§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will outline the measures taken, facilities offered and adjustments made in his Department and agencies for which he is responsible to facilitate access for disabled people; what plans he has to improve access; and if he will make a statement. [18591]
§ Mr. HoramThe Cabinet Office, the Central Office of Information and Her Majesty's Stationery Office have all appointed departmental disabled persons' officers, DDPOs. The DDPOs each work closely with their respective accommodation services to ensure that they are aware of the needs of disabled staff and visitors.
The London estate of the Cabinet Office consists, largely, of historic listed buildings which were not designed with the needs of disabled people in mind. In the light of this the Cabinet Office has commissioned an "access survey" for its London buildings to determine how they can he made more accessible within the constraints imposed by listed building regulations
For each of my Department's buildings, for which we are the major occupier, a number of measures have been taken to improve access and facilities for the disabled 1200W within the rolling programmes of building works and refurbishment. These include: provision of designated car parking spaces where car parks exist; introduction of braille buttons in lifts; provision of toilets for the disabled wherever possible within constraints of building lay-out and lease provisions; access ramps to entrances where practical, and availability of escorts within buildings to help visitors who are visually impaired.
We will continue to build on this approach.