Accessibility
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Link to Disability Discrimination Act 1995:
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/1995050.htm
“It is unlawful for a provider of services to discriminate against a
disabled person […] in refusing to provide, or deliberately not providing,
to the disabled person any service which he provides, or is prepared to provide,
to members of the public”.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Services under the Act include ‘access to and use of information services’, and this affects web sites. If services are impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to use, then reasonable adjustments must be made. The 2002 Code of Practice for the Act gives some guidance about ‘reasonable adjustments’:
- Would taking particular steps effectively overcome the problem?
- Is it practicable to take such steps?
- How disruptive would the adjustment be?
- Is the cost reasonable, bearing in mind the service provider’s financial and other resources available to it and the availability of financial or other assistance?
Best practice
Although these guidelines suggest that there may be some defence if your
web site is found not to be accessible, you should follow the best practice.For existing web sites
- Review the web site and identify possible accessibility problems. Remember that people may have a physical, sensory or learning disability. Make a time schedule for action in order of priority.
- Always include an Accessibility information page. This should
say that you would like to help disabled users to use your web site
and that if they meet
any problems they should contact you so that you can take action to resolve
them.
For new web sites
- All new web sites should be developed to at least Level A of the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (the first of three levels of
attainment) or higher
if possible.
