Guidelines
for an accessible
public administration
Towards full participation and equality
for people with disability
Office of the Disability Ombudsman
Office of the Disability Ombudsman (HO)
Title: Guidelines for an accessible public administration
Towards full participation and equality for people with disability
ISBN number: 91-974759-0-4
Layout: FotoskriftAB, Uttran
Translation: James Hurst, English Law Translations AB
This publication can be ordered from the Office of the Disability Ombudsman. It can also be ordered in alternative formats.
The document (in Word and PDF format) can be downloaded
from the Office of the Disability Ombudsman’s website:
Postal address: Handikappombudsmannen (Office of the Disability Ombudsman),
Box 49132,
100 29 Stockholm
E-mail:
Fax: +46-8-20 43 53, telephone: +46-8-20 17 70,
Text telephone: +46-8-21 39 39, mobile telephone: +46-70-555 11 58
number for SMS: +46-70-555 11 58[BK1]
Foreword
Public administration exists for all citizens.
In order to make this a reality for people with disability, the authorities must be accessible. ‘Accessible’ means that people with disability can, on equal terms as others, benefit from the operations and services provided by the authorities. It is equally important that government authorities set an example as employers.
Another important point of departure is the ‘Design for All’ concept. This means that products, services and environments should be designed so that they can be used by as many as possible. Regardless of whether it is a house being built or a website designed, the point of departure should be that the intellectual and functional capacity of people varies.
The Government has issued a special assignment to government authorities to improve accessibility. It is specified by Ordinance 2001:526 that they shall “work particularly to ensure that their premises, operations and information are accessible to people with disability”. In order to achieve this, the authorities must draw up inventories and prepare action plans.
The National Accessibility Centre of the Swedish Office of the Disability Ombudsman (HO), has, in accordance with the Government’s assignment, produced Guidelines for what is required to make public administration accessible. These Guidelines constitute a guide for the authorities in their work towards becoming accessible. They also form the basis of the Office of the Disability Ombudsman’s follow-up on compliance with the Ordinance.
The Guidelines have been formulated so that they can be used by all authorities. But each authority must interpret what the new accessibility requirements means for it and how accessibility can be improved. According to the Government and the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament) the ‘principle of responsibility and financing’ will be complied with.
This means that the work to make the authority accessible must be financed within ordinary Government appropriations and loan frameworks.
The National Accessibility Centre at the Office of the Disability Ombudsman will in various ways support authorities in this process towards accessible public administration.
The Guidelines will therefore be improved and supplemented continuously.
Lars Lööw Hans von Axelson
The Office of theThe National Accessibility Centre
Disability Ombudsman
Contents
Foreword / 3Contents / 5
Summary / 9
The State should set an example / 13
The new disability policy / 13
Authorities in the service of citizens / 14
Authorities as employers / 14
Guidelines – the route towards accessible authorities / 15
1. / Guidelines for work processes / 18
1.1 / Distribution of responsibility / 18
1.1.1 / Integration of the accessibility perspective / 18
1.2 / Action plan for accessibility / 19
1.2.1 / Policy / 19
1.2.2 / Inventory / 19
1.2.3 / Analysis and prioritisation / 20
1.2.4 / Plan for measures / 20
1.2.5 / Follow-up and evaluation / 21
1.3 / Procurement / 21
1.4 / Development of skills / 22
1.4.1 / Key people / 22
1.4.2 / All staff / 22
2. / Guidelines for communication and information / 24
2.1 / Telephone calls / 24
2.1.1 / Voice response systems / 24
2.1.2 / Taltjänst (Speech service) and Teletal (Speech interpretation service) / 25
2.1.3 / Text telephones / 26
2.1.4 / Video telephony service / 26
2.1.5 / Total Conversation / 27
2.2 / Correspondence and communications / 28
2.2.1 / Letters / 28
2.2.2 / Faxes / 28
2.2.3 / E-mail / 29
2.2.4 / SMS / 29
2.2.5 / Standard forms / 29
2.3 / Written information / 30
2.3.1 / Accessible language / 31
2.3.2 / Accessible layout / 31
2.3.3 / Accessible format and versions / 33
2.3.4 / Information about information material / 34
2.4 / Web and e-services / 35
2.4.1 / WAI’s Guidelines / 35
2.5 / Film and video / 37
2.6 / Conferences / 38
3. / Guidelines for premises / 40
3.1 / Accessible premises / 40
3.1.1 / Laws and rules / 40
3.1.2 / Existing buildings / 41
3.1.3 / Prioritisation / 43
3.1.4 / Reading instructions / 44
3.2 / Design of premises / 45
3.2.1 / Getting to the entrance / 45
3.2.2 / Getting through the entrance / 48
3.2.3 / Getting around inside the building / 51
3.2.4 / Staying in and using the building / 55
3.2.5 / Entrance halls / 58
3.2.6 / Assembly halls, auditoriums, lecture halls / 61
3.2.7 / Meeting rooms, group rooms, classrooms / 65
3.2.8 / Dining rooms, cafeterias, lunchrooms / 66
3.2.9 / Toilets / 66
3.2.10 / Patios adjacent to work premises / 71
3.2.11 / Evacuation in case of emergency / 72
3.3 / Detailed general overall requirements / 74
3.3.1 / Orientatability / 74
3.3.2 / Signs / 77
3.3.3 / Daylight and illumination / 80
3.3.4 / Safe mobility / 82
3.3.5 / Walkways / 86
3.3.6 / Ramps / 89
3.3.7 / Lifts / 91
3.3.8 / Doors / 96
3.3.9 / Manoeuvring devices / 100
3.3.10 / Fittings and equipment / 103
3.4 / Maintenance and routines / 110
4. / Guidelines for the workplace / 113
4.1 / Personnel policy / 114
4.1.1 / Recruitment / 114
4.1.2 / Promotion / 115
4.1.3 / In-house training / 115
4.1.4 / Prohibition against discrimination / 115
4.2 / Work premises / 116
4.3 / Office equipment / 117
4.3.1 / General requirements for office equipment / 119
4.3.2 / Computers / 122
4.3.3 / Keyboards / 123
4.3.4 / Visual display terminals/displays / 123
4.3.5 / Pointing devices / 124
4.3.6 / Printers, faxes and copiers / 124
4.3.7 / Other equipment / 125
4.3.8 / Software / 125
4.3.9 / Intranet / 126
4.3.10 / Telephone apparatus / 126
4.3.11 / User instructions / 130
Glossary and abbreviations / 131
Index / 133
Bibliography / 141
Printed sources / 141
Electronic sources / 142
Standards / 144
Expert groups / 147
Summary
Authorities will endeavour to promote full participation and equality in society for people with disability. They must work particularly to make their premises, operations and information accessible to people with disability. This has been prescribed by the Government in a special Ordinance (2001:526).
At an accessible authority, people with various kinds of disability will be able to gain access to information and operations and will also be able to work. But what is such an authority like and how does it function?
The Office of the Disability Ombudsman (HO) has been commissioned by the Government to produce Guidelines for an accessible public administration. The proposals were circulated to authorities and organisations of people with disability for consultation and then revised.
The Guidelines affect among other things authorities’ information and communication, premises and office equipment and also personnel policy. They also deal with how authorities can work towards becoming accessible.
The State should set an example
In the spring of 2000, the Riksdag adopted a new action plan for disability policy From patient to citizen (Government Bill 1999/2000:79). The core of this is that society should be designed so that people with disability can become fully participative.
Making society accessible involves removing the obstacles that exist. It also involves designing products, services and environments so that as many people as possible can use them.
The public administration sector is to ensure that the prescribed policy is realised. It is also obvious that we must ‘practise what we preach’. The State should set an example.
Visits and contacts
The public has contact with authorities in various ways, for example by telephone or letter, when a matter is being processed or a standard form is to be completed. This contact can also occur through personal visits.
Every authority is responsible for people with disability being able to communicate with the authority on equal terms with others. It should be possible for a person with a hearing impairment to contact the authority by text telephone. It should be possible for a person with a visual impairment to receive a written reply or a standard form in Braille.
Information
Authorities use various channels to disseminate information, for example printed information material, websites and conferences.
A person with a visual impairment may wish to obtain a document recorded on a cassette. A person with a developmental disability should be able to get the same information in easy-to-read Swedish. If a website is designed in the right way, a person who is blind can also surf and search for information.
If necessary, it should be possible for a person to order and obtain printed information material from the authority in another format. Authorities that have a lot of contact with the public should have their basic information translated into easy-to-read Swedish, sign-interpreted and recorded on a cassette and/or in Daisy format (recorded on a special CD).
Premises
In order to enable people with disability to visit the authority, its premises must be accessible. It should be possible for people using wheelchairs to get into the premises. Doorways must be sufficiently wide and there should be ramps at stairs, for example. It should also be possible for people with impaired vision to orientate themselves and meeting rooms should be equipped with an induction loop.
Working at the authority
It should be possible for employees with disability to work at the authority on equal terms. Recruitment, promotion and in-house training must be arranged so that no one is discriminated against. It is therefore a precondition that a disability perspective forms part of the authority’s personnel and diversity policies.
In order for people with disability to be able to work at the authority, it must be generally accessible. It may also be necessary to adapt individual workstations.
How to make the authority accessible
The head of the authority is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the authority becomes accessible. How successful the work will be depends on having a management that is goal-orientated, committed and clear. It is also important to allocate sufficient resources and that the work reaches out throughout the entire organisation.
Action plan
The Government has resolved that authorities should draw up inventories and prepare action plans.
The inventories of premises, information and operations form the basis for being able to make a plan for measures. Some measures should be prioritised, for example advising the public by telephone, e-mail and the Internet and designing the entrance. Certain measures can be taken in conjunction with maintenance work or work environment initiatives.
The action plan should also contain plans for follow-ups and assessments.
The action plan must be regularly updated, partly because technology, environments and products are continuously being developed.
Procurement
The accessibility aspect must be integrated into the authority’s procurement work. Otherwise there is a risk that new obstacles will be created when inaccessible products and services are bought. There is a great risk that retroactive rectification of deficiencies will be both expensive and poor.
Development of skills
Increased knowledge is required by all staff in order for the authority to become accessible. Employees with key functions, for example property services and IT officers as well as receptionists and caseworkers who have a lot of contact with the public, need special targeted training.
The State should set an example
The new disability policy
In the spring of 2000, the Riksdag adopted a new action plan for disability policy: From patient to citizen (Government Bill 1999/2000:79). The core of this plan is that society should be designed so that people with disability can become fully participative.
Today, people with disability are excluded from large parts of society. Much of this involves everyday life. For instance, in some cases it is not possible to get an education or a job, there are impediments to seeking information or going to a restaurant or cinema.
To make society accessible involves the removal of obstacles that exist. This applies to everything from high thresholds and narrow doorways that exclude people using wheelchairs, to brochures and websites that exclude those who do not have perfect vision and very good reading skills.
The public administration sector must ensure that the prescribed policy is realised. It is therefore inherent that the public administration sector also sets a good example. Government authorities must “work specially to ensure that their premises, operations and information are accessible to people with disability”. The Government has prescribed this by means of a special Ordinance (2001:526), which came into effect on 1 September 2001.
Disability Policy (Responsibility of National Authorities for Implementation) Ordinance (2001:526).
Implementation of disability policy objectives
Clause 1 The disability policy objectives shall be considered by authorities reporting to the Government when designing and conducting their operations. The authorities shall work to ensure that people with disability are afforded full participation in the life of the community and equality of conditions of life. The authorities shall in particular work to ensure that their premises, operations and information are accessible to people with disability.
The United Nations’ Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities shall constitute guidance for this work.
Planning and consultation
Clause 2 In working to make their premises, operations and information more accessible to people with disability, the authorities shall draw up inventories and prepare action plans. However, this obligation does not apply if it is manifestly unnecessary considering the nature of the operation.
Clause 3 The authorities shall, when there is cause to do so, consult with the Office of the Disability Ombudsman on the design of initiatives under this Ordinance.
Authorities in the service of citizens
The public has contact with the authorities in various ways. It may be by telephone or letter when a matter is being processed and the authority is making a decision. It may be by a standard form that has to be completed, a personal visit to the authority’s premises, participation in a course organised by the authority or enjoying a cultural experience arranged by the authority. It may also involve information from the authority, for example in a brochure or on a website.
People with disability have the same rights as everyone else to communicate with an authority, visit it or gain access to its information. Every authority is responsible for making this possible.
Authorities as employers
It should be possible for people with disability to work at the authority on equal terms with others. One precondition for this is that the workplace and the operations are accessible, that technical aids are available and that the work is arranged in an appropriate manner. This also applies to how recruitment of new personnel is conducted.
The responsibility of an authority as an employer is regulated by, among other things, the Work Environment Act and the Prohibition of Discrimination in Working Life of People with Disability Act.
By employing people with disability, the authority can benefit from their unique experience and thereby improve its service for all citizens.
Guidelines – the route towards accessible authorities
These Guidelines provide the authority with a guide to what is necessary for the operation to become accessible to and usable by all people with disability. This should be viewed as a source of knowledge on how the authority should satisfy the Disability Policy (Responsibility of National Authorities for Implementation) Ordinance (2001:526).
The document opens with guidelines for an approach for the authority’s work processes. Following these, there are guidelines for various areas: communication and information, the premises and the workplace.
Design for All means that products, services and environments must be designed so that they can be used by as many people as possible.
Accessible and usable are two concepts that are often used when people with disability can participate on equal terms with others. In this document, we use accessible as a comprehensive term for both accessible and usable.[1]
Accessibility work is a process that must be planned from the perspective of time. Certain changes will, for example, require new equipment or new premises. The requirement must then be proposed at the procurement stage. In the same way, it is appropriate that the planning of certain measures for accessibility is coordinated with other work environment improvements, such as, for example, renovation and reconstruction. The use of so-called ‘while we’re at it measures’ are an efficient means of reducing costs.
In certain cases the proposed measures may possibly be difficult to implement because of cultural, historical and architectural values, various environmental and building structural conditions or safety aspects. However, there are many good examples illustrating that it is possible to consider other important features of an existing building at the same time as making it accessible.
Certain measures may be difficult to rectify owing to the market not yet having adopted the concept ‘Design for All’. Although it may be technically possible and although there are sometimes standards for the production of products that satisfy the accessibility requirements, these products are not yet available to purchase. As demand increases, so will the range of products on offer.
Until the operation is accessible in its entirety, temporary solutions may be acceptable. One such alternative solution may be to rent accessible premises for a conference instead of using the authority’s own, inaccessible premises. It is important to set a time limit on these temporary solutions within the authority’s plan for measures for accessibility.
Accessible premises, information and communication are necessary for the operation to become accessible. But this is not always sufficient. Issues concerning how the authority deals with people with disability are also important from an accessibility perspective. These issues are dealt with in the book Responding to persons with disability – a national programme to improve responsive competence, issued by the National Agency for Special Educational Support, SISUS.
The authorities’ tasks are very different. Consequently, each authority must apply the Guidelines in relation to its operation and consider solutions and methods that will make the operation accessible to all. For example, this applies to museums that wish to provide experiences and promote culture. For example, concrete guidelines to enhance the opportunity for severely visually impaired people to participate in an exhibition are not provided here.
Nor do these Guidelines deal with the issue of accessible transport, which is an important issue for people with disability. The Guidelines primarily cover everything that directly relates to government authorities’ own operations.
1. Guidelines for work processes
1.1 Distribution of responsibility
The head of the authority is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the authority becomes accessible. In order for all employees to be aware of the accessibility requirement and of their own responsibility in their work, senior management must communicate its message clearly. Measures and results should be reported back to the head of the authority.