(This note is not part of the Regulations.)
These Regulations are made under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (“the Act”). Section 21(2) of the Act concerns the duty of service providers, when a physical feature makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled persons to access its service, to remove the feature, alter it so it no longer has that effect, provide a reasonable means of avoiding it or provide a reasonable alternative method of making it available to disabled persons. These Regulations make provision for various things to be treated as physical features.
Section 21(4) of the Act concerns the duty of a service provider in certain circumstances to provide an auxiliary aid or service to disabled persons. These Regulations make provision for various things not to be treated as auxiliary aids or services until the coming into operation of section 21(2)(a), (b) and (c) of the Act.
A Regulatory Impact Assessment of the costs and benefits that these Regulations will have can be obtained by post from Robert Gray, Social Policy Branch, Department of Health and Social Services, Room C.4.22, Castle Buildings, Stormont, Belfast BT4 3PP.