There are a number of legal issues that your group should think about before giving any access advice to a client.

Payment for services

If your group offers its services and advice free of charge, this can undermine the value of the group’s expertise. However, if your group is registered as a charity and charges for its services, you must be very careful. Charitable status confers certain tax exemptions on the assumption that you will not engage in trade. A formal charging policy may be seen as ’trading’ in competition with professional agencies. However, it is legitimate to discuss payment to cover the actual costs of services, including:

• travel costs
• administration costs
• a proportion of training and support costs

Therefore, it may be appropriate in some cases for your group to accept donations to cover these expenses.

Nevertheless, some groups are sufficiently experienced and well trained to deliver a commercial audit service, producing professional reports and recommendations. Groups may be community businesses or companies limited by guarantee, with income generated by access audits and design advice. If this is the case, it is essential that you take out Professional Indemnity Insurance cover (see below).

Consumer viewpoint

In another method of working, advice given – including the outcome of an access audit – may be provided as a ‘consumer viewpoint’ from the perspective of a disabled person. State clearly that the improvements you suggest would be of benefit to your group and the wider disabled community.

Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII)

Your group should seriously consider taking out its own insurance policy if it has not already done so. This will provide you with protection when giving access guidance or undertaking access audits for a client. Once you have completed the initial audit, it is recommended that you refer the client onto an access consultant for further advice. Access consultants – who should all have PII – have a more in-depth knowledge of construction methods, and tend to also be architects or surveyors by trade. They will be able to advise on the more complex technical, structural and design aspects of access improvements.

Other legislation

When commissioning an access audit, the client is likely to expect an understanding of the implications of legislation that ties in with access issues.

These might include:

• Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (as amended in 2005), as well as associated Codes of Practice

• Building Regulations – especially Part M (Access to and use of buildings) and Part B (Fire safety)

• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and associated guidance

• Planning legislation and guidance – such as the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, and the Town and Country Planning Act 1990

• Highways Act 1980

• Health and safety legislation – many recommendations made within audits are likely to have basic health and safety implications

• Occupier Liability Acts – a duty to take such care as is reasonable to see that visitors will be reasonably safe in using the premises for the purposes for which he is invited or permitted to be there

• Landlord and tenant duties – there are responsibilities of both parties under lease arrangements, and fairly complex issues surrounding common areas

• Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 – these are aimed at improving the overall management and coordination of health and safety of a construction project, and introduce a requirement for a health and safety plan