A proposed change in law to make public buildings more accessible has been hailed as ‘a great step forward’ by disability charity Scottish Disability Equality Forum. The change is included within the Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill which had its first hearing in the House of Lords yesterday (9th June 2014).

The Bill signals a move to a more prescriptive approach to enabling access for disabled people and would directly benefit Scotland’s 120,000 wheelchair users. The Equality Act 2010 currently requires that, where a physical feature such as a step makes access to a public building difficult, reasonable action must be taken by the occupier to address the problem.

The Bill proposes a new duty to provide a ramp in place of a single step. The requirement would be staged, applying at first only to properties with a step less than six inches high, increasing after two years to those with a step less than twelve inches high.

Robert Ferguson, Disability Access Officer at Scottish Disability Equality Forum, said:

‘We’re pleased to see this proposal for a more explicit access duty, which is a great step forward, being proposed by Lord Blencathra. We know from our work supporting Access Panels, run by disabled volunteers, and listening to our members across Scotland that entry to buildings remains a significant problem.

‘Many wheelchair users are still unable to access employment, education, healthcare or leisure activities due to the lack of such a small but simple access improvement. It is therefore only right that a more directive approach should be taken to enforcing access improvements.’