The National Commission, Persons with Disability, said today that complaints about lack of accessibility increased by 76 per cent last year compared to previous years.

Commission chairman Joseph Camilleri, speaking about the commission's annual report on the implementation of the Equal Opportunities Act, said that just over half of the complaints were against the government, with a substantial number against local councils.

The total number of new complaints last year was 172.

16 per cent of complaints were against the Church. He said that while there had been an improvement in accessibility to churches in Malta, much remained to be done in Gozo.

Mr Camilleri attributed the increase in complaints to the fact that people with disability were becoming more aware of their rights.

He said that the private sector appeared to be improving accessibility for persons with disability.

An area of concern, he said, was that despite the commission vetting building development plans submitted to Mepa, several new buildings still did not provide for access for persons with disability, meaning that the buildings were not built according to the approved plans.

He said there had also been complaints by people with disabilities about difficulties to get home loans, travel insurance and life insurance. He said that in many cases, the issues were resolved when the commission intervened.