Facilities for Disabled People

Part of 3. Questions to the Assembly Commission – in the Senedd at 3:11 pm on 28 February 2018.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Joyce Watson Joyce Watson Labour 3:11, 28 February 2018

I thank you for raising what is a hugely important issue, and that is that we provide, as a Commission and as an Assembly, the facilities that fit the purpose for which people intend to use them and it is the case, you know, that we have updated very recently the loop here and in 2015 and 2016 we upgraded the audio system, and we did the same in the committee rooms and the Chamber and committee public galleries and then bought the new system that you are now currently using, I believe.

But you can have my assurance, and, I'm sure, the assurance of my fellow Assembly Commissioners, that we will return to a system that seems very sensible to me, that, when people want to use a device or a system, we do ask those people who will be using that to road test it before we go out and purchase on their behalf what we hope might be appropriate. We will do that in every case, because I know that there are other issues that have been raised with me about accessibility at the front of the Assembly, where we have quite clearly put in the ramps and the lifts so that disabled people, wheelchair users and others can access the building, but we haven't backed that up with the signage and people are finding it to be somewhat of a maze, and that was never the original intention of doing that. There have been other issues about access to stages and platforms where we host events. So, all of those things are very much on our radar and I can absolutely assure you that they will be attended to.