A major business conference hosted by the Southampton Centre for Independent Living at Southampton's Friends Provident St Mary's Stadium had a spectacular send off with the early morning release of 500 balloons from the football club's sidelines by Alan Whitehead, Southampton Test MP.

Over 150 delegates attended the event Barriers to Business to hear key speakers from both public and private business, including; Maria Eagle MP, Minister for Disabled People, Peter White, BBC Disability Affairs specialist and presenter, and Wendy Harpe, BBC senior diversity manager.

In line with government proposals, from October 2004, businesses will be obliged to consider making changes to the physical features of their premises, so that they are accessible to disabled people.

The conference aimed to make Hampshire businesses recognise enormous potential that disabled people have to offer. The centre also looked to motivate companies to act on the issues addressed during the conference.

Ian Loynes, co-ordinator, said: "Our key objectives were to ensure that the conference heralded the beginning of a process of change, rather than simply a one-off event. We hope this conference provided a positive contribution to the difficulties that businesses might face in taking advantage of the skills and opportunities of disabled people.

"This conference was not about businesses having a social conscience, it was about hard economic benefits."

The centre has been working in Southampton and across the south since 1984. The organisation was launched after disabled people in the local area decided that an organisation was needed to promote independent living and support those who sought a lifestyle, which enabled them to attain or restore choice and control of their lives.

It is a democratic membership organisation, run and controlled by disabled people, and is committed to campaigning for the full civil rights of disabled people. It aims to break down the environmental barriers, which deny physical access to buildings, public transport, information and services.