Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on disabled people of leisure and cultural venues requiring paid-for access cards or third-party certification as proof of disability in order for customers to access reasonable adjustments.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has not made a specific formal assessment of the impact of leisure or cultural venues requiring paid-for access cards or third-party certification as proof of disability. However, the legal framework under the Equality Act 2010 already protects disabled people’s access to services. Under the Act, service providers, including leisure and cultural venues, have an “anticipatory duty” to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared with non-disabled people. This duty applies regardless of whether an individual provides proof of disability.

DCMS has, however, supported Arts Council England, working in partnership with the other arts councils in the UK and Ireland, to develop All In which is a free membership scheme for disabled people designed to remove barriers and make it easier to book tickets. Disabled members will be offered the choice to provide basic access requirements or proof of their disability as part of the sign up process. All In Essentials has now been opened for venue subscriptions, and All In Plus will open for disabled people to join in the summer.