Glossary

  • Access Audit – a survey of the building/service from the view point of disabled people
  • Organisations – businesses, local authorities, charities etc
  • Physical features – paths, steps, doors, reception desk, etc
  • Impairment – a person who is deaf or has poor hearing would be said to be hearing impaired, a person who has difficulty in walking would be mobility impaired etc.
  • Provision, criterion or practice – this is from the Equality Act 2010 and replaces policies, practices and procedure from the DDA. This for example takes in any policies whether formal or not, rules, practices, conditions, arrangements, criteria, qualifications or similar.  A Provision, criterion or practice will also apply to future decisions or unique or any discretionary decision.
  • Reasonable adjustment – this is taking positive steps to ensure that disabled people can access services or functions. There are three requirements for service providers and those exercising public functions:
    • When provision, criterion or practice puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage when compared to a non-disabled person and to take reasonable steps to avoid that disadvantage , or
    • When a physical feature puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage when compared to a non-disabled person to remove, alter or avoid the physical feature or adopt a reasonable alternative of providing or giving the function, or
    • When not providing an auxiliary aid puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage  when compared to a non-disabled person and to provide that auxiliary aid.
  • When deciding what is reasonable the following should be taken into consideration:-
    Is it practical to take the steps suggested?
    The cost, financial or otherwise of making the adjustment,
    The extent of any disruption that the adjustment may give rise to,
    The service providers’ financial resources,
    The amount of money and other resources that have already been spent on making adjustments,
    The availability of other assistance e.g. grants or other finance.
  • Service Provider – this is the term given to where members of the public have access to a service. This could be park land, a shop, sports centre. It doesn’t matter if it’s free of charge or has to be paid for.
  • Service User – this term applies to people who are or want to:  use a service e.g. customers of services, people using facilities, buy goods, benefit from public functions and members, guests of associations / clubs.
  • Anticipatory duty – a duty that means you have to be proactive
  • Public Function – is the term used to describe the activities of public authorities e.g. budgeting decisions
  • Club – has 25 members or more, is not open to the general public, and has a true selection procedure. A video rental club for example, is not classed a club for the purpose of the Act.
  • Disability – this is a mental or physical impairment which has to be long term, more than 12months, substantial and has an adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities.  Anyone who has HIV, cancer or multiple sclerosis is automatically treated as disabled under the Act.