What is so significant about 1st October 2004? From this date the third, and final, phase of the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) was introduced. The Act aims to address the discrimination that disabled people face and requires that organisations and premises have made provision to be accessible to everyone.
Access to Scouting
Access all Areas
In this article, from the February/March 2005 edition of Scouting, Sue Burton explains that help is at hand to make sure that you measure up to the new Disability Discrimination Act.
Access to Premises
Sue Burton's article above details the steps that you should take to access the accessibility of your premises. Here are a couple of examples of access audits that that you can use to survey your premises.
Access to Scouting [PDF] - this audit was developed for Berkshire Scouts to use to survey all their premises in the county.
Access Audit Checklist (community) [PDF] - a checklist produced by Wycombe District Council for use in village halls and community buildings.
The Accessibility by Design Guide [PDF] - which you can also download from Wycombe District Council, is a practical introduction to building design for accessibility. It contains a lot of useful information that you can use, and will help you to complete an Access Audit.
Once you have completed the survey, you will have to draw up an plan of how you will put the changes into action. This article from the Disability Rights Commission explains some of the practical, and often inexpensive steps, that small business can take to make their buildings more accessible. A lot of the suggestions will also be relevant for Scout premises:
For the larger changes that will need a capital outlay, you may have to investigate sources of funding. There is funding available from HQ, through the Treloar Fund, and you may also find that there are funds available to you locally. For more information and advice contact the Fundraising Department at Gilwell Park.
It is important to keep a record of your survey, the action plan, estimates and research into funding, so that you can show what work you have done to comply with the Act.
There is information about the Disability Discrimination Act in the factsheet FS270002 - Disabled Access to Buildings [PDF]. If you have any more questions, contact the Special Needs team at Gilwell Park on 0845 300 1818 or special.needs@scout.org.uk.
Access to Campsites
The Disability Discrimination Act also covers campsites and other outdoor activity facilities, and as with buildings, you will have to complete an access survey of the facilities.
There are some resources available that provide guidance about access to sports, outdoor facilities and the countryside.
Sport England produce this design guide which provides access specifications for many different sports and activities, including swimming, sailing, shooting, canoeing and general access to the countryside: http://www.sportengland.org/disabled.pdf
The Fieldfare Trust (Link to: www.fieldfare.org.uk) works with disabled people and countryside managers to improve access to the countryside for everyone
