Making access easier

When theatres, libraries, museums, concert halls and other creative and cultural spaces closed their doors to slow the spread of the pandemic, we were very clear about what should happen when they were again allowed to welcome back audiences and visitors. A good reopening for the creative and cultural sector would have to be an inclusive one. 

As they reopened their doors again following the removal of public health restrictions, it was a moment that highlighted what we already knew, there was a need for greater support and flexibility to allow everyone access to the great creative and cultural events that they put on. 

Building on great work being done. 

There are lots of great schemes across the UK that already try to tackle this issue head-on. One of those is Hynt which is an initiative of the Arts Council of Wales. It provides a consistent offering to its cardholders at venues in Wales who’ve signed up to the scheme. Among other things it allows those signed-up to get a free companion ticket, but there is scope for schemes like this to improve access in many more ways and so reach a wider audience.  Many creative and cultural venues currently also run their own access schemes. This creates a patchwork of services across the UK which cries out for a more joined up approach. How can we make sure that there is an easy way for people to find out about performances and events which are BSL interpreted or audio described or relaxed? How can we make it possible for a D/deaf, disabled or neurodivergent customer to book a ticket for an event in Bradford, Bathgate, Bangor or Belfast – confident it meets their needs?  

Over the last few months, we along with Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the BFI have been working as part of a steering group to look at how such a UK wide scheme can be created including commissioning research and feasibility studies. It’s also meant finding out the views of D/deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent people and speaking to those in the creative and cultural sector– the people who would have to use and make sure any scheme worked not just in theory but in reality. We’ve made sure to include ticketing software providers from the start of the process as well, to fully understand what would be needed for any UK wide scheme to be compatible with those already in operation. It’s also led to the creation of an advisory group made up of 15 D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people from across the UK which is independently chaired by Sam Tatlow MBE, Creative Diversity Partner at ITV.  

What’s next?

From all that work we’ve got a good idea of the kind of things people want to see from any scheme that is eventually rolled out. So, it seemed the right time to take the consultation wider. We want to get as many creative and cultural venues that run ticketed events to give their views on the proposed ideas of how a scheme would run.  

Those ideas include:   

• A digital membership scheme for audiences and organisations, which allows members to sign up and provide details of their access needs once, without having to repeat themselves each time they visit a new venue  
• A membership database that ticket booking systems can integrate with, allowing members to automatically apply their access needs at the point of booking, facilitating the distribution of companion tickets and other accessible seating  
• A website with interactive listings of accessible spaces, events, and performances    
• A knowledge hub of training, resources, and guidance for creative and cultural organisations to support them in developing a more inclusive experience for disabled visitors    
• A newly developed set of best-practice standards for the creativity and culture sector relating to digital access, events and programming, customer service and more - areas where visitors often encounter barriers to engagement     

The survey is open until 30 November and is part of the ongoing process that will lead to a UK wide access scheme. A scheme which all those involved hope will mean audience members with access needs will be given the support they want, and the venues they visit are helped to be inclusive to everyone.