Equality and Human Rights Commission

Article 21 says:

• Governments should take steps to ensure that disabled people can express their views freely and access information on an equal basis to everyone else by doing things like:
  • providing disabled people with information in accessible formats and technologies at no extra cost and in a timely way
  • ensuring people can use sign language, Braille and many other types of communication when they are dealing with public services or the State
  • urging private service providers to provide accessible information including accessible websites
  • encouraging the mass media, including internet providers, to make their services accessible
  • recognising and promoting the use of sign language.

What does this mean?

This means that governments and public bodies should take extra steps to make sure that disabled people can access information and express their views.

This includes complaints procedures. If a Deaf person wants to make a complaint in British Sign Language, then that should be possible. It also includes websites which should be made accessible and easy to use.

Disability discrimination legislation covers many of these steps, for example section 20 of the 2010 Equality Act (reasonable adjustment duty) includes a duty to make information available in accessible formats.

However, this right makes it clear that the purpose should be full inclusion – for example, disabled people should not have to wait longer than other people for accessible information, or have to wait to access services because there is no interpreter. Public services should also have to think about different ways for people to get in touch with them – for example, not to exclusively rely on the telephone but also to use email, face-to-face meetings etc.