When Aberdeen South MP Anne Begg became the first full-time wheelchair-user to be elected to the House of Commons, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 had been active for little more than six months — with most of its legal provisions yet to scheduled, let alone introduced. So it was hardly surprising that Begg — made a Dame in 2011 for her many years’ campaigning on disability and equality issues — initially found the accessibility of her new workplace less than ideal.
Given that construction of the present Palace of Westminster began back in 1840, this was hardly surprising, even though the present debating chamber in the House of Commons looks significantly older than it actually is — it has only been in use since 1950, following a time-consuming repair job after serious bomb damage to the Victorian original during the Second World War. Improvements have, of course, been made during Begg’s parliamentary career but, like most disabled people, for much of the time she’s simply got on with the job at hand in the most effective ways possible.
Begg has worked consistently on a range of issues — from welfare reform and pensions to equality and broadcasting — and has belonged to, and often chaired, numerous All Party Groups and Parliamentary committees. This included her stint as the Vice-Chair of the Speaker’s Conference on Parliamentary Representation which, in 2010, reported on how the House of Commons could increase the representation of women, ethnic minorities and disabled people.
ALL KINDS OF BARRIERS
One direct consequence of this was the Coalition Government’s establishment, this year, of the Access to Elected Office Fund, designed to help disabled people overcome barriers to election by paying for the extra costs — such as accessible transport or sign-language interpreters — that disabled candidates face. For getting disabled MPs into Parliament isn’t simply about ensuring people with physical or sensory impairments can assess the facilities in a “listed” building.
As Begg knows from her own experience, self-doubt and a lack of resources can stop disabled people from even trying. “The biggest barrier for me was having faith in my ability to become an MP,” she recently told the Access to Elected Office Fund website. “I had built up a good reputation and national profile due to my activities within the teaching profession. Despite this, I still needed encouragement from colleagues before considering running for an MP.”
Yet access, once you get there is, still important. Thanks to more than 15 years’ of disability discrimination legislation, the “Mother of all Parliaments” is more welcoming than it once was, for both visitors and those who work there. Nevertheless, its buildings were designed at a time when access was extremely low on the architect’s list of priorities. This is not the case for two of the UK’s other parliaments, specifically the homes of the devolved administrations in Edinburgh and Cardiff.
HOLYROOD
The Scottish Parliament Building, nestled at the foot of the Capital’s Royal Mile, was always a controversial project, not least because it opened three years late with a final price-tag of £414 million. Since 2004, however, the building has attracted millions of visitors and won numerous awards, including one for the installation of a Changing Places toilet, complete with ceiling-fixed hoist.
Accessibility was incorporated into the design from the ground up, with architects taking advice from local access advisory groups. As a result, many of the accessibility features are so integral to the building that they go largely unnoticed by those who don’t need them, from the Braille signage on the underside of the stairwell railings (signifying which floor you’re on) to the lifts which have been re-configured to accommodate the extra time needed for mobility scooter users to enter or leave.
Last year, the election of the SNP’s Dennis Robertson, who is blind, proved an opportunity for the Scottish Parliament to test the effectiveness of its support systems, by ensuring the new Member was provided with appropriate equipment and support to settle in and carry out his duties. These range from the simple placing of tactile signals at known locations to arranging text-reading software on his computer — plus a willing band of volunteer staff to help exercise Robertson’s much-loved guide dog Mr Q!
CARDIFF
In contrast to the Scottish experience, there was very little controversy around the design and construction of the Senedd on Cardiff Bay, home to the main debating chamber and committee rooms for the National Assembly for Wales. In common with its Scottish counterpart, however, accessibility has been incorporated into both the physical design of the building and the managerial systems that keep the building functioning.
In part, this is down to several years’ work by the Access Advisory Group made up of representatives of disability interest groups from across Wales, the contractor and architect. The result is a building and functioning parliament which has been described as an “exemplar” example of accessibility. Within the main chamber, for example, necessarily competing priorities between access and broadcasting requirements were balanced to ensure what is described as “70% accessibility”.
One of the Assembly’s two staff networks, Embrace, provides a range of support services for disabled staff and has helped update the Assembly’s Dignity at Work policy. As one member put it: “The willingness with which the Assembly engages with Embrace really makes me feel that it values my opinions and experiences as a disabled member of staff. I feel that I am helping to make a real difference to the organisation and its staff.”
Earlier this year, an Access Fund was launched to help provide additional equipment and support for disabled Assembly Members and their staff. Meantime, the Assembly is currently undergoing an accessibility audit to ascertain what further improvements can be made. The goal is to ensure the Assembly genuinely communicates with the whole of the Welsh nation — a noble goal that hopefully other, older Parliaments, may also take on board!
BOX OUT:
THE ACCESS TO ELECTED OFFICE FUND
The Access to Elected Office Fund was set up as part of the Government’s Access to Elected Office Strategy, which aims to provide additional support to tackle the particular obstacles faced by disabled people who want to become MPs, councillors or other elected officials.
The Fund, which runs until March 2014, offers individual grants of between £250 and £10,000 in any calendar year to disabled people who want to be considered for selection as candidates for an election, or are standing for election.
The money is intended to help meet disability-related costs as part of standing for an election; it does not cover general costs that any election candidate needs to meet, such as printing leaflets. Nor is the money intended for anything that would be considered a “reasonable adjustment” by any political party, as this should already be provided by law.
The fund covers all elections in the UK except for: parish elections in England; local council elections in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; elections to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly or Northern Ireland Assembly; and elections to the European Parliament.
MORE:
Access to Elected Office Fund
0845 864 5340/5341
enquiries@access-to-elected-office-fund.org.uk
www.access-to-elected-office-fund.org.uk
First published by Access magazine, December 2012.
