Your Rights

Access to goods, facilities and services, and public authorities, under the DDA

Summary: Your rights under the DDA to access goods, facilities and services.

• Who has obligations under the Act - definition of a ‘service provider’
• Right of access to goods, facilities and services
• What counts as discrimination?
• Duty to make reasonable adjustments
• Grounds for justifying less favourable treatment
• Service providers excluded or treated differently under DDA
• Public authority functions
• What is less favourable treatment?
• More information

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Who has obligations under the Act - definition of a ‘service provider’

A service provider includes anyone providing a service directly to the general public, whether a public authority, private agency or an individual, and whether for payment or for free. Manufacturers who provide goods through retailers will not be covered by the Act as they are not providing services directly to the public.
For example: Hotels, shops, banks, local authorities, sports and arts venues, surgeries and hospitals. Information services and information about services are also covered.

Right of access to goods, facilities and services

For those providing goods, services and facilities directly to the general public, it is unlawful:

• to refuse to serve a disabled person for a reason which relates to their disability
• to offer a sub-standard service to disabled people
• to provide / offer a service on different terms
• to fail to comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments, in circumstances in which the failure makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to use a service.

What counts as discrimination?

“Discrimination” is defined by the Act as:

• treating a disabled person less favourably, for a reason relating to their disability, than a person to whom that reason does not apply, would be treated, without justification
• or failing to make reasonable adjustments, without justification.

Duty to make reasonable adjustments

The duty to make reasonable adjustments means that duties are placed on providers of services to make changes (called "reasonable adjustments") so that disabled people can use the services more easily.

Changes the service provider will have to consider

There are 3 broad types of "reasonable adjustments" which the service provider has to consider:

1. Changes to practices, policies and procedures

To ensure that they do not make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to access the goods, service or facility.

2. Provision of 'auxiliary aids and services'

To provide additional help or assistance to enable a disabled person to make use of a services or facility.

3. Addressing physical features of premises where services are provided

• by removing a physical feature
• by altering it so that it no longer is inaccessible
• by providing a reasonable means of avoiding a feature
• by providing a reasonable alternative means of service (for example, serving someone at the door of a shop where it is not accessible and it is not feasible to make it accessible).

Grounds for justifying less favourable treatment

If service providers have treated a disabled person less favourably, they will have to prove that they had a genuine belief that one of the following grounds of justification applied to their situation; and it has to be reasonable for them to hold that belief:

• health and safety
• inability of the disabled person to give informed consent or to enter into an enforceable agreement.
• if, by serving the disabled person, the service provider is unable to serve others.
• if, in order to serve the disabled person or other members of the public, it is necessary to provide the service on different terms, or of a different standard or manner.
• greater expense - service providers cannot charge a disabled person more for a service, it can only do so where the service is individually tailored to the requirements of a disabled customer.

Service providers excluded or treated differently under DDA

• education services: pre 16 education and post 16 education
• transport
• employment services
• manufacturers
• insurance
• housing services.

Public authority functions

Some things that public authorities – such as local authorities – do are not classed as services but are classified as “public authority functions”. It is not always easy to work out whether something is a public authority function or not. They are usually, but not exclusively, things that are done under to comply with a piece of legislation - this distinction has come about through cases brought under the Race Relations Act and the Sex Discrimination Act about what a 'service' is.

What is a public authority?

The public authority function provisions cover all public authorities, such as government departments, NHS trusts, local authorities, and it includes anyone carrying out a function of a public nature.

Does the duty apply to every public authority function?

There are certain exceptions to this part of the Act:

• Parliament
• the security services
• the armed forces when assisting GCHQ
• the courts or other bodies when carrying out judicial acts
• ministers carrying out legislative functions (includes members of the Scottish Executive and the National Assembly for Wales)
• the Crown Prosecution Service when deciding whether or not to prosecute someone.

Rights in relation to public authority functions

The Act makes it unlawful for a public authority to discriminate against a disabled person in carrying out its functions. There are two ways in which a public authority may discriminate:

• by treating a disabled person less favourably, for a reason relating to his disability without justification
• failing to comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments, in circumstances in which the disabled person is put at a disadvantage, without justification.

What is less favourable treatment?

This means that you can’t be treated less favourably, for a disability related reason, without justification. Some examples of less favourable treatment would be:

1. The duty to make reasonable adjustments

This is similar to the duty to make adjustments contained in the goods, facilities and services provisions. Although the wording differs slightly to reflect the different nature of public authority functions:

• changes to practices, policies and procedures
• provision of auxiliary aids and services
• physical features of premises where services are provided.

2. Justification

Less favourable treatment or a failure to make reasonable adjustments will not amount to discrimination if it can be justified under the Act:

• health and safety
• inability to give informed consent or to enter into an enforceable agreement.
• substantial extra costs
• protecting the rights and freedoms of others.

More information

• Download our Access to goods, facilities and services under the DDA: DDA Factsheet 5a (Word)
• Download our Public authority functions under the DDA: DDA Factsheet 5b (Word).

Useful links

• What to do if you experience discrimination
• Sources of information about the DDA.

• 'Reasonable adjustments’ and the DDA
• Disability equality duty (DDA) for the public sector.

• Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHEC)
• EHRC Codes of practice.

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Content author: DDAEnquiries@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 20/11/2008 11:13