Models for the Enforcement of Accessibility Rights: Synergies, Tensions and Opportunities

Accessibility features in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as both a substantive right and also as one of its fundamental ‘general principles’. New EU law is being introduced which requires Member States to introduce effective mechanisms for enforcing accessibility rights in certain contexts. In light of these developments, it is timely to reflect on what models of accessibility enforcement are currently used, and on the way in which they work (or not) together.

In this paper, we introduce three broad models of enforcement and use the UK as a case study. We also explain how our research on this issue is situated within our wider multinational InclusivePublicSpace project, which focuses on the inclusiveness of streets.

The paper is divided into five sections. In the first, we introduce the InclusivePublicSpace project and explain how analysis of different accessibility-enforcement models fits within it. In the second, we introduce the first model – enforcement by individuals who come within particular legislative categories (eg disabled people within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010). In the third, we address the second enforcement model – enforcement by individuals who do not need to establish any prior identity (eg through negligence law). In the fourth we focus on the third model – enforcement by public bodies (eg through criminal or planning law). In the fifth and final section, we reflect on synergies and tensions between the different models, on areas of concern and on opportunities for reform.