Is a British Standard needed to push accessibility?

The British Standards Institute developed the PAS78 - “Guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites” and although not a British Standard it does raise the profile of web accessibility.

However the BSi are developing PAS78 into a full BSi standard or rather a “family of standards” including coverage of Web 2.0. The intention of the BSi is to publish in the first quarter of 2009 which to some standards bodies is pretty quick.

So what will this mean in the UK? I would hope that the extra prestige of being able to display that you reach a British Standard will encourage more companies to take it on board. At the same time it hopefully lays some of the accessibility development myths that still knock around the web. After all the BSi have the authority to carry this through I believe.