Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities whether she plans to require Departments and local councils to publish the provisions that they have in place for disabled access to their buildings; and if he will make a statement.

The Equality Act 2010 requires service providers and employers, including public authorities, to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not put at a substantial disadvantage, including in questions of access. For service providers this is an anticipatory duty, which means that they should not wait until they are asked to make an adjustment. However, the duty does not require publication of information about any adjustments made or the general accessibility features of a building, such as those required by building regulations.

The Government agrees that the public sector can play an important leadership role in providing accessibility information for building users, whether they are visitors or employees. However, the Government believes that such decisions are best made at a local level and has no plans to introduce a requirement for such information to be published.