There is positive accessibility news out of the UK today. In response to an earlier survey that found 80% of websites were unusable by assistive technology, The the Disability Rights Commission has sponsored a set of guidelines, created by the British Standards Institution for anyone creating a “public-facing” website. Called PAS-78, it is essentially a best-practices guide to commissioning, creating and managing accessible websites.
This quote jumped out at me:
“The DRC also points out that businesses with accessible websites are in a much better position to tap into the estimated £80bn spent by people with disabilities every year.”
Wow. That’s a little chunk of change, especially considering what is happening here in the US with the NFB lawsuit against Target.com. In light of that, the PAS-78 guide is not intended to be a legally binding document, but could be used to “force an organisation to improve the accessibility of its website.”
The PAS-78 document is available for £30.00 (why?) by contacting the British Standards Institution at orders@bsi-global.com.
Hi Matt,
Many thanks for drawing attention to PAS 78. I hope its influence will reach beyond the UK.
I was technical author on the project.
You raise a question about the price.
The PAS was commissioned by our Disability Rights Commission, which is another way of saying that DRC paid the British Standards Institution to project manage and produce the guidance, an exercise that took just over a year to complete (it’s a rigorous, consultative process).
BSI is a business. The PAS had to be paid for somehow. DRC covered most of the cost and BSI very kindly agreed to offer this PAS for sale at a reduced rate of just 30 UK pounds.
£30 is not prohibitive in my opinion. The PAS is aimed at businesses and businesses of most sizes can afford this. And this is a tiny outlay for the potential return on investment(ROI). In the UK alone the ‘disabled pound’ is estimated to be in the region of £80bn per annum.
I stress that the PAS contains nothing new if you are already well versed in accessibility and usability principles. The PAS meets an expressed need among UK businesses for a single, authoritative document that sets out a framework for commissioning accessible websites. DRC decided commissioning BSI was the most effective way of achieving this goal.
I hope this helps. It’s a very fair question, especially when the WAI guidelines (for example) are free and in the public domain.
Finally, I’m pleased to let you know that the PAS can be ordered for immediate download from the BSI website in accessible PDF format.
http://www.bsi-global.com/ICT/PAS78/
Julie
RNIB
Comment by Julie Howell (RNIB) — March 10, 2006 @ 2:34 pm
There is some discussion - at times heated - about the charge for this document (which is not £30, but £30+VAT) at: http://www.accessifyforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4798
Comment by Andy Mabbett — March 16, 2006 @ 7:48 pm