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You and Yours聽- Transcript 大象传媒 Radio 4 |
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TX: 16.07.04 - ACCESS TO SHOPS - PART 1聽 PRESENTER: PETER WHITE |
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THE ATTACHED TRANSCRIPT WAS TYPED FROM A RECORDING AND NOT COPIED FROM AN ORIGINAL SCRIPT.聽 BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF MISHEARING AND THE DIFFICULTY IN SOME CASES OF IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUAL SPEAKERS, THE 大象传媒 CANNOT VOUCH FOR ITS COMPLETE ACCURACY. WHITE Now from October 1st disabled people must have full access to high street shops and services, that's when the final part of the Disability Discrimination Act kicks in. And if these premises, including libraries, doctors' surgeries, solicitors, gyms, pubs - if they don't comply by making reasonable adjustments they risk breaking the new law.聽 Our disability reporter Carolyn Atkinson challenged wheelchair user Nick Scarlet - Mik Scarlet - to do a test run in his local shopping centre in London and as you'll hear they took access expert Vin Goodwin with them.聽 ATKINSON We're here on Camden High Street in London but this could be any high street in the whole country. It's got a mix of big shops, national chains, small independent shops, the banks, cafes - everything you would get on a high street. We're outside Barclays Bank at the moment, what are we greeted with here?聽 SCARLET We're greeted with two escalators - one going up, one going down. Firstly they are too narrow to actually get anything other than a very small pushchair on but it is actually illegal in this country to put a wheelchair on an escalator because if you fall backwards and injure anyone it's, kind of, bad news. But there's no lift, there's no other access that I can see...聽 ASSISTANT BRANCH MANAGER There is a lift ...聽 ATKINSON Are you the manager?聽 ASSISTANT BRANCH MANAGER I'm one of the assistant branch managers. Go straight through there's a lift there, press the button, go up to the first floor and then just the doors there, just open it and go straight round.聽 SCARLET You push that bell ...聽 ASSISTANT BRANCH MANAGER ... on this one here, somebody will come down to you.聽 ATKINSON Do you think it would be better to put a sign saying - lift round the corner?聽 ASSISTANT BRANCH MANAGER Well yeah but then you could look anywhere couldn't you - that's why we've put the buttons there so that you can press the button and we'll let you through.聽 SCARLET I've only been coming to Camden since I was 19 and - that's 20 years - and I've only just found that lift. [LAUGHTER]聽 ASSISTANT BRANCH MANAGER There are - I can let them know that and put the sign up and see what we can do - it's not a problem.聽 ATKINSON And you're obviously aware then of October 2004 when all the rules change?聽 ASSISTANT BRANCH MANAGER Yes yeah, and once you go into the branch you can see that we've already started - we've lowered one of the tills down for disabled access already, so yeah that is something we are looking into.聽 ATKINSON Well result.聽 SCARLET This is a little tiny thing and it's just to do with signage.聽 GOODWIN This is the exact issue - it's great the lift is there but there's a breakdown here where your customers didn't know where the lift was and that can be solved quite simply.聽 SCARLET How many other people - I mean like he said oh we only get about five disabled people in but of course you do because there's only five disabled people in the whole of Camden that know the lift. Yeah it's part of being - there's probably loads of us wheeling up going oh I ain't going to bank there and wheeling down the road looking for something they can get in. And I think that's it - so many people don't know that they're losing out on business, they go - Oh well there's not enough disabled people to do the change - and it's like of course there isn't because they've never been able to get in your place in the first place.聽 WHITE Mik Scarlet at Barclays Bank there with a lovely lift but too little indication of its availability. That's not surprisingly after that Mik and Carolyn and Vin needed a drink so they're off to try to find an accessible cafe Back to the You and Yours homepage The 大象传媒 is not responsible for external websites |
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