Role of Access Officers
Section 26 of the Disability Act 2005 requires the head of every public body to provide or arrange for the provision of assistance and guidance to persons with disabilities when accessing their service. It also requires them to appoint at least one of their officers to the role of Access Officer to fulfil this duty.
Our guidance document and videos provide public bodies with information about the role of Access Officers. They also give information on how we monitor the Code of Practice on Accessibility of Public Services and Information provided by Public Bodies which sets out what is required under Section 26 of the Disability Act 2005.
Presentation on the Role of Access Officer
Colin Flood is the Access Officer for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. In this video he discusses the role of the Access Officer as outlined in the Disability Act 2005.
He also discusses how Access Officers can provide assistance and guidance for people with disabilities. Often Access Officers are the primary contact for all things accessibility within a public body, and Colin discusses how to deal with access requests from external users.
Access Officer Guidance for Public Bodies - Responsibilities for Public Bodies
This presentation provides details of the responsibilities for public bodies when it comes to having an Access Officer. This presentation also looks at how a Universal Design Approach can help in understanding the role of Access Officer within a public body.
Monitoring sections 26, 27 and 28 under Part 3 of the Disability Act 2005
Public bodies have a requirement under the Disability Act 2005 to make sure their services and information are accessible to all members of the public, including people with disabilities. To assist public bodies with this requirement, we published a Code of Practice on Accessibility of Public Services and Information Provided by Public Bodies. Our Monitoring Report on the Implementation of the NDA's Code of Practice on Accessibility of Public Services and Information provided by Public Bodies, 2008 presents the findings of the NDA's initial monitoring survey in 2008 on the implementation of its Code of Practice on Accessibility of Public Services and Information provided by Public Bodies.
Monitoring Report on Access Officers
In 2022 we examined the performance of all public bodies against section 26(2) of the Disability Act 2005 which requires public bodies to appoint an Access Officer and promote the details of this. We published our findings in June 2023, Monitoring Report on Section 26 Disability Act - Access Officers.