Three decades from the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act, CAE’s Head of Business Development, Fara Muneer, looks back on what was a landmark moment for CAE and the UK in the journey toward equality and accessible environments.
November 8th, 1995, marks 30 years since the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) received Royal Assent and came into force UK-wide. It didn’t just change the law – it changed expectations, attitudes and professional practice across the country.
The DDA created the first enforceable civil rights for disabled people and required organisations to remove the barriers that had excluded so many for so long. And, while the Equality Act 2010 now frames this work in Great Britain, the DDA remains in force in Northern Ireland and its legacy continues to influence inclusive design.
DDA turning point
There has been a significant shift, for the better, since the DDA was introduced. Before the DDA, organisations didn’t really give much consideration to making their services accessible.
Disabled people routinely faced barriers in shops, workplaces, cinemas, transport, housing, access to work and public services. Guidance was limited and inclusive design often relied on goodwill rather than obligation.
The DDA bought recognition that services and buildings need to be accessible from the outset, and a willingness to make that happen. Accessibility was once a secondary consideration that might be considered reluctantly. Now, accessibility is typically embraced and considered at the initial design stages of many projects.
The Act introduced proactive duties for employers and service providers to make reasonable adjustments. This shift triggered national demand for knowledge, clarity and specialist skills — and it marked the beginning of inclusive design becoming a mainstream expectation.
Ian Watkins, CAE Access Advisor, says: “Before the DDA, access was often ignored and guidance was sparse. I saw wheelchair users denied entry to cinemas for so-called ‘fire risk’ reasons. Attitudes have changed dramatically. Accessibility is now integrated from the outset — and new guidance on neurodiversity and sensory needs continues to move us forward.”
The DDA shaped CAE services
CAE had already had a strong reputation for advancing accessible design since its founding in 1969, but the DDA rapidly transformed the scale and nature of its work. With so much fresh interest in accessibility and the requirements of the Act, there was a clear need to increase capacity in the access profession.
So, in 1996, CAE ran the first access auditing training course as businesses turned to the organisation for practical help to assess buildings and services. It prompted one of CAE’s biggest early innovations – the first Access Auditing training course, which launched in 1996.
Developed by John Miller and Ann Sawyer, a CAE Associate Access Consultant, the course equipped people to interpret the DDA, audit buildings and services, review drawings and deliver practical, evidence-based recommendations. It soon expanded into a three-day residential programme, with delegates even auditing Portsmouth Naval Dockyard during early cohorts.
Ann Sawyer reflected: “The DDA sparked a nationwide need for skilled access professionals, and our first training course was designed to meet that moment. The progress since then has been remarkable. But what inspires me most is seeing new generations come through CAE’s Pathways Academy. Pathways trains disabled people who are passionate about creating places that work for everyone,”
The course continues today, as CAE’s popular Access Auditing and Equality Act course. It has trained thousands of professionals, many now working across architecture, housing, local authorities, heritage and access consultancy.
Expanding training and guidance
As a result of the DDA, a great deal of useful guidance has been produced on how to create an accessible environment. This has helped to improve, for example, the access standards required for new buildings.
By 1998, CAE had developed key publications including Accessible Offices and Designing for Accessibility. These guides became essential tools for organisations implementing their duties under the Act.
Specialist courses followed — including the highly regarded Access to Historic Properties programme — still delivered today. And CAE continues to publish guidance and research with Habinteg Housing Association and RIBA Publishers, more recently the Inclusive Housing Design Guide.
Register of access consultants
To meet rising demand for access auditors to support organisations meet their duties under the DDA, CAE established the CAE Panel of Access Auditors, which later evolved into the National Register of Access Consultants (NRAC) — the UK’s only professional register for access consultants.
“The DDA inspired me to set up my own access consultancy after taking the NRAC exam. It created real momentum in inclusive design. There’s more work to do, but the progress since 1995 has been extraordinary,” says Retired NRAC Consultant, CAE Associate and building surveyor, Ron Koorm.
Image: Ann Sawyer (left) and colleague on the auditing course, 1997, measuring a ramp with a training delegate