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<p>The Church of England comprises a large number of legally separate institutions,
which includes Cathedrals, Parochial Church Councils and Diocesan Boards of Finance.
Each Cathedral, as an independent legal entity, is required to comply with the Equality
Act 2010 (the “Act”) and so has a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled
persons in accordance with the requirements of the Act. This duty applies in relation
to a Cathedral chorister who has a disability for the purposes the Act (whether or
not the disability is due to a long-term medical condition). However, there is no
separate legal duty placed on cathedrals in relation to child choristers as a specific
group.</p><p> </p><p>A cathedral has a duty to make reasonable adjustments to enable
all persons with a disability to have physical access to the cathedral. As the Act
does not override other legislation, such as listed building or planning legislation,
the Church of England’s Cathedral and Church Buildings Division has produced a guidance
note for cathedrals which specifically addresses this issue: <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.churchcare.co.uk%2Fimages%2Faccess_and_disabled_people.pdF&data=02%7C01%7Csimon.stanley%40churchofengland.org%7C7f8f83476a3945a932d408d6770832c2%7C95e2463b3ab047b49ac1587c77ee84f0%7C0%7C0%7C636827274435002881&sdata=7imeo07BtD%2FGlA%2FWyQvLQIpo0BL6cM%2FRwHm%2BKz6OYc0%3D&reserved=0"
target="_blank">http://www.churchcare.co.uk/images/access_and_disabled_people.pdF</a>.
Common reasonable adjustments made by cathedrals include the removal of pews to allow
greater flexibility of seating and use of space and the addition of ramps and/or the
levelling of internal floors.</p><p> </p><p>The duty to make reasonable adjustments
under the Act rests with individual cathedrals. What constitutes reasonable adjustment
in the situation of choristers will depend on the nature of the particular disability
and what may be considered to be reasonable in the circumstances. I understand that
several cathedrals have successfully integrated choristers with disabilities into
their choirs.</p>
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