Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that retailers are using payment card reader technology that is accessible to people who are blind or partially-sighted.

The disability provisions in the Equality Act 2010 require providers of services and facilities to the public to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ so that disabled people are not placed at a “substantial disadvantage” compared to non-disabled people.

The reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty because it is owed to disabled people in general. This means that people who provide goods, services and facilities to members of the public are expected to anticipate the requirements of disabled customers and the adjustments that may have to be made for them.

The Act has reinforced the legal responsibility for all businesses to cater for disabled customers—and this includes accepting a chip and signature card. Retailers who take card payments are obliged to accept chip and signature cards.

Anyone who feels that they may have suffered unlawful discrimination may wish to contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service, which offers free advice to people across, England, Scotland and Wales. The service can be contact by Freephone on 0808 800 0082 or via its website at https://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/.