The of Access Report (Attitude is Everything, 2016) provides a biannual snapshot of the live music industry in Britain when it comes to accessibility and inclusion for deaf and disabled people. Although there is a significant body of best practice within the industry, deaf and disabled people still face significant barriers at all stages of attending live music events. Findings show that one-third of venue and festival websites and two-thirds of independent venues provide no access information. Less than one-fifth of websites surveyed provide access ‘good’ information. Hynt, a national access scheme for theatres and arts centres in ensures that there is a consistent offer available for disabled visitors and their carers or personal assistants. Since the scheme was introduced, the number of theatres and arts centres with access policies increased from 22 in 2013/14 to 34 by March 2015 (Arts Council of Wales, 2016). The Scottish Household Survey shows that in 2014 an estimated 48% of all adults visited the outdoors one or more times per week for leisure or recreation compared with only 36% of adults with a health condition or illness’ (Scottish ‘long-term Government, 2016i). Research commissioned by Sport Scotland found that in Scotland disabled people are less active, have poorer experiences of physical education in school, and are less likely to participate in sport as adults. Disabled people are also less likely to use leisure facilities. However, when disabled people do take part in sport and exercise, they are almost as likely as others to take part frequently (on 15 or more days per month). Barriers to disabled people’s participation in sports can include: negative attitudes and stereotypes, physical accessibility and inclusion, pathways into sport, under-representation and wider issues of disadvantage (Sport Scotland, 2016). Digital accessibility The Equality Act 2010 covers digital accessibility. It places a requirement on public and private providers of goods and services to anticipate barriers and think in advance about what disabled people with a range of impairments might reasonably need. An organisation is required to put in place reasonable adjustments such as alternative means of communication where it is not possible for disabled consumers to overcome access barriers. However, the law leaves a degree of interpretation for service providers about how far they are required to go to increase digital accessibility and there is as yet no UK case law precedent on web accessibility to clarify the position (Barton et al., 2015). The UK Government’s inclusion strategy’ (Cabinet Office and Government ‘Digital Digital Service, 2014) has enlisted the voluntary and private sectors to play a part in
The of Access Report (Attitude is Everything, 2016) provides a biannual snapshot of the live music industry in Britain when it comes to accessibility and inclusion for deaf and disabled people. Although there is a significant body of best practice within the industry, deaf and disabled people still face significant barriers at all stages of attending live music events. Findings show that one-third of venue and festival websites and two-thirds of independent venues provide no access information. Less than one-fifth of websites surveyed provide ‘good’ access information. Hynt, a national access scheme for theatres and arts centres in ensures that there is a consistent offer available for disabled visitors and their carers or personal assistants. Since the scheme was introduced, the number of theatres and arts centres with access policies increased from 22 in 2013/14 to 34 by March 2015 (Arts Council of Wales, 2016). The Scottish Household Survey shows that in 2014 an estimated 48% of all adults visited the outdoors one or more times per week for leisure or recreation compared with only 36% of adults with a ‘long-term health condition or illness’ (Scottish Government, 2016i). Research commissioned by Sport Scotland found that in Scotland disabled people are less active, have poorer experiences of physical education in school, and are less likely to participate in sport as adults. Disabled people are also less likely to use leisure facilities. However, when disabled people do take part in sport and exercise, they are almost as likely as others to take part frequently (on 15 or more days per month). Barriers to disabled people’s participation in sports can include: negative attitudes and stereotypes, physical accessibility and inclusion, pathways into sport, under-representation and wider issues of disadvantage (Sport Scotland, 2016). Digital accessibility The Equality Act 2010 covers digital accessibility. It places a requirement on public and private providers of goods and services to anticipate barriers and think in advance about what disabled people with a range of impairments might reasonably need. An organisation is required to put in place reasonable adjustments such as alternative means of communication where it is not possible for disabled consumers to overcome access barriers. However, the law leaves a degree of interpretation for service providers about how far they are required to go to increase digital accessibility and there is as yet no UK case law precedent on web accessibility to clarify the position (Barton et al., 2015). The UK Government’s ‘Digital inclusion strategy’ (Cabinet Office and Government Digital Service, 2014) has enlisted the voluntary and private sectors to play a part in