The DDA 1995 is an Act that has in recent years caused management committees of village halls and community buildings to seriously look at the accessibility of their buildings.  

 The Act can be viewed at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/1995050.htm

Community Action Northumberland offers the following information to assist management committees understand how the DDA affects village halls and community buildings:

 The Act contains 8 parts:

Part 1               Definition of disability

Part 2               Employment

Part 3               Provision of goods, services and facilities. Selling or letting of premises or land.

Part 4               Education

Part 5               Transport

Part 6               National Disability Council

Part 7               Supplementary issues

Part 8               Miscellaneous

These notes cover the sections relevant to village halls and community buildings.

Definition of disability:

Disability is defined as 'A physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities'.

Impairment covers physical impairments affecting the senses (eg sight and hearing), and mental impairments including learning disabilities and mental illness (if recognised by a respected body of medical opinion).

Substantial impairment means it must be more than minor. Medication or artificial aids which helps an impairment are not taken into account when considering whether an impairment is substantial (except glasses/contact lenses).

Long term effects are those which have, or are likely to, last for at least 12 months, or for the rest of the life of the person ected. They also include effects that are likely to recur beyond the 12 month period.

Day to day activities are normal activities carried out by most people on a regular basis, and must involve one of the following: Mobility; manual dexterity; physical coordination; continence; ability to lift/carry/move objects; speech/ hearing/eyesight; memory/concentration/learning; being able to recognise physical danger.

Milestone dates

From December 1996 it has been unlawful to refuse to serve a disabled person, provide a service in a worse manner or to a lower standard, and to provide a service on less favourable terms, all for a reason relating to a person’s disability.  These provisions do not require any adjustments to be made for disabled people; rather, they deal with the notion of “less favourable treatment” that can not be justified.

 From October 1999 service providers were required to:

 Change policies, procedures and practice if their effect is to discriminate.
(For example, a “no dogs” policy needed to be amended to allow entry to people with guide, hearing or assistance dogs.)

Make reasonable adjustments in the form of auxiliary aids and services.  (Auxiliary aids include information in different formats, portable ramps, or portable induction loop systems etc.  An auxiliary aid is a piece of equipment, or device, which is not part of the fabric of the building.  Auxiliary services may include provision of a BSL / English interpreter, or help given by a member of staff to complete a form for a disabled person.)

 Where physical features made it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to access a service, reasonable steps needed to be taken of finding another way of providing the service. ( This could include moving meetings from an upstairs room which lacks lift access to a room on the ground floor, or perhaps even in another building.  The purpose of this provision is to make sure that where options are available for moving the location of a service, an adjustment is made for disabled people where they might otherwise be excluded or put at a substantial disadvantage)

 From October 2004 service providers had a duty to take reasonable steps to ensure that the physical nature of their premises did not discriminate against disabled people.  This meant that, disabled people had the right to make a complaint under the Act, if they felt that the physical nature of premises was making it impossible or unreasonably difficult for them to access a service.  Thus if a disabled person feels they have been wrongly excluded from the provision of goods or services, or the selling or letting of land or property, they will be able to take a civil court action to seek damages for any financial loss they have suffered and injury to their feelings.

 What do hall management committees need to do?

Most village halls and community buildings are registered charities. Management committees, as the trustees of the charity,have the responsibility for administering and managing the charity. They need to work within legal requirements and that includes adherence to the requirements of the  DDA 1995.

 Everyone who provides a public service must make sure no physical features make access impossible or unreasonably difficult.

 Management committees are advised to ensure that they have discussed within their committee meetings whether their hall meets the requirements of the Act and to record within the minutes their conclusions and any action agreed.

 Accessibility is not just about providing ramps and toilets. It also covers such matters as the width of doors, heights of light switches and coat hooks,  induction loops for those with hearing losses, colour differentiation in doorways, adequate and properly designed signage and providing lifts where necessary.

 ·        Expert opinion should be sought in the form of an Access Audit.  (An Access Audit is an examination and appraisal of an existing building, its facilities and services, against pre-determined criteria to assess its accessibility. It will help to determine whether your hall complies with the physical requirements of the DDA 1995.Some audits may also look at your policies and procedures for compliance.)

·        If major shortfalls are identified you will need a building survey to enable you to cost up any necessary alterations,

·        Consider the information gathered and decide on the action needed. It is probable that funds will not be immediately available but planning the action and commencing the fund raising is a reasonable course to take.

 Don’t panic but don’t become complacent. The Act says that service providers have a duty to take reasonable steps to ensure that the physical nature of their premises does not discriminate against disabled people.

 The availability of funds to do the work has to be taken into account. A hall would not be expected to bankrupt itself to make alterations. Nor would it be expected to breach other legislation, such as that relating to listed buildings. It is essential though that the trustees fully assess the situation and take all reasonable steps to carry out any necessary improvements.

 Sources of additional information:

 Most local authorities have an officer with responsibility for the DDA 1995. They may be able to assist in the provision of an access audit and advise on planning permission if alterations to the building are being considered.

Alnwick District Council

Berwick Borough Council

Blyth Valley District Council

Castle Morpeth Borough Council

Tynedale District Council

Wansbeck District Council

Disability  North works to promote and support inclusion for disabled people.

Disability North
The Dene Centre
Castle Farm Road
Gosforth
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE3 1PH
Tel:   0191 284 0480
Fax:  0191 213 0910
E-mail:  direct@disabilitynorth.org.uk

Websites

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) is an independent body established in April 2000 by Act of Parliament to stop discrimination and promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. Use this link  www.drc-gb.org  then go to Law and then the DDA 1995.

Directgov is the place to turn for the widest range of government information and services. For the section on disability use this link. http://www.direct.gov.uk/DisabledPeople/ 

 Resources

ACRE Village Hall Information Sheets

No. 25  Making Village Halls Accessible
No  32  An Introductory Guide to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995

Extracts from Northumberland Community News:

Volume 19 Number 4 August 1999

Staff working as village hall advisers formany of the Northern Rural Community Councils (including CCN) were recently treated to a talk from Niall McMurtry, Access Adviser for Disability North. Niall addressed the subject of the Disability Discrimination Act and its meaning for Village Halls Management Committees ….

Volume 23 Number 2 April 2003

If you are involved in any way with the provision of services to the public, or responsible for managing premises from where services are provided, you need to know about the DDA.  Community groups, voluntary organisations, churches, village halls, and so on, will come under the definition of a “service provider” under the Act....