Equality Act

Published Date: 07 June 2010 Accessibility is keyA DRAFT British Standard on web accessibility warns organisations to consider how easily users with disabilities
can access websites on mobile phones, tablets and TVs. Ignoring their needs could breach BS 8878 and the Equality Act, it says.

rds body BSI has launched a second consultation on "BS 8878 Web Accessibility – Code of Practice". It explains how organisations should create policies
and production processes to identify and remove barriers that result in websites excluding disabled and elderly people.

The British Standards Institute is inviting website owners, web
product managers, web procurement managers, usability and
accessibility specialists, marketing professionals and disabled
web users, to review and comment on the draft of a new standard on accessible websites.

The National Standards Body of the UK is developing the new code of practice  
DPC BS 8878 Web accessibility – Code of Practice
, to ensure the web is more accessible to elderly and disabled users.

Almost a quarter of disabled people are still regularly suffering from discrimination, a charity has warned.

Leonard Cheshire Disability said there were "shockingly high" levels of discrimination despite the presence of the Disability Discrimination Act.

Common complaints included difficulty in using public transport, a lack of user-friendly facilities and not enough information being made available for
disabled people, a report by the charity found.