DCLG clarifies Equality Act replacement of DDA, Part M and 10 year exemption

Dclg has issued a circular relating to clarification of the The Equality Act 2010 in that it brings together and replaces existing equalities legislation including the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA).

The Equality Act 2010 harmonised existing provisions into a single streamlined framework of equalities legislation. In consequence, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, referred to on page 7 of the 2004 edition of Approved Document M (AD M – Access to and use of buildings) has been repealed. The text of the Equality Act 2010 is available at the link below; http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents


The Equality Act requires reasonable adjustments to be made in relation to accessibility. In practice, this means that due regard must be given to any specific needs of likely building users that might be reasonably met.

Compliance with the requirements of Part M does not therefore signify compliance with the much broader obligations and duties set out in the Equality Act. This is a source of frequent misunderstanding.

However, service providers, public authorities carrying out their functions, and associations will continue to benefit from a 10 year exemption, from the date of completion, from the need to make reasonable adjustments to those physical features which comply with the requirements of Part M, in certain circumstances, as described below.

This is not a blanket exemption from duties under the Equality Act, and relates only to those specific features built in accordance with AD M (ramps to facilitate access being one such example). As with all other types of building work, service providers will still need to consider the needs of disabled people which are outside the scope of AD M but which would be subject to specific duties under the Equality Act.
The full content of the explanitary circular is below:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/divletterequalitiesact