The purpose of the Code of Practice
The purpose of this Code of Practice is to guide public bodies on how to make their public buildings accessible to persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are of all ages, sizes, abilities. People of diverse abilities should be able to use buildings and places comfortably and safely, as far as possible without assistance.
Public bodies will be obliged to meet the requirements and fulfil the recommendations set out within this Code of Practice. The Disability Act specifies that when a public body meets the requirements of this Code of Practice it is seen as being compliant with Section 25 of the Act. The NDA has the power to monitor public bodies on the implementation of this Code and report on how well they are doing.
This Code will not provide technical detail such as the dimensions of toilets, the gradient of ramps, the width of doors, because this detail is already found in the technical guidance document for Part M of the Building Regulations. Public bodies are obliged to ensure their buildings meet the requirements of Part M of the Building Regulations.
The aim of the Code of Practice is to improve the accessibility of public buildings by helping public bodies understand what is required under Section 25 of the Disability Act so that they can provide public buildings that can be accessed by all.
Further Information
Further information on the NDA’s work on the Built Environment can be found on our website at: