Access Audits

What is an access audit?

An access audit is an assessment of your premises to find out how accessible your service or building is for people with disabilities.

Why would I need an access audit?

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 gives disabled people rights in the way they receive goods and access services and facilities. Service providers and employers have duties under the Act to ensure that disabled people can access their facilities. An access audit provides proof that you are looking at your responsibilities under the DDA and you have a report with recommendations that allow you to plan and budget for any work to be carried out.

Who does access audits?

Our access consultant and architect Alison Glen has extensive experience of advising on access for disabled people. Alison is accredited by the National Register of Access Consultants (NRAC) and has a wide range of experience in providing access audits for existing and proposed buildings from sport and leisure facilities to historic buildings. You can email Alison Glen or by telephoning 0141 551 8383.

What does an access audit involve?

An access audit involves a survey of the building. The access consultant will need to visit the building to take notes and photographs for the final report.

Can an audit be carried out in a proposed building?

Yes. An access consultant can be employed as part of the design team at an early stage in the design process and can provide comments and advice on access issues using proposed drawings

What would it cost?

The costs will depend on the size of your building as well as your geographical location. Although, as a rule of thumb the charge will be £350-500 per day + VAT and expenses, with the majority of audits taking approximately one day to do the survey and two to three days to complete the report.

What information do I get from an access audit?

The final access audit report will identify problem areas and give prioritised recommendations, normally broken down into:

• most important
• could be carried out as part of planned maintenance
• worth consideration in the future.

The report will also give a brief introduction to the Disability Discrimination Act, as well as outlining your responsibilities in terms of being an employer or service provider. The prioritised recommendations will not normally be costed unless you have asked for costs to be provided and in which case a quantity surveyor would also require to be appointed.

What will I, as the client, have to do?

Using the prioritised recommendations included in your access audit report, you will have to make the decision whether or not to implement these recommendations, decide on your budget for any alterations to be carried out, as well as timescales etc.

What if I need to act on recommendations made in the access audit report, can you help?

Yes. The access audit report will give prioritised recommendations and we can develop options further in order to carry out these recommendations. We can involve a quantity surveyor who can provide budget costs for carrying out the work. We can then produce detailed information for sending out to contractors for tendering. Once a contractor has been appointed, we can oversee the work being undertaken on site.

How can I find out more information?

For more information about what the Disability Discrimination Act, there are a series of publications available from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.