services makes it clear that service providers will also need to ‘anticipate’ adjustments where possible. If a particular adjustment is likely to be requested by a number of people then make it in advance rather than waiting. Consult with disabled service users and groups about what adjustments are likely to be effective as they will be able to advise you.

Although temporary adjustments (e.g. temporary ramps) are already required the requirement to make permanent adjustments in relation to physical features of buildings will be introduced on 1st October 2004. A 'physical feature' includes any feature arising from the design or construction of the building, any fixtures or fittings and the approach to, exit from or access to the building. Where a physical feature makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of any service which is offered to the public, a service provider must take reasonable steps to:

• remove the feature e.g. removing a stile on a lakeside walk and replacing it with an accessible gate;
• alter it so that it no longer has that effect e.g. widening doors and installing ramps;
• provide a reasonable means of avoiding the feature e.g. letting disabled customers use an
accessible 'staff only' entrance where the main entrance to a listed building is inaccessible and it was not possible to obtain planning consent to install a ramp to the main entrance.

In addition to these ways of meeting the duty of reasonable adjustment in relation to physical features of the buildings there is also a fourth possibility - to provide a reasonable alternative method of making the service available to disabled people. As mentioned earlier, this duty has been in force since October 1999. It is important to start planning adjustments to physical features now and ensure that when any building work is undertaken disabled access is included. Disabled People or Access Groups may be able to offer advice.

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The Government has published a revised Code of Practice on 'Rights of Access to Goods, Facilities, Services and Premises' incorporating the duty to make reasonable adjustments in relation to physical features of buildings. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (formerly known as the Disability Rights Commission) keeps the Act under review as well as giving help and support to disabled people. Both of the above are available on the internet -

Disability section of DirectGov

Equality and Human Rights Commission website

Equality and Human Rights Commission
Helpline 0845 604 6610
Textphone 0845 604 6620
Fax 0845 604 6630