The petitioners have given an indication of what information the scores should be able to convey.  I have some ideas to add to that, which I’ll come to in a few moments, but they suggest that to achieve a 5 rating, a premises will not just need to be wheelchair accessible, but be fully inclusive for those with visual and hearing impairments, and staff understanding of those with learning impairments. Having a restaurant with Braille menus or staff able to use sign language can make a huge difference and give someone a far easier and less stressful experience when doing everyday things that most will take for granted.

Another idea they put forward, as well as having a 5 to 0 rating, is to have extra symbols beneath to show whether a premises has full wheelchair access, an accessible toilet, information in Braille, staff who can use sign language and whether the premises is—to quote the petition—'autism friendly'.

I don’t really want to get caught up in the specifics at this stage. It would be just too easy to dismiss both the petition and the idea because of vague terms like 'autism friendly' or 'disabled friendly'. I know that it would be impossible to anticipate, for example, the individual response and, therefore, the access need of every single person with an autistic spectrum condition. Myself, I’d say that the minimum requirement to get a score on that would be that key members of staff would have had awareness training, but that’s what consultation is for and we are not exactly short of individuals and bodies to consult here in Wales.

Some of them have already offered their support for the coalition’s proposals. The National Autistic Society Cymru, for example, have said:

‘For hidden disabilities such as autism, access to goods and services can often be about making changes to the physical environment but having an awareness of different conditions is also key. NAS Cymru would welcome disability awareness training, including autism, for staff who interact with the public so that autistic people don’t feel socially isolated and unable to access shops and services.’

Guide Dogs Cymru, in their report, 'Access to food premises for guide dog owners and other blind and partially sighted people', lays bare the problems experienced by some of Wales’s 100,000 people with sight loss. Taxis, restaurants, newsagents and convenience stores, cafes and high-street shops are the five most frequent places to refuse access to guide-dog owners, although, conversely, restaurants and high-street shops also have the best service when it is offered. I think that demonstrates that the missing ingredient for some businesses is thinking about accessibility in the first place.

Guide Dogs Cymru says:

'For blind and partially sighted people, the petition would help in two ways. Firstly, it would raise awareness of the importance of access to buildings. Accessible buildings increase the opportunity for blind and partially sighted people, and all people who are disabled, to live independently in the community. Poor access to a building is a major factor in deciding whether it is possible to use a leisure centre, library, restaurant or doctor’s surgery without help. Secondly, by raising awareness of the importance of access to buildings, there is a good chance that improved knowledge of this topic on the part of service providers would lead to reductions in the number of access refusals.'

Before I go on to the practicalities, I just want to mention those three other ideas that I've got that I think can be accommodated in this. First of all is a scoring or information system to demonstrate dementia awareness within a business. If we’re serious about dementia-friendly communities, let’s include this. Secondly, communication difficulties—we heard yesterday from David Melding that Afasic Cymru will be closing its offices in Wales, but that doesn’t mean that this is a closed matter. Thirdly—well, probably no surprise here—emergency life-saving skills and defibrillators. Members may remember their support for my legislative proposals to help create a nation of lifesavers in the last year of the current Assembly. Among those were proposals to increase the public availability of defibrillators and to increase the take-up of emergency life-saving skills by staff who work in publicly accessible buildings, so that members of the public could benefit from their expertise, not just the workforce in that building.