The duty to make reasonable adjustments starts before anyone complains.
An access audit assists you in meeting the service provision duties under Parts 3 and 4 of the Equality Act 2010. It covers the common areas of your premises made available to members of the public.
What we do
A visual inspection is undertaken and information gathered, including specific measurements. Each item is judged satisfactory or unsatisfactory against the references, taking account of the age, listed status and heritage of the property. Where a barrier to access is found, the auditor considers the four strategies the guidance sets out: removing the physical feature, altering it so it no longer has that effect, providing a reasonable means of avoiding it, or providing a reasonable alternative method of making the service available.
What you get
- An action plan you can budget against and defend, not a list of everything that falls short of a new build. It sets out:
- An action plan addressing physical constraints, alternative ways of providing services, and the reasonableness of each adjustment identified
- Findings measured against BS 8300-1:2018 and BS 8300-2:2018, Approved Document M, guidance from the Centre for Accessible Environments, and the Equality Act 2010 Statutory Code of Practice
- A satisfactory or unsatisfactory result per item, with an action raised where unsatisfactory
Why it matters
Reasonableness takes account of cost, practicability and your resources, and the duty does not require you to fundamentally alter the service. An audit that says what is reasonable for your building is more defensible than one that lists every departure from a new-build standard.
Why Vantify
Judgements made in the context of the building's age and heritage status, not against a standard it was never built to.
Scope and limitations
The audit covers common areas available to the public. It does not examine non-public areas such as plant rooms, or tenanted areas, unless specifically requested.
0203 337 3575
enquiries@vantify.com