Government ‘ignored advice from disability organisations’ on lying-in-state

The government ignored crucial advice from disability organisations when it was planning an “accessible queue” for disabled people who wanted to pay their respects to the Queen at the lying-in-state in Westminster Hall, it emerged this week.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the government department responsible for organising the accessible queue, has confirmed that it approached a small number of disability organisations for advice.

But it appears to have asked only one disabled people’s organisation – Disability Rights UK (DR UK) – and one other disability charity, Leonard Cheshire, and seems only to have approached them in April this year.

Planning for the Queen’s funeral is believed to have been taking place for many years.

And it appears that key parts of the advice provided to DCMS by DR UK and Leonard Cheshire was ignored.

Disability News Service (DNS) understands that DCMS was warned by DR UK that long queues would be a barrier to those with invisible impairments and energy-limiting conditions.

DR UK also appears to have questioned where disabled people would be able to go if they were not given an immediate slot to join the accessible queue, as many would be travelling from outside London.

Both of these concerns were not addressed by DCMS and caused significant problems for many disabled people who wanted to pay their respects to the Queen.

Leonard Cheshire said that one of the recommendations it made to DCMS was to provide at least three different ways for people to contact the department to discuss adjustments being made for disabled people.

The charity said there did not appear to have been any way for disabled people to do this.

It also suggested that the government should ensure information on accessibility was easily available on the day.

Leonard Cheshire said there did not appear to have been any way to contact DCMS on the day and the department “was not responsive on Twitter”.

DCMS also appears to have ignored Leonard Cheshire’s suggestion that it provide access to information in alternative formats such as easy read, audio and braille, so that maps, signage, handouts and travel directions would be accessible to those queueing, although there were British Sign Language interpreters available.

DNS reported last week how disabled people who struggled for hours in the accessible queue said the government had treated them as an “afterthought” and that its “discriminatory” arrangements were “a shambles”.

They spoke of having to queue for hours for a wristband that would allow them to join the “accessible queue” many hours later, and sometimes not until the following day.

The accessible queue was also closed permanently at 4.30pm on the Saturday of the lying-in-state, more than a day before the main queue was closed to new arrivals.

And there were many concerns raised about the quality and accessibility of the information that was provided about the accessible queue.

A DR UK spokesperson said: “We were approached by DCMS to put together a training module aimed at the stewards – the training was to be ten minutes in length, recorded so stewards could watch it along with other training videos.

“We also delivered a longer 40-minute version to some of the core staff working on arrangements.

“We didn’t have a formal role in advising the department on its planning, but took the opportunity to give some advice – for example if they were to check eligibility for the accessible queue, which documents they should consider.

“But we said that we felt strongly that disabled people should not be asked for this.

“We asked them to ensure there were BSL interpreters present.”

A Leonard Cheshire spokesperson said: “Our training and consultancy team provided some general advice to DCMS on managing public queues for the lying-in-state, making recommendations around potential barriers to accessibility and how these could be removed with adjustments.

“Our recommendations covered considerations including disability awareness of staff managing queues, accessible communications, and signage, as well as consistency of approach between departments, teams, and organisations involved.

“Based on feedback from many disabled people who were paying their respects, it is disappointing that not all our recommendations were put into action and there were issues with communication, information provided and support in place.

“This ultimately resulted in frustrating and upsetting experiences for some which could have been avoided.”

DCMS declined to say if it accepted that it did not follow some of the advice provided by DR UK and Leonard Cheshire.

But a DCMS spokesperson said that planning the accessible queue had been part of a “long term” process.

She said DCMS had consulted organisations and individuals including the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, parliament’s own inclusion and diversity team, the government’s Disability Unit, as well as DR UK and Leonard Cheshire.

The department has yet to confirm when this consultation began, although it said the organisations were consulted “in advance of activation in order for us to ensure the accessibility queue catered for as many people as possible”.

The DCMS spokesperson said the accessible queue was “for people with a disability or long-term condition which meant they were unable to queue for an extended period of time”, that BSL interpreters were available for those joining the queue, that assistance dogs were allowed inside Westminster Hall for the lying-in-state, and that all the guidance on the government website was “fully accessible to those using screen readers”.

She said: “Wristbands were given out for time slots in advance in order to reduce the time physically waiting in line.

“Throughout, there were marshals and stewards on hand to provide support, guidance and advice to those in the queue.

“Tate Britain provided space and seating within the building for those who did not receive an immediate slot.”

DCMS said it did not accept that the waits faced by disabled people were far too long, or that the accessible queue was not well planned and did not meet the government’s duties under the Equality Act.

The spokesperson said: “We do not accept this. This is the first time we have had an accessible queue for lying-in-state.

“To make sure people’s accessibility requirements were properly catered for, we worked with expert advisory groups and relevant charities throughout the planning process and then worked round the clock to facilitate people’s access to the queue.”

She said DCMS would not be carrying out an inquiry into the access failures but that “as is the case for every major event” it would “undertake a lessons learned process to help build understanding for future events”.

It is not yet clear how many people accessed the lying-in-state through the main queue and how many accessed it through the accessible queue.

Picture by James Carter

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