What is accessibility planning?

Accessibility planning is a process that aims to promote social inclusion by helping people from disadvantaged groups or areas access jobs and essential services. It was introduced by "Making the Connections", the February 2003 Social Exclusion Unit report on transport and social exclusion. 'Making the Connections' emphasised that accessibility is not just about transport and can be influenced by decisions on the location, design and delivery of other services and by people's perceptions of personal safety.

Accessibility planning encourages local authorities and other agencies to assess more systematically whether people can get to places of work, healthcare facilities, education, food shops and other destinations that are important to local residents. It will also provide the framework for transport authorities and other relevant agencies to work together to develop and deliver solutions to accessibility problems depending on the particular needs and priorities of local areas. Local transport authorities that produce Local Transport Plans will be asked to take the lead at the local level, working in partnership with other others such as local planning authorities, Primary Care Trusts, Jobcentre Plus, local education authorities, local Learning and Skills Councils and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships. Solutions might include changes to the location, design and delivery of non-transport services, measures against crime and the fear of crime in and around transport, changes to pupil, patient, social services and public transport and improvements to walking and cycling networks.

The SEU report sets the framework for accessibility planning, which includes:

• An accessibility audit to identify barriers to accessibility, drawing as much as possible on information already held by local authorities and other bodies. The assessment could be through:
• • GIS-based mapping of socio-demographic information, data on deprivation, and car availability in relation to public transport routes and the location of services; complemented by
  • consultation with local communities and liaison with frontline professional and providers of services.
• A resources audit to identify the financial and other resources available for tackling these barriers and to assess whether they could be used more effectively. The resources that could be considered include spending by the local authority - for example on specialist transport, tendered bus services, concessionary fares above the statutory minimum, and funding for community transport - and spending on transport by other bodies. There is also area based central government funding that local authorities might be eligible for, such as Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and New Deal for Communities funding. The audit could also consider whether better use could be made of existing services and facilities through co-location of services or changes in opening times. It could also consider the potential for more effective use of existing resources through partnership arrangements, for example with commercial operators, crime reduction and community bodies and providers of patient transport.
• An action plan of agreed initiatives. This could include, for example, initiatives to improve physical accessibility and availability, travel advice and information, safer streets and stations, reducing the need to travel and making travel more affordable. Although the local transport authority will take the lead role, the local partners from each sector (for example planning, health, crime reduction, education) will be responsible for ensuring that their policies and programmes incorporate and take forward the actions identified for that sector in the plan.
• Monitoring . Progress in improving accessibility will be monitored through a set of local accessibility indicators.

The Department for Transport is working with local transport authorities, other government departments and local bodies in other sectors to develop the accessibility planning process in more detail. In 2004, DfT will issue guidance on accessibility planning to authorities that produce Local Transport Plans. This will include guidance on appropriate data sources and local indicators. Relevant government departments will also issue guidance on how local organisations, including those delivering welfare to work, learning, transport, land-use planning and leisure services should be involved in accessibility planning. This guidance will be informed in part by a programme of work, including a series of pilot projects, which is underway.