Think about accessibility from the start

In the UK, 1 in 5 people have a disability - this could be visual, hearing, motor (affecting fine movement) or cognitive (affecting memory and thinking).[i]

The concept of accessibility does not just apply to disabled people - all users will have different needs at different times and in different circumstances. Someone’s ability to use a service or space could be affected by their:

• location - they could be in a noisy café, sunny park, or area with slow Wi-Fi
• health - they may be tired, recovering from a stroke or have a broken arm
• equipment - they could be on a mobile phone or using an older browser

Accessibility is about making sure than venues can be used by as many people as possible. Thinking about this from the beginning will help ensure that nobody is excluded.  Solutions are usually less costly to fix early on than to make changes later.

Making your service accessible: an introduction - Service Manual - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

References

[i] Office of National Statistics (2022) Family Resources Survey: financial year 2020 to 2021 (Gov.uk 31 March 2022): (available from https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2020-to-2021/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2020-to-2021#disability-1) [accessed on 01/11/2022]