Scottish Disability Equality Forum

What are Access Panels and what do they do?

Hi - I'm Keith Robertson, Access Development Officer for SDEF.  I work with Access Panels across Scotland, who work for better access for disabled people in their local community.  Access Panels consists of local groups of volunteers, including disabled people, carers and people with a genuine interest in access. 

Find an Access Panel near you.

Each panel is autonomous and the functions of each panel can vary but typical access work is:

•    Reviewing building standards/planning applications to ensure the best access possible.
•    Being the first point of contact with local authorities and other public bodies on access issues.
•    Panels give a real input to the decisions and policies of statutory and other organisations
concerning access and issues of importance to disabled people.  They also assist local authorities, public bodies and designers to meet their statutory obligations.
•    Access Panels will promote ‘best practice’ on all issues of access therefore ensuring that the environment is accessible to as many people as possible.
•    Publishing Access Guides, leaflets and posters to raise awareness.
•    Encourage Social Inclusion and help create an accessible environment for all.
•    Work with other sector organisations to ensure that a holistic approach is taken to access for disabled persons.
•    SDEF assist panels to promote greater social equality by supporting access panels to work to remove the disabling barriers to equality of access and social inclusion for those affected by disability in Scotland.