Hi, my name is RichardC123!

RichardC123

Hi there, Im new to all this and have a question. I am a church member and I use a walker and usually are seated in the front row for ease of access however today as a baptism was a was a part of the service I was told that I could not sit at the front as those seats were reserved and was moved to a back pew were we just about managed to fit my foldable walker into one of the pews so my question is is this a violation of the disability act 2010? We also have another disabled parishioner who uses an unfoldable scooter luckily they didnt come today otherwise they would have had real problems..

Alex_Alumni

Hello and welcome to you @RichardC123 and thanks for reaching out. I'm sorry to hear about the access issues you're facing at your church. Pews certainly aren't the worlds most accessible seating!

The Equality Act 2010 mandates that employers and education providers have a duty to put in place reasonable adjustments, to help make the environment and practice more accessible for disabled people.

I'm unsure whether or not the church would be covered here, but I do feel this duty extends to customers in a shop for example, so it would make sense that the church would have a responsibility to make it's services as accessible as possible too.

Whether it's a violation or not, disabled people's access should never be considered as a 'nice to have' or something of an afterthought, as it feeds into the harmful narrative that we are less valued by society as a whole. 

Have you been able to discuss your church's current solution to provide seating with more space for walking aids, and what happens in the event that those front rows are prioritised for certain events? It might be a good idea to chat about what happened today, and how it made you feel. 

Let us know how things go for you, and I hope you can give your church some constructive feedback, and that they can do something proactive for you!  

Wilshyboy

I am virtually housebound and have to use a wheelchair to go any distance,so when i do go to a church for a wedding or funeral i get to a seat and someone will store the chair out of the way till the end of the service could you not have done the same for this one time, I'm sure somebody would be willing to help. So in answer to your question i very much doubt it.