How an Access Consultation benefits your organisation
What are the economic benefits?
- Disabled people have a combined annual disposable income of £80b. This doesn't include the income of their family and friends.
- If they and their family and friends don't come to you, they'll go elsewhere and take their money with them.
- They want to spend their money and use services. You could boost your profits or budget. Make sure it's you they choose over a competitor. You'll want to be confident that you're not missing out.
What are the social benefits?
Good business is about being able to meet the needs of all your customers. There are more than 10.5 million disabled people in the UK, all of whom are existing or potential customers.
A disabled person is someone who "has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities."
There are many millions more customers who are not disabled people but their needs are not being met. People who have their broken leg in plaster may find steps challenging. Parents with a pushchair find doorways difficult. An employee carrying boxes benefits when the doors aren't heavy.
- Everyone, not just disabled people benefit from improved access in the broadest sense.
- Organisations become more open, more inviting, more inclusive, more creative, dynamic and responsive.
Think about every aspect or your business or service; ask yourself these example questions as a starting point:
- Can everybody see it?
- Can everyone hear it?
- Can everyone use it?
- Can everyone understand it?
If the answer to any of those questions is no, how are you going to meet the needs of these people and if you're not sure about how to go about doing that then you may need the advice of an access consultant.
What might happen if I do nothing?
- You could fall behind competitors and lose business and customers.
- Your business or organisation's reputation may be harmed in the long-term by having a reputation of being "inaccessible".
- If by not making reasonable adjustments, you are found to be in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act, you might have a costly court case to fight, which you might lose and then have to spend money doing something anyway.
We don't have any disabled customers
You may have many potential customers if your organisation or business services are more accessible to disabled and non-disabled people, who can't currently use you.
We can't afford the adaptations
- A change to a working practice or delivering the service in a different way may mean that no adaptation is needed at all.
- At the very beginning of planning for a new project, service or change to your organisation, factor in accessibility costs and the cost of an access consultant, so there's money available as part of your overall budget.
- Sometimes there are grants and other schemes available to help off-set costs. We can help find alternative sources of funding.
- You can spread the costs over a period of time; making the changes as you come to do a much needed refurbishment, cyclical maintenance or annual review of your organisation. We can help you with an Access Plan.
- The cost of putting things right later on is far more costly and a waste of money. Better to invest and get it right first time and mitigate the risk of a possible future legal challenge.
Back to topWe already have ramps and a disabled toilet
- Access to your organisation is about so much more than ramps and toilets. Many people have multiple access requirements, sight and hearing issues for instance.
- You may have a ramp/rails/WCs but it may not meet the needs of the people who need to use it. We can help you make sure you meet modern standards.
- Products vary. We can help you source accessible products, designed to meet most people's needs.
- Only 5-7% of disabled people use a wheelchair. That means that 750,000 disabled people may benefit from ramps and adapted toilets but at least 9.5 million other customers with other impairments are still excluded from your services.
The money I'd spend on a consultant, I could put towards the costs of alterations
Just as you should pay for a survey to be done on your house before you buy it, you should invest in the professional advice of an access consultant.
We can help you make the right access decisions for your organisations, so that the money you spend is properly directed in the most cost-effective way. It's maybe far more expensive to do nothing in the long-term or to change access retrospectively.
I use an architect, surveyor, access group...
An Access Consultant is a specialist in, and has a detailed knowledge of, access issues.
There are many excellent architects and surveys, many of whom may have a good understanding of access issues but they have to have a detailed understanding of so many other areas, that often they are not access specialists.
Many architects and surveyors recognise the value and complimentary skills that an Access Consultant brings to any project team.
The Disability Rights Commission recommends the inclusion of an Access Consultant in any scheme, large or small from the beginning. This is supported by the Codes of Practice, for Parts 2 and 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995.
Part 2 states:
"2.11 It is good practice for employers to have access audits carried out to identify any improvements which can be made to a building to make it more accessible. Access audits should be carried out by suitably qualified people." (Code of Practice: Employment & Occupation).
5.15 (Service) providers are more likely to be able to comply with their duty to make adjustments in relation to physical features if they arrange for an access audit of their premises to be conducted and draft an access plan or strategy. Acting on the results of such an audit may reduce the likelihood of successful legal claims against the (service) provider. (Code of Practice: Rights of Access Goods, Facilities, Services and Premises)
It is essential that disabled people themselves are fully engaged in the process of a project and that they views are sought by the project team, including the access consultant.
An access group, however is, not always but usually made up of lay disabled people, who while they will have a valuable insight about their own experiences, may lack the specialist knowledge of the latest best practice, product information or how the law and various regulations can apply to different situations in different ways.
I already comply with the Disability Discrimination Act
There is no such thing as one-off compliance because the Disability Discrimination Act is a rights based law. Different people have their rights met in many different ways.
You can't be sure you haven't overlooked something. An access consultant can help you identify issues you may not have considered and give you solutions.
The only way to be certain you understand your responsibilities under the law and your customer's rights is to check with a suitably qualified person.
I had an audit done a few years ago
It's important that you continuously review the way you meet you customer's needs. We will help you keep up to date.
The law may have changed or new laws may have been passed.
Technology may enable you to do something differently now.
People's expectation of what's "reasonable" may be higher.
