The building regulations, which have been in effect since 1992, place a duty on persons providing or reconstructing buildings to cater for the needs of disabled people. Otherwise, the regulations generally do not apply to existing buildings.
Departments and local authorities have been asked on a number of occasions over the years to ensure that appropriate provision is made for access facilities for disabled people to all buildings under their control. As part of their response to Delivering Better Government, Departments have undertaken to prepare this year customer action plans to improve the quality of services they provide to the public; access to public offices for people with disabilities is one of the issues to be addressed in this context.
The provision of access facilities in respect of other existing buildings is a matter for the owners and occupiers of the building concerned.