DDA compliance – where are the captions?

Is DDA compliance difficult to achieve? No!

The National Disabilities Conference on 4 July in London was organised by Government Knowledge. This is an important event at this moment in time as benefits are being cut, wages are frozen, jobs are cut, and people with disabilities are increasingly marginalised. Yet, DDA compliance is still expected, as the Disability Discrimination Act has been law since 1995.

DDA compliance

98% of deaf people could benefit from captioning and DDA compliance

In the UK, less than 70,000 deaf people use sign language however there are approximately 10 million deaf and hard of hearing people who do NOT use sign language – they might lipread and/or use their residual hearing, and therefore rely on captioning and lip speakers. We would expect, therefore, that a national conference of this nature about access, inclusion and disability would be accessible to its OWN customers. We would also expect such an event to be accessible without having to fight for such access – which is our right, not a privilege, under the 2010 Equality Act. We expect and have a right to DDA compliance.

NADP (National Association of Deafened People) asked Lidia Best to attend on their behalf. They requested communication support (captioning) as Lidia is deaf, she does not use sign language. Captioning support provision at the event was confirmed by the organisers. Delegates were asked to pay almost £300 each to attend and NADP paid a reduced fee.

After NADP’s request for captioning support, 121 Captions were contacted by Government Knowledge for information on providing captioning for this conference. They did not book any captioning services.

Lidia turned up to the National Disabilities conference to find only sign language interpreters were available, and there was no captioning support. There was an induction loop but it did not work. A loop can work for some deaf people, but not all deaf people have enough residual hearing to be able to use one. A lip speaker can work for those deaf people who can lipread, but not all deaf people can read lips. Therefore captioning is a necessary service.

DDA compliance

Mrs Lidia Best, NADP Trustee

What is shocking is that such access had been requested by NADP and confirmed by the organisers Government Knowledge. This conference is expensive to attend, but for a disabled person to attend and to find it inaccessible, when it had been confirmed that it would be, is unacceptable.

The conference organisers should be making this kind of event affordable and accessible for disabled people on benefits who would be best placed to explain the relevant issues. Government Knowledge say they have provided access for all delegates and have followed all requests – which we know not to be true. Government Knowledge checked their system and they had no special requests for communication support. They asked Lidia if she had organised the captioners herself. They even blamed Lidia for not telling them.

We have asked the deaf community if any sign language users attended this conference. There has been a deafening silence….

This is a common occurrence for deaf and hard of hearing people who do not sign, to request captioning support at events and find it is not provided, or to turn up and find there are only sign language interpreters. We have had enough. This has got to STOP.

Deafness can happen to anyone. It could happen tomorrow to your friend, your parent, or even YOU.

There are 1 in 6 people in the UK with a hearing loss who don’t sign. Could you be next?

Support ALL deaf people on Facebook: Hearing Loss Worldwide

…. and to add a little more irony, check THIS out – another shining example of our government’s inclusive attitude towards the disadvantaged, where Government Knowledge hosted a conference about financial inclusion… a shame the tickets are £320!

You can join the Deaf People Against Welfare Cuts campaign on Facebook – look out for connected talks and events happening across London.

If you’d like to find out how to make your event more accessible to the majority of deaf and hard of hearing people, contact us for a chat with our access auditors about successful DDA compliance for your organisation.

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