Make Disability Discrimination Reportable: We Need a National Accessibility Hotline
The Issue
We demand a national disability access reporting service and real enforcement of the Equality Act 2010
To the UK Government and the Secretary of State responsible for disability rights:
Imagine being told you can attend a party, a live music event or a social club, but you cannot use the toilet, cannot get through the doors, or cannot come inside at all. Imagine being told you can sit outside in the garden instead, while everyone else enjoys the warmth, entertainment and company indoors.
Now imagine this happening repeatedly, with nobody willing to take responsibility and nowhere clear to turn for help.
This is the reality for disabled people across England. And it needs to change.
We are disabled people, not second-class citizens.
My husband and I are both wheelchair users. Like everyone else, we want to enjoy a night out, attend parties, listen to live music, socialise with friends and participate in our local communities.
Instead, we repeatedly encounter venues that exclude us because they have failed to provide suitable access and facilities.
One local social club has no accessible toilet, and its internal doors are too narrow for my wheelchair. My husband's wheelchair only just fits through. If we attend, I have to leave my wheelchair in the foyer and struggle with walking sticks, putting myself through considerable pain and risk of falls just to use the facilities. My husband has to leave the venue entirely if he needs the toilet.
The club has been claiming it cannot afford accessibility adjustments since 2018. Yet it is now fundraising for air conditioning. We understand that businesses face financial pressures, but why are disabled people's basic needs continually pushed aside?
Another venue we wanted to visit hosted live music and club nights. When we raised the issue of accessibility with the owner, we were told:
"Well, the wheelchairs can get in, can't they?"
When we explained that venues serving customers should take accessible toilet facilities seriously, the response was that it cost too much and nobody was going to make them do it.
And now, we have been told that if we want to attend an upcoming Halloween party, we cannot come inside the venue, there is no accessible toilet, and we can simply sit outside in the garden instead.
In November. In the evening. In the cold and potentially wet weather.
Everyone else gets to enjoy the party indoors. We are expected to accept being left outside.
That is not meaningful inclusion. It is exclusion with an invitation attached.
These are not just inconveniences. They affect our dignity, independence, physical wellbeing, social lives and mental health. They mean having to calculate whether attending an event will leave us in pain, whether we will have access to a toilet, or whether we will be humiliated by being treated as an afterthought.
And we know we are not alone.
The Equality Act 2010 must mean something in practice.
The Equality Act 2010 places duties on service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. These duties can include changes to policies, the provision of auxiliary aids and services, and changes to physical features where reasonable.
However, enforcing these rights can be an exhausting, confusing and expensive process. Disabled people are often left to challenge businesses themselves, navigate complex legal procedures and shoulder the burden of proving that they have been discriminated against.
There is no straightforward, dedicated national reporting service that enables disabled people to report general accessibility failures by private venues and businesses and have those concerns investigated through a consistent enforcement process.
Telling disabled people that they have rights is not enough if exercising those rights is inaccessible in itself.
A right that cannot be practically enforced is a right that too many people will continue to be denied.
We should not have to become legal experts, find money for legal advice or risk confrontation with a business simply to enjoy the same everyday experiences as everyone else.
Nor should businesses be able to repeatedly dismiss legitimate accessibility concerns without meaningful scrutiny.
What we are demanding
We call on the UK Government to introduce a national disability access reporting and enforcement system for England, with the following measures:
1. A national disability access hotline and online reporting service
Create a clear, accessible, well-publicised service where disabled people can report venues and businesses that appear to be failing to meet their duties under the Equality Act 2010.
Reports should be possible by telephone and online, with accessible communication options for people who cannot use standard reporting methods.
2. Real investigations and meaningful enforcement
Establish a clear process for assessing reports, investigating persistent or serious accessibility failures, and referring cases to the appropriate enforcement body or legal process.
Where failures are established, businesses should face proportionate consequences and be required to take appropriate corrective action. Repeated refusal to comply should not simply be ignored.
3. Practical support for disabled people
Provide independent advice, accessible guidance and assistance to people reporting discrimination, including help understanding their rights, gathering evidence and identifying the appropriate route to resolution.
Disabled people should not be left to fight these battles alone.
4. Clear accessibility standards and accountability
Require businesses and venues to understand their legal responsibilities, assess barriers to access and make reasonable adjustments where required.
Provide practical guidance on matters such as accessible toilets, door widths, internal circulation, seating, communication and participation in events. Make it easier for the public to understand what a venue offers and how accessibility concerns can be raised.
5. Transparency about complaints and outcomes
Publish regular information about accessibility complaints, investigations, outcomes and enforcement action, while protecting people's privacy.
The Government should be able to demonstrate whether the system is working, where the biggest barriers remain and what action is being taken to address them.
6. Proper recognition of the impact of exclusion
Accessibility must mean more than getting through the front door. It must mean being able to participate in the experience with dignity, safety and as much independence as reasonably possible.
A venue is not meaningfully accessible to someone who cannot use its facilities, move around its premises or participate in its events on an equal basis.
This is about equality, dignity and belonging.
Disabled people pay to attend events, buy food and drinks, support local businesses and contribute to their communities. We deserve to be treated as customers and human beings, not as inconveniences whose needs can be dismissed.
We are not asking for every building to be transformed overnight regardless of cost or practicality. The law already recognises the concept of reasonable adjustments. We are asking for businesses to take their responsibilities seriously, for accessibility failures to be assessed fairly, and for there to be a clear and effective way to report problems and seek action.
We are asking for the Government to stop leaving disabled people to shoulder the burden alone.
We want to go to a party without being told to sit outside. We want to enjoy live music without worrying about whether we can use a toilet. We want to visit our local social club without being forced to endure pain or sacrifice our independence. We want to make plans with friends without having to investigate every doorway, facility and potential humiliation beforehand.
Most of all, we want to feel that we belong.
Please sign this petition and call on the Government to establish a national disability access reporting service, strengthen enforcement of the Equality Act 2010 and ensure that accessibility failures receive the attention they deserve.
Disabled people have waited long enough.
We are not asking for special treatment.
We are asking for equal treatment, dignity and the right to participate in everyday life.
26
The Issue
We demand a national disability access reporting service and real enforcement of the Equality Act 2010
To the UK Government and the Secretary of State responsible for disability rights:
Imagine being told you can attend a party, a live music event or a social club, but you cannot use the toilet, cannot get through the doors, or cannot come inside at all. Imagine being told you can sit outside in the garden instead, while everyone else enjoys the warmth, entertainment and company indoors.
Now imagine this happening repeatedly, with nobody willing to take responsibility and nowhere clear to turn for help.
This is the reality for disabled people across England. And it needs to change.
We are disabled people, not second-class citizens.
My husband and I are both wheelchair users. Like everyone else, we want to enjoy a night out, attend parties, listen to live music, socialise with friends and participate in our local communities.
Instead, we repeatedly encounter venues that exclude us because they have failed to provide suitable access and facilities.
One local social club has no accessible toilet, and its internal doors are too narrow for my wheelchair. My husband's wheelchair only just fits through. If we attend, I have to leave my wheelchair in the foyer and struggle with walking sticks, putting myself through considerable pain and risk of falls just to use the facilities. My husband has to leave the venue entirely if he needs the toilet.
The club has been claiming it cannot afford accessibility adjustments since 2018. Yet it is now fundraising for air conditioning. We understand that businesses face financial pressures, but why are disabled people's basic needs continually pushed aside?
Another venue we wanted to visit hosted live music and club nights. When we raised the issue of accessibility with the owner, we were told:
"Well, the wheelchairs can get in, can't they?"
When we explained that venues serving customers should take accessible toilet facilities seriously, the response was that it cost too much and nobody was going to make them do it.
And now, we have been told that if we want to attend an upcoming Halloween party, we cannot come inside the venue, there is no accessible toilet, and we can simply sit outside in the garden instead.
In November. In the evening. In the cold and potentially wet weather.
Everyone else gets to enjoy the party indoors. We are expected to accept being left outside.
That is not meaningful inclusion. It is exclusion with an invitation attached.
These are not just inconveniences. They affect our dignity, independence, physical wellbeing, social lives and mental health. They mean having to calculate whether attending an event will leave us in pain, whether we will have access to a toilet, or whether we will be humiliated by being treated as an afterthought.
And we know we are not alone.
The Equality Act 2010 must mean something in practice.
The Equality Act 2010 places duties on service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. These duties can include changes to policies, the provision of auxiliary aids and services, and changes to physical features where reasonable.
However, enforcing these rights can be an exhausting, confusing and expensive process. Disabled people are often left to challenge businesses themselves, navigate complex legal procedures and shoulder the burden of proving that they have been discriminated against.
There is no straightforward, dedicated national reporting service that enables disabled people to report general accessibility failures by private venues and businesses and have those concerns investigated through a consistent enforcement process.
Telling disabled people that they have rights is not enough if exercising those rights is inaccessible in itself.
A right that cannot be practically enforced is a right that too many people will continue to be denied.
We should not have to become legal experts, find money for legal advice or risk confrontation with a business simply to enjoy the same everyday experiences as everyone else.
Nor should businesses be able to repeatedly dismiss legitimate accessibility concerns without meaningful scrutiny.
What we are demanding
We call on the UK Government to introduce a national disability access reporting and enforcement system for England, with the following measures:
1. A national disability access hotline and online reporting service
Create a clear, accessible, well-publicised service where disabled people can report venues and businesses that appear to be failing to meet their duties under the Equality Act 2010.
Reports should be possible by telephone and online, with accessible communication options for people who cannot use standard reporting methods.
2. Real investigations and meaningful enforcement
Establish a clear process for assessing reports, investigating persistent or serious accessibility failures, and referring cases to the appropriate enforcement body or legal process.
Where failures are established, businesses should face proportionate consequences and be required to take appropriate corrective action. Repeated refusal to comply should not simply be ignored.
3. Practical support for disabled people
Provide independent advice, accessible guidance and assistance to people reporting discrimination, including help understanding their rights, gathering evidence and identifying the appropriate route to resolution.
Disabled people should not be left to fight these battles alone.
4. Clear accessibility standards and accountability
Require businesses and venues to understand their legal responsibilities, assess barriers to access and make reasonable adjustments where required.
Provide practical guidance on matters such as accessible toilets, door widths, internal circulation, seating, communication and participation in events. Make it easier for the public to understand what a venue offers and how accessibility concerns can be raised.
5. Transparency about complaints and outcomes
Publish regular information about accessibility complaints, investigations, outcomes and enforcement action, while protecting people's privacy.
The Government should be able to demonstrate whether the system is working, where the biggest barriers remain and what action is being taken to address them.
6. Proper recognition of the impact of exclusion
Accessibility must mean more than getting through the front door. It must mean being able to participate in the experience with dignity, safety and as much independence as reasonably possible.
A venue is not meaningfully accessible to someone who cannot use its facilities, move around its premises or participate in its events on an equal basis.
This is about equality, dignity and belonging.
Disabled people pay to attend events, buy food and drinks, support local businesses and contribute to their communities. We deserve to be treated as customers and human beings, not as inconveniences whose needs can be dismissed.
We are not asking for every building to be transformed overnight regardless of cost or practicality. The law already recognises the concept of reasonable adjustments. We are asking for businesses to take their responsibilities seriously, for accessibility failures to be assessed fairly, and for there to be a clear and effective way to report problems and seek action.
We are asking for the Government to stop leaving disabled people to shoulder the burden alone.
We want to go to a party without being told to sit outside. We want to enjoy live music without worrying about whether we can use a toilet. We want to visit our local social club without being forced to endure pain or sacrifice our independence. We want to make plans with friends without having to investigate every doorway, facility and potential humiliation beforehand.
Most of all, we want to feel that we belong.
Please sign this petition and call on the Government to establish a national disability access reporting service, strengthen enforcement of the Equality Act 2010 and ensure that accessibility failures receive the attention they deserve.
Disabled people have waited long enough.
We are not asking for special treatment.
We are asking for equal treatment, dignity and the right to participate in everyday life.
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Petition created on 28 October 2026