THE government minister for disabled people says she wants to reassure businessmen and women who are worried that complying with the Disability Discrimination Act will cost big money.

Maria Eagle, speaking exclusively to the Journal, said businesses and other organisations were charged with making "reasonable adjustments" and these might not necessarily involve physical alterations to buildings.

They might involve fitting a hearing loop, for example, to make things easier for deaf people and those with hearing impairments, and many of these adjustments would not be costly.

Ms Eagle said legislation to improve the lot of disabled people was a Labour manifesto commitment and one in which the party believed most strongly.

"We are talking about 9.8 million adults," she said.

"In Salisbury 15 per cent of the population cannot access what the rest of us take for granted because of barriers.

"These barriers may be physical or ones of attitude.

"Disabled people have been excluded for too long and if we want a fair society, we need to address that.

"And if we want an efficient society we need to address that.

"Take businesses in Salisbury: if 15 per cent of the population cannot get access to their services, that's a big missed business opportunity and there's no sense to it.

"This act represents a win/win situation."

Ms Eagle explained that the law required "reasonable adjustments".

"It's not setting standards that will drive people out of business," she said, "It is much more adaptable legislation.

"People have to put on their thinking caps and work out what can be done at a reasonable cost.

"A lot of things are simple and can be done easily - grab rails, for example.

"If you cannot afford a ramp, you can afford a grab rail.

"It's about making improvements, not gold standards."

She went on: "Speak to disabled groups - do not start spending money until you have a good idea of what disabled people want.

"Most disabled people will approve of anything that is being done to help them, so do something!

"Any court will credit you for thinking about the issue and doing something about it.

"And remember, only five per cent of disabled people are in wheelchairs - there are other sorts of mobility impairments."

She said the test of what was reasonable would depend on the size of the organisation and its available resources.

"Woolworth's would be expected to do more than the corner shop," she said.

She turned to the business people in south Wiltshire whose enterprises occupy listed buildings.

She said she understood they were worried that alterations to these buildings will prove difficult and very costly.

Ms Eagle said: "The act does not override the listed building status of a building and, again, the key is thinking about what can be done.

"Listed buildings have been made accessible without spoiling them.

"We advise owners to get proper advice from the planning authority."

She added that the law required "services to be accessible", so the services themselves could be provided in a different way.

"Take a museum," she said, "People unable to access the upper floors could go on a 'virtual tour' of the upstairs rooms."

Ms Eagle said the government was not making any specific grants available to organisations to help them bear the costs of making alterations.

But, she said, applications for lottery funding were unlikely to succeed without disabled facilities being provided.

"By the time October comes around, this law will have been on the statute book for nine years," she said.

"Just think about pubs or franchise operations - how many times have they been refurbished in that time?

"No-one will be driven out of business by this legislation - it's about customer service."