DISABLED organisations have urged Ministers to rethink changes to building regulations which they say will undermine progress in improving the accessibility of homes.

Two leading charities said the reforms would unpick provisions which ensure new homes can easily accommodate accessible toilets, lifts, handrails and wheelchair access. Most were only introduced when the regulations were last changed in 2007.

Critics say ministers have caved in to lobbying from construction firms who resent the additional cost of meeting the requirements.

These include rules which ensure toilets have spaces adjacent which can be easily opened up to convert them for accessibility and walls are robust enough to enable the installation of hand-rails.

Campaigners say the changes could decrease the accessibility of 45,000 new build properties over the next five years, at a time when they are needed more than ever.

They say homes which are adaptable need to become the norm, as many are likely to have to meet the needs of families with children, older and disabled people, over the lifetime of a building.

However a Scottish Government consultation which has just closed suggests the regulations requiring options for accessible toilets, lifts and wider doors to bathrooms are no longer necessary and should be removed.

Disabled groups said the timing was puzzling given government policy is to ensure more disabled and older people can be looked after at home.

Grant Carson, director of employment and housing at Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living, said "These changes potentially undermine a number of Scottish Government strategic priorities. With the number of older people increasing in our society we need to be building flexible houses so that we start to address past failure to design and build accessible housing to meet the needs of families with children, older and disabled people."

Robert Ferguson, disability access officer for Scottish Disability Equality Forum, said: "Disabled people consistently tell us that access to suitable housing is a major issue for them. Accessible housing has a major role to play in containing public expenditure, for example, by enabling suitable care to be provided to people in their own homes rather than admitting them to hospital.

"Scottish building regulations must therefore be robust enough to ensure that the quality and quantity of accessible and adaptable housing continues to increase."