Commons committee proposed practical steps toward a more accessible Parliament
A December 2025 report addressed buildings, voting practices and clearer public explanations of parliamentary work.
News report
The UK House of Commons Modernisation Committee published recommendations on parliamentary accessibility on December 11, 2025. Its report addressed the physical estate, procedures affecting disabled MPs and the language used to explain Parliament to the public.
The cross-party inquiry began on March 20, 2025, with a call for views about disability access and understandable parliamentary terminology. The final report drew on seven oral evidence sessions, 24 witnesses and additional meetings and written submissions.
Recommendations included external advice on accessibility, annual reporting on progress against accessibility audits and wider use of accessible formats. The committee also proposed expanding glossaries and guides so that procedural language could be understood beyond people already familiar with parliamentary work.
The report recognized steps already under way, including a Members Accessibility Group and efforts to centralize information about reasonable adjustments. Other proposals concerned deferred voting, seating arrangements and the experience of visitors in the public gallery.
The committee produced its own summary in Easy Read, British Sign Language, large print and audio, putting accessibility into the publication process as well as the recommendations. The report asked the House administration to respond and identified matters requiring action by other bodies. Publication established the committee's conclusions, not automatic implementation of every proposal. The dated record provides a basis for following institutional responses and assessing which changes were subsequently adopted.
Sources
- Commons Modernisation Committee: accessibility report — 2025-12-11
- Commons Modernisation Committee: inquiry launch — 2025-03-20