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Property Handbook
It is no longer acceptable in practise and in law for anyone to be deterred from entering our buildings and participating in church life as a result of a lack of adequate facilities where they could reasonably be provided. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 has implications for churches in terms of internal and external adaptation of buildings but it also has wider implications in rethinking the way we carry out our activities.
What is the Disability
Discrimination Act? The Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful for service providers to treat disabled people less favourably than they would treat other people, for a reason related to their disability, when offering or providing goods, facilities or services.
Why does it affect the
church? As far as the Disability Discrimination Act is concerned it makes no difference that the services provided by a church are free of charge, churches are service providers. We should recognise ourselves as such and make every effort to make our buildings and activities accessible to all.
When does it all happen? The first part of the Act came into force in December 1996, making it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against disabled people by refusing a service, providing a worse standard of service to disabled people than able-bodied people or offering service on worse terms.
Since October 1999, service providers have to make “reasonable adjustments” for disabled people, such as providing extra help or making changes to the way they provide their services (for example the provision of large print hymn sheets). Guidance as to what this may involve is given in “Disability Discrimination Act 1995 – Code of Practice – Rights of Access – Goods, Facilities, Services and Premises”. (see page 631.4)
From 2004, where there is a physical feature that makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to make use of a service, service providers will have to take reasonable steps to remove, alter or avoid it (for example, by installing a permanent ramp to enable wheelchair users to gain access to premises previously reached only by steps) if the service cannot be provided by a reasonable alternative method.
These requirements relate to all church buildings, not only new or adapted ones (these will already be subject to planning requirements). What should we do?
You should start as soon as possible to review the access and facilities your church provides for the disabled. Whenever you are planning and executing building or refurbishment works, such as extending premises or making structural alterations to an existing building, it is sensible to consider the removal or alteration of physical features which create a barrier to access for disabled people or the provision of a reasonable means of avoiding the physical feature, even though the law does not yet require this. It might well be more cost effective to make these alterations before 2004 and the Act does not prevent a church from doing so.
Think broadly and do not make assumptions. Those covered by the Disability Discrimination Act are people who have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. People who have had such a disability in the past are also covered. Consider those with less obvious disabilities such as the partially sighted, hard of hearing, pregnant women etc as well as the wheelchair bound or people with other mobility problems.
You need to consider both the inside and outside of the church building including approaches to and from the building, movement around the building and all of the services inside the building as well as exit routes and means of escape in case of an emergency. Some measures may be relatively simple to implement now and will give immediate benefit. For instance, providing colour contrast to assist the visually impaired (e.g. highlighting the nosings on steps etc), a rearrangement of furniture such as desks or tables, making sure routes are well signed and clear of obstacles, providing handrails etc.
In the longer term you should have a prioritised, planned method of achieving the appropriate level of facilities. This may be achieved by an access audit and through consultation with disabled users, the Local Authority’s Access Officer or assistance from bodies or resources listed below.
What is an access audit?
An access audit involves a thorough site inspection and the preparation of a report which identifies the accessible, user-friendly features of a building as well as access problems. The report should recommend access improvements, prioritise action and indicate where improvements can be made through the building’s maintenance programme. An access audit enables building owners to plan ahead for costly improvements and to have a plan that allows alterations to be made cost-effectively over time. This is a good way of planning to meet the changes which may be necessary in 2004.
It is important to ensure that any access audit, whether professional or informal, includes consultation with existing disabled users of the church and any local disability groups.
Who carries out access audits?
A building surveyor may be able to offer this service. However, there is no formal recognised qualification for an access auditor so you will need to make sure that the person you entrust with the audit has relevant and up-to-date knowledge of construction and is familiar with the appropriate building regulations as well as disability issues. You may choose to check their credentials by speaking to previous clients or seek advice from the Synod Office. The Centre for Accessible Environments and many of the major disability organisations offer training to access auditors and maintain a list of access auditors that they have approved.
Alternatively “Widening the Eye of the Needle” (see below) provides guidance and a checklist of such an audit which could be used with the advice of a suitably knowledgeable professional.
What happens when we need to make physical changes to the church building?
The normal URC procedures relating to building alterations still apply.
What if the church is a listed building?
The Disability Discrimination Act does not override other legislation. You will still have to comply with planning or Ecclesiastical Exemption procedure (>661) as well as United Reformed Church procedures.
Financial assistance Grants are available through the Church Building Fund towards the cost of providing facilities or adaptations for the disabled (>851
Further information and advice
For all round good advice on improving accessibility for all disabled users: Through the Roof, a Christian organisation provide a series of “Roofbreaker Guides” offering straightforward advice on how to make your church welcoming to disabled people. These are available for £1.50 a set from: Head Office Through the Roof PO Box 353 EPSOM, Surrey KT18 5WS Telephone: 01372 749955 Minicom: 01372 737040 Email: info@throughtheroof.org or free on their helpful website www.throughtheroof.org
For practical guidance on improving access to church buildings (especially older buildings) and carrying out access audits including a photocopyable form for assisting in access audits: Widening the Eye of the Needle: Access to Church Buildings for People with Disabilities (2nd Edition) (£10.95 published by the Council for the Care of Churches from: Church House Publishing Great Smith Street London SW1P 3NZ Tel: 0207 898 1000
The Government has published guidance explaining who is covered by the Act’s definition of disability, and a Code of Practice has been published that will help service providers and disabled people to understand the law. Both are available from any branch of the Stationery Office, from their mail order telephone line on 0870 600 5533 or free on the website www.disability.gov.uk The Code is not an authoritative statement of the law but courts must take into account any part of it that is relevant to proceedings they are hearing. If service providers follow the guidance in the code, it may help to avoid an adverse judgement by a court in any proceedings. Other literature and fact sheets about the Disability Discrimination Act are available from the DDA Helpline on the following numbers. All calls are charged at local British Telecom rates:
Telephone 08457 622633 Textphone 08457 622644
Information on providing access to historic buildings is available from:
Other useful addresses and contacts:-
The United Reformed Church is not responsible for the content of external websites
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