Government hopes to improve access for disabled at sporting venues

Disabled sports fans are being asked to comment and share their past experiences on attending live sporting events at sports grounds and stadiums across the UK, in a survey that the Government hopes will be the largest ever conducted on the subject.

Government ministers are asking that some of the 12 million people living with disabilities in Britain share their opinions on disabled parking, wheelchair access, disabled toilets, hearing loops and treatment by others when attending live sporting events.

Minister for Disabled People, Mark Harper, said: “For too long in this country disabled sports fans have been treated like second class citizens at many sporting venues. And yet 1 in 5 of us have an impairment, and disabled people and their households have a spending power of over £200 billion.

“We know the situation in football is unacceptable and it’s not only wheelchair access that falls short, but adjustments for people with all kinds of impairments. We encourage all sports fans with a disability to tell us of their experiences at sporting venues, so we can get a clear picture of whether disabled sports fans are being treated fairly.”

The survey is aimed at all sports fans, including, cricket, hockey, football, rugby and motor racing to allow a range of feedback from a variety of sporting events to be received.

During 2014, the Government raised concerns about football leagues within the UK and asked them to address the ‘woeful’ and insufficient support provided for disabled fans and reinforced the legal requirements to ensure that fans needs are met and maintained.

Further research indicated that almost 50 per cent of Premier League football clubs cannot currently provide the required amount of wheelchair space.

Joyce Cook from Level Playing Field, said: “The experience of disabled sports fans varies across the country. Our research shows that many clubs are operating what seem to be discriminatory policies when it comes to season and away tickets. And if you can actually get there, the inability to sit with your own fans, poor sight lines and the lack of accessible provisions can be so bad that you would have had a better experience watching it on TV. That’s not acceptable and it’s time all clubs and venues took their legal obligations seriously – and recognised the value of the purple pound.”

Level Playing Field, a charity that is dedicated to ensuring that disabled sports fans have good access to sporting venues and clubs. The charity highlighted that half of Premier League football clubs have season ticket policies which could be regarded as prejudice to disabled sporting fans.

Helen Grant, Minister for Sport, said: “We know that lots of clubs, like Arsenal, are making improvements but more can still be done across sport to make stadiums more accessible and the match-day experience better for disabled fans. This is what this survey is all about – giving disabled sports fans the chance to air their views so that we can help make watching live sport fantastic for them.”

The charity revealed that some football clubs allow only a small number of season tickets for disabled or wheelchair users and exclude disabled tickets from online ticket services. In addition to this, evidence has emerged of football clubs requiring disabled fans to complete pre-registration applications for season tickets when the same is not needed from non-disabled fans.

Ms Grant added: “The Commonwealth Games this summer showed what is possible and how sport can cater brilliantly for disabled fans and I am confident that sports governing bodies will step up and deliver on this.”

To complete the survey, visit: http://survey.dwp.gov.uk/index.php?sid=18657