Disability access (FOI)

Request

A

Please provide a list of all Government-owned buildings which do not comply with disability access laws which came into force on 1st September. This should include buildings owned by Government-owned bodies.

B

How much has been spent in making sure all Government owned buildings are compliant with the law? How much spend is anticipated for future modifications?

C

Will the States Chamber by modified to comply? If so, at what cost?

Response

A to C

Independent audits are currently being undertaken to determine whether anyone with a disability might be disadvantaged in accessing each Government of Jersey (GOJ) property, and action will be taken in response to the results of those audits.

The GOJ will only be able to ascertain what updates are required in their buildings once the audits have been completed and as such no money has yet been spent on making improvements.

However, £10.2 million has been allocated under the Government Plan 2021 to 2024 (p128) in relation to DDA, safeguarding and regulation of care.

The independent assessors will advise of any modifications which may be required to make the States Chamber compliant with the DDA. There are, however, exemptions within the DDA regarding structural amendments to listed buildings and alternative methods may need to be considered to work towards equal accessibility.

The information you have requested regarding government owned bodies is not held by the GOJ, so you might wish to contact those bodies directly.

The following may be of interest:

Discrimination (Disability) (Jersey) Regulations 2018