5 September 2006

UK organisations have been urged to take steps to provide better accessibility features, to comply with anti-discrimination laws.

Many websites offer poor service to disabled users, an expert has claimed.

Rupert Harwood, of the Public Interest Research Unit (PIRU), stated that the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) should take stronger action against companies which do not conform with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

"They need to go on and look at what organisations are doing," he told Out-Law.com.

"They need to take action and set an example. They should look at big organisations that should know better."

Mr Harwood commented as he published a PIRU report, suggesting that the DRC are failing to use their powers to control the accessibility of websites.

"The commissions neglecting their enforcement powers has meant abandoning some of the most vulnerable and abused people in Britain," he remarked.

The DDA states that people with visual or hearing impairments should be provided with equal access to websites as other UK residents.

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