A quick guide to disabled access at summer events
If you're
planning an inclusive summer event, you need to establish what your legal obligations
are when it comes to providing access for disabled individuals. Here, we take you
through your basic legal responsibilities and take a brief look at what you can
do to ensure your event is accessible for everyone.
The duty to
make reasonable adjustments
Legally, event accessibility is covered by the Equality Act 2010 which both defines disability' and legislates for organisers' responsibilities regarding disabled access. It makes provisions for what is known as the duty to make reasonable adjustments.'
The duty to make
reasonable adjustments dictates that event organisers must make reasonable
changes and adjustments to ensure that the barriers preventing disabled
individuals from accessing events are removed.
What constitutes
reasonable'?
The wording of
the duty to make reasonable adjustments means there is some ambiguity
surrounding the issue of what is considered reasonable.
Generally, "reasonable
adjustments" are determined by the following factors:
- Practicality.
Whether or not it's practical to make accessibility changes. - Impact. The cost of making such changes
and the resources available to the organisation doing so, and how effective the
resulting adjustment would be. - Size of the organisation. The scale of the
organisation and extent to which it is capable of making changes. - Whether
changes have already been made. The extent to which an organisation has
attempted to make adjustments in the past can affect whether further changes
are a reasonable demand.
Planning for accessibility
When planning
your summer event, it's necessary to distinguish between physical accessibility
and event accessibility. The former deals with the way in which individuals
move in and around an event and the facilities on offer. The latter concerns
itself with the way an event makes its content publicity available and
accessible to disabled individuals.
In order to ensure that they've considered every aspect of accessibility, organisers can start with the following four factors:
- Content
- Organisers need to consider the way products, services, and general content is delivered at an event.
- Spoken content could be made more accessible by making use of hearing induction loops, captioning, or Language Support Professionals.
- Visual content can also be enhanced by audio description.
- Other considerations include the use of flash photography or strobe lighting and the provision of a calm environment or sensory room for those individuals who may struggle with large crowds and noise levels
- Venue
- Think about the ways in which individuals are going to enter, move around, and leave the venue.
- Accessible toilets should be provided.
- Wherever possible, flooring should be level and solid.
- Seating for disabled attendees and accompanying carers can also be offered.
- Publicity
- Promotional materials can be made in a variety of different formats.
- Many events now produce an accessibility guide prior to the event so that disabled people have all the information they need to make a decision about whether or not they wish to attend. This can be made available online and its location advertised on promotional materials.
- The booking process also poses certain challenges for some disabled individuals. While online booking services are suitable for those who cannot pick tickets up in person, they may be difficult to use for others. Consequently, it's a good idea to have a range of booking options available.
- Travel
Just as important
as the time spent at the event itself is the effort required to arrive and
leave the event. After all, it doesn't matter how accessible the venue is
inside if disabled visitors can't reach it in the first place. Travel
considerations should include:
- Supplying
sufficient Blue Badge parking spaces. - Whether
disabled attendees can access the venue via public transport. - When
and how access details are made available to visitors.
Conclusion
When it comes to legal
obligations for disabled access at summer events, organisers are working with
some relatively vague concepts although some adjustments such as ramp access
and strobe light warnings will be common sense.
Though the duty of reasonable adjustments is your primary legal reference, what is considered reasonable isn't always clearly defined. For this reason, we would recommend working closely with legal professionals to ensure you meet your legal responsibilities and that everyone attending your event, regardless of their level of physical or mental ability, has a good time.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us on 01323 644222 or by email enquiries@stephenrimmer.com