A New UK Standard for Assistive Technology: What It Means When You Choose Equipment for the Home

A new professional body for assistive technology has just launched in the UK, and it quietly matters more than it might sound to anyone thinking about how to stay safe and independent at home. The Professional Association of Assistive Technologists, known as PAAT, opened for members on 1 July 2026, offering formal accreditation to the people who advise on and set up the equipment that helps disabled and older people live well. For families weighing up a stairlift, a personal alarm or smart home controls, it is a welcome sign that the advice behind those decisions is being held to a clearer standard.

What has actually changed

Until now, there has been no dedicated professional home for the specialists who work with assistive technology in the UK. Someone might recommend the right communication aid, set up a smart speaker to control the lights and heating, or help choose equipment that keeps a person mobile at home, yet there was no single, recognised way for them to prove their competence. PAAT sets out to change that. It offers three tiers of membership, associate, full and senior, along with a code of conduct, peer support and a commitment to improving training and consistency across the sector.

The launch has been backed by the disability charity Leonard Cheshire, whose assistive technology project manager Dave Hursthouse is a founder member. He described the aim as building “a confident, connected and respected professional community”, adding that accreditation will show a practitioner “can work well alongside disabled tech users, helping them to achieve their goals”. The association is careful to say it is not replacing existing bodies in health, education or social care. Instead it gives assistive technologists, who may sit in social care, the NHS, academia or the technology industry, a professional base many of them have never had.

Why professional standards matter when you are equipping a home

Choosing equipment for a home is rarely a single decision. A person who is starting to struggle on the stairs may also benefit from grab rails, better lighting, a personal alarm, or voice controls that open doors and manage heating without a struggle. The individual products are only as good as the assessment behind them. Get the assessment right and the home works as a whole; get it wrong and families can spend money on equipment that does not suit the person or the property.

That is why a recognised standard for the professionals giving this advice is reassuring. When someone can point to accredited membership of a body with a published code of conduct, you have a clearer basis for trusting their recommendations. It sits alongside the role of occupational therapists, who remain the key independent professionals for assessing mobility and home adaptation needs, and it complements recent moves to raise standards among the contractors who fit adaptations. Taken together, the direction of travel is towards more accountability across the whole journey, from assessment to installation.

Where a stairlift fits into the bigger picture

It is easy to think of a stairlift as a standalone purchase, but for most households it is one part of a broader plan to stay put safely. The stairs are often the first and biggest barrier in a home, which is why a stairlift is such a common early step. Around it, though, a well thought out home might include a mix of low tech and high tech help: a level access shower, a chair that helps someone rise, telecare that can raise the alarm after a fall, and increasingly the connected devices that assistive technologists specialise in.

This wider view is becoming more important as the technology moves quickly. Voice assistants and smart home controls that once seemed novel are now genuinely useful for people with reduced mobility, letting them manage lights, curtains, doors and appliances without crossing the room. Knowing that the person recommending or configuring that technology holds a recognised qualification helps families make confident choices rather than guessing. It also matters for the long term, because a good adviser will think about how needs may change and how equipment can adapt with them.

What this means for you and what you can do

If you are supporting an older relative or planning ahead for yourself, the practical takeaway is simple: when you seek advice, it is reasonable to ask about a professional’s background and accreditation. For mobility and home adaptation assessments, an occupational therapist is usually the right starting point, and your local council can arrange a home assessment that may also open the door to funding. For the wider technology that helps someone stay connected and in control at home, membership of a body like PAAT is a new marker of expertise worth looking out for.

On the funding side, help is available and has been growing. The Disabled Facilities Grant, which can pay towards a stairlift and other adaptations, is set to rise to more than £700 million across England for 2026 to 2027, and it is worth checking your eligibility early because council waiting times can be long. You can read more about the support on offer through our guide to stairlift grants, and if you are budgeting for a private installation our overview of typical stairlift prices sets out the ranges reported by UK industry sources.

The launch of PAAT will not, on its own, put a stairlift on your stairs or a grant in your account. What it does is strengthen the foundations under a decision many families find daunting. As more technology becomes available to help people live independently, having clear professional standards behind the advice is exactly the kind of quiet progress that makes those choices easier to trust. If a stairlift is part of your own plan, the sensible next steps are to arrange an assessment, understand the funding you may qualify for, and gather quotes so you can compare your options with confidence.