Five years on from changes to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), disabled people remain to be convinced it has led to improvements, according to new research.

The legislation required physical amendments to be made to property to improve access for those with a ­disability. However, new research by Capability Scotland, commissioned to mark the anniversary of those changes, has found that disabled people in Scotland are three times as likely as non-disabled people to report that there has been no improvement in physical access.

Responses from carers, disabled and non-disabled people to two surveys commissioned by Capability Scotland reveal that uneven pavements, a lack of drop-kerbs and a failure to provide ramped access to buildings are persistent problems.

Despite acknowledgement of some positive improvements in shops, workplaces and other buildings, carers were twice as likely as non-disabled people to state that things had remained the same.

The research also found that while only one-third of non-disabled people recognise the use of disabled parking bays by non-disabled people as a problem, half of disabled people and carers see this as a major issue.

Capability Scotland said the figures confirmed the importance of the Disabled Persons’ Parking Places (Scotland) Act, which came into force yesterday.

Alan Dickson, Capability Scotland’s chief executive, said: “Although access to the physical environment is improving for disabled people, these results show that there is still important work to be done.

“Capability is in a unique position to highlight these issues through our research into the views and opinions of both disabled and non-disabled people.

“Gathering this knowledge is a vital part of our work in supporting disabled people to achieve full equality and have choice and control in their lives.”

Capability Scotland contracted the research organisation TNS-BMRB to find out if any tangible improvements had been made to physical access, as part of a wider opinion survey across the country. There were more than 1000 responses from adults around Scotland, 20% of whom were disabled.

Peter Stirling is both a wheelchair user and a buildings expert, with a diploma in inclusive environmental access and design. He volunteers to audit access for Capability Scotland, and works as a professional disability consultant.

“The changes made to the DDA have certainly helped improve awareness of the need for physical accessibility, but progress is still very slow in actually achieving an improved physical environment,” he said.

“Organisations are trying to move in the right direction by making what they think are reasonable changes to buildings, but by doing so without consulting disabled people themselves they are merely changing the goalposts rather than making life any easier.

“People with different impairments have individual needs, so where a wheelchair user would need a ramp to get into a building, someone with a visual impairment might prefer steps so they have somewhere clear to find their footing. Therefore, by replacing or removing steps altogether in an attempt to help

one group of disabled people, an organisation may be actually making things harder for another.

“Many organisations are also simply making the basic adjustments required to meet the minimum British Standard, but this does not take into account any external factors and should be used as a very simple base to build on. Wherever possible, organisations should be going that extra mile to make buildings as accessible as possible.”

Mark Cooper, an Edinburgh ­disability-rights campaigner, says he has also been frustrated by ill-thought-through access provision. He launched his Barred!

campaign after visiting a pub in Edinburgh which had disabled access but no disabled toilet.

The campaign seeks to have existing licensed premises audited for ­accessibility, and also wants a statement of compliance with the DDA to be part of the process for new applicants for drinks licenses.

Cooper said: “Barred! highlights that, five years on, there is still a significant need to reinforce the DDA legislation and educate people in what makes a building fully accessible.

“Many pubs think they are accessible because they have made efforts to put in a disabled toilet or an accessible entrance – though, as my experience shows, sometimes not both together.

“Where a disabled toilet is put in, other access issues may be overlooked, such as not leaving enough turning space for a wheelchair or having steps down to the toilet itself.

“Perceptions of accessibility are very different from a disabled and non-­disabled person’s point of view. I understand that it is not possible to make all buildings fully accessible, but that is why we are campaigning to highlight which ones truly are.”