§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, with regard to Crown buildings, he will issue a revised circular for England and Wales on the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act, 1970, similar to that issued by the Scottish Home and Health Department; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AmeryThe Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act made mandatory what my Department has been providing for several years at Crown and other government buildings used by the public. A Joint Government Circular was issued on 17th August to all local authorities enlarging on the provisions of the Act and referring also to available design guides. A circular dealing specifically with access 367W for the disabled to Crown buildings is being issued to staff concerned within my Department.
Since 1965, the British Standards Institution has published British Standards Code of Practice CP 96: Part 1: 1967, Access for the Disabled to Building; Mr. Selwyn Goldsmith has produced a second edition of the R.I.B.A. book "Designing for the Disabled" and the R.I.B.A. has published "A Symbol for Disabled People—Symbol Application Manual". Valuable publicity and instruction was given by the pamphlet "Access to Public Buildings for the Disabled" published by the Ministry of Public Building and Works in 1965. In view of the other publications now available and the publicity given to them as a result of the Act, I have decided that revision of the pamphlet is unnecessary.