Councils have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to the way they operate if disabled people are being put at a disadvantage. Given the responsibilities Councils have over a wide range of areas within their boundaries this means there will likely be significant improvements that can be made to make spaces and facilities more disabled-friendly.
The below Council Motion is designed for Town and Parish Councils and calls for the establishment of a Disability Access Forum to improve the accessibility of your area.
The template motion is below:
Council notes that
- Many forms of disability, including for example impairments of mobility, vision, hearing, communication, neurological issues, mental health issues, neurodiversity, learning disability and chronic illness can impact on people’s ability to access our area.
- Under the Equalities Act Public authorities and service providers have a duty to disabled people to make reasonable adjustments to the way they do things, if that puts disabled people at a disadvantage.
Council resolves to
- To promote the Social Model of Disability, which says that people with impairments are ‘disabled’ by the barriers operating in society that exclude and discriminate against them.
- Establish an [Area Name] Disability Access Forum as a working group of [Council Name].
- [Area Name] Disability Access Forum also works to raise awareness of disability issues and access needs in the area, and to make our area a disabled-friendly place for both residents and visitors.
- That the working group is open to all members interested in improving accessibility and local residents with any sort of disability.
- Commit to working with the local highways authority, local shops and business and service providers to ensure our area is accessible for everyone.