The Scottish Government

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2 ACCESS TO CULTURE AND THE ARTS

Introduction

2.1 This section covers the public authorities in this portfolio that between them have strategic roles in delivering for culture and arts in Scotland. These authorities include Bord Na Gaidhlig, the National Galleries of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland, the National Museums of Scotland, the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen.

Background: Wider Policy Context and Evidence

Wider policy context

2.2 Disability, arts and culture interweave in different ways. There is the issue of access to arts and culture for disabled people, the cultural representation of disability and disabled people, the involvement of disabled people within the arts as contributors and shapers (e.g. performers, writers, commissioning agents), arts and cultural organisations as employers and the impact of arts on promoting general well-being, mental health and cohesion within communities.

2.3 Much activity covering arts and disability emerged during the European Year of Disabled People ( EYDP) in 2003. A series of publications followed such as the Guidance for Scottish Local Authorities (Scottish Executive: 2003) which refers to meeting the needs of disabled people in terms of access to facilities (op cit:19) and the importance of involving disabled people in shaping the role of culture in social care (op cit:68).

2.4 The report by Scottish Arts Council Addressing Disability in Galleries in Scotland (Scottish Arts Council: 2003) identified five areas for action:

• the importance of consultation with disabled people to identify priority action areas for improvement
• making all existing venues, exhibitions, education and interpretation provision as accessible as possible
• developing staff awareness and sensitivity to the needs of disabled people
• ensuring marketing procedures are disability proofed
• active promotion of opportunities for individual disabled artists

2.5 In recognition of the importance of widening access to arts and culture for all communities and individuals in Scotland, the Scottish Government launched a Cultural Pathfinder Programme¹ in 2006 which aimed to explore effective and practical ways to improve participation in the arts and culture, particularly from under-represented and marginalised groups. This initiative was developed through a partnership approach with local authorities. Of the thirteen programmes funded from 2006 - 8, four name disabled people as a category they would wish to target. An example of how progress can be achieved can be evidenced by the efforts of the Glasgow Pathfinder programme. After consultation with disabled people, the Glasgow Pathfinder Initiative has sought to provide programmes which are varied in terms of length. Older disabled people often find it difficult to sit comfortably for long periods. Consideration has also been given to increasing daytime performances as disabled people have identified that after dark safety issues acts as a barrier to participation. Other issues that have been considered has been the improving of transport services to assist disabled people attend events and the provision of social support in relation to attendance at events i.e. accompanying disabled people to events.

2.6 The resource Getting there (Scottish Arts Council: 2006b) (with a CD- ROM) was also published in 2006 by the Scottish Arts Council to assist arts organisations reach out and involve disabled people and to monitor such involvement effectively. This extensive resource provides a wealth of practical advice from communication and involvement strategies to ideas relating to organisational ethos and cultural change. It provides examples of good practice and addresses the needs of disabled people as customers, participants, artists and employees. The success of this resource has seen this resource updated in 2008.

2.7 The benefits to an individual's wellbeing and mental health of participating in the arts are discussed in the document ArtFull (Scottish Art Council: 2006a). This national initiative working with many voluntary organisations provides access to a range of art forms for people recovering from mental ill health as well as for people with enduring mental health issues. Objectives of ArtFull for 2006-2008 concentrate on four areas:

• to increase participation in arts activity for those suffering from, or at increased risk of experiencing mental health problems and/or illness
• to build partnerships between agencies to progress arts and mental health projects
• to develop and support artistic practice in the field of arts and mental health work, and
• to develop a research/evidence base demonstrating and promoting the benefits of the arts in relation to mental health and well-being.

2.8 The Scottish Arts Council, giving evidence ² to the Scottish Parliament's Equal Opportunities Committee Inquiry into Disability in March 2006 identified the following action areas as priorities for the Council in the area of disability:

• continue to fund arts and disability organisations and initiatives which demonstrate best practice in terms of artistic quality, and adherence to the Social Model of Disability and current legislative requirements
• provide funding for professional development and support programmes which promote opportunities for disabled artists
• advocate for increased access and opportunities for disabled people within arts training organisations
• promote inclusive access (physical and intellectual) in the arts, including captioning, audio description, sign language interpretation
• monitor organisations' inclusive programming and audience development
• promote the positive portrayal of disabled people within all artforms (for example, casting and visual imagery)
• encourage the development of formal and informal arts education opportunities for disabled people of all ages
• • within our own organisation and those organisations we fund:
  • monitor the employment of disabled people;
  • promote equal opportunities in training and career development for staff;
  • promote accessible information formats (including online listings);
  • monitor the representation of disabled people in the governance structures;
  • ensure provision of ongoing Disability Equality Training

2.9 In 2007, as part of the Efficient Government Initiative, the Scottish Government announced the establishment of a new cultural development body, Creative Scotland to advise, support and invest in the arts and creative industries across Scotland. The new organisation is to absorb the work of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen.

2.10 The Scottish Parliament's Disability Inquiry report Removing Barriers and Creating Opportunities (Scottish Parliament: 2006) made two specific recommendations (Recommendation 77, paragraph 1012 and Recommendation 91, paragraph 1106) that the new body, Creative Scotland, should consult with disabled people throughout its strategic development and that the new body should work with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to share good practice in service provision to disabled people. The Scottish Government ³ has given an undertaking that the new body will establish and promote good practice in relation to disability issues.

2.11 The Scottish Arts Council (2008a) in the autumn of 2008 set up the Disability Arts Fund together with Guidance notes. The purpose of the fund is to ignite the development of disability arts in Scotland. Disability arts is defined as:

"...art that is informed by the personal and/or collective experience of the 'disabled self', that is, creative work across all artforms that has, at its core, the influence upon the artist of, and responses to, a disabling world."

(Source: London Disability Arts Forum)."

2.12 The fund was set up in recognition that disability in art in Scotland had lacked substantial development, when compared to other arts activity involving disabled people and in comparison to disability art in other countries.

Research and statistical evidence

2.13 While levels of attendance and participation in arts and cultural activities have been tracked and studied in Scotland since 1991, it was not until 2004 that these studies addressed issues of disability in any depth. The bulk of statistical data related to culture and the arts which are readily available has been generated by the Scottish Arts Council in their surveys about attendance, participation and user satisfaction, particularly in their reports Taking Part Volume One (Scottish Arts Council: 2005a) and Taking Part Volume Two (Scottish Arts Council:2005b). Taking Part Volume Two concentrated on discussing issues of attendance and participation in the arts and cultural activities from under represented groups including disability. The Scottish Government's statistics on disability and culture found in High Level Summary of Equality Statistics: Extracted Trends by Disability (Scottish Executive, 2006b:39) draws extensively from the Scottish Arts Council report.

2.14 Taking Part Volume Two found that overall the attendance rate of disabled people in all arts forms is lower (50% of disabled people attended an art or cultural activity as compared to 79% of non-disabled people). However, in the follow up to Taking Part Volume Two, the Executive Summary published in 2006, this figure had dropped to 77%. There are variations between art forms, for example, 21% of disabled people attended the cinema compared to 57% of non-disabled people while in the area of dance, 21 % of disabled people attended a music event as compared to 43% of non-disabled people. A lower proportion of disabled people as compared to the overall Scottish adult population said they would consider attending an art form they had not been to before.

2.15 In terms of participation, a similar picture emerges with 58% of disabled people participating in arts and cultural activities compared to 68% of non-disabled people. The National Library of Scotland which has collected data about disability amongst its registered readers since 2003 found that the number of readers declaring a disability was low. The only area where disabled people have a higher participation rate is in the area of textile craft activities, particularly knitting and needle craft.

2.16 Overall, as compared with the Scottish adult population, disabled people were more likely to indicate that the events met their expectations in terms of value for money. Motivations for attending arts events were similar to the overall population, the most common reasons being that people were influenced by personal recommendations from family and friends or from reviews in the press.

2.17 A survey conducted twelve months later (Scottish Arts Council: 2006c) found that the proportion of disabled respondents attending an art event had not significantly changed (48% in 2004 and 50% in 2006) and that this continues to be lower than the figure of 77% among non-disabled adults. Moreover, the level of attendance of disabled people continued to be significantly lower than other under-represented categories such as minority ethnic people. Where the participation rate for disabled people had gone up from 58% in 2004 to 70% in 2005 it continued to be lower than the participation rate of 76% for the general adult population of Scotland. Disabled people were also less likely to have bought a book other than fiction or poetry and continued to be more likely to participate in craft activities.

2.18 The survey also found that for textile craft activities that 16% of disabled people took part in textile craft activities compared to 9% of non-disabled people. In the Arts Council Annual report in December 2007, the gap related to textile crafts appear to have narrowed slightly from 21% and 16% respectively. Overall, the follow up report to Taking Part Volume Two shows no marked improvement. However the Scottish Arts Council in 2006 has set a target of improving attendance and participation by 5% for all activities (Scottish Arts Council 2006c:6) though there is no time period attached to this target.

2.19 The report on Addressing Disability in Galleries in Scotland (Scottish Arts Council: 2003) provides useful baseline information on disability and galleries. Of the 46 galleries and other arts organisation sampled, 36 responses (78% return rate) were received. Of these, the report (p 8-9) found that:

• 44% employed staff with disabilities
• 71% have exhibited work with disabled artists
• 30% have involved disabled workshop leaders
• 74% have car parking and level access to the gallery
• 70% consider timing and travel issues when planning for disabled people
• 78% market through disability networks or organisations
• 70% of respondents have run outreach events for disabled people
• 75% respondents consult with disabled people or organisations

At the point of writing this report, there was no update of the 2003 figures.

2.20 The Scottish Arts Council's Dance Department published research to assist the development of a strategic approach to dance and disability (Scottish Arts Council, 2008b). The report identified four small disability-specific companies working in Scotland and small number of mainstream dance companies engaged in performance work with disabled dances.

2.21 The research found some areas of success where individuals or companies are producing disability-related work, such as Dance Base, Dance House and Pilrig Park School.

2.22 There are twelve recommendations in total that are directed at raising the profile of disability dance both inside and outside the sector covering a range of areas for future development. Some of these include developing mechanisms to share information, practice, evaluations and reports; creating an advocacy resource to inspire and inform disabled people about potential involvement and the setting up of focussed events to highlight possibilities and current creative practice. Not least, the research calls for long-term investment to develop a strategic approach to disability dance activity.

2.23 The Scottish Household Survey Culture and Sport Module includes a question about barriers to accessing culture. The preliminary results at the point of writing this report are unavailable. The evidence from this will be used to develop policies for improving access for disabled people to cultural.

Reporting on progress towards equality of opportunity

Introduction

2.24 The policy sections above emphasise the importance of involving disabled people in policy and programme development in arts and culture in Scotland. There is also research evidence recommending more development of disability arts to enable disabled artists fuller representation and participation in all forms of arts and culture. Research has shown that the attendance and participation rate of disabled people in all arts form is lower than for non-disabled people.

2.25 The next sections draw from the disability equality schemes, action plans and annual reports of public authorities listed in 2.1 aims to identify areas of progress as well as areas still requiring attention. In addition, it draws from the Scottish Government's own scheme, particularly the work of the European, External Affairs and Culture ( EEAC) Directorate which covers the focus areas in this part of the report.

Areas where progress is evident

2.26 Progress was found to be evident in relation to:

• Accessibility
• Impact Assessment
• Training and
• Communication and Marketing

Accessibility

2.27 Ensuring members of the public and service users have best access to their services has been a priority for all the public authorities. The main areas of focus have been on accessibility into buildings and premises, improving marketing and communication and accessing the views of disabled people for guidance and advice. There is also a recognition that there is a range of access issues e.g. mobility, visual impairments and that a diverse range of disabilities needs to be addressed when considering access issues.

2.28 Issues of physical and intellectual access are mainstreamed throughout for some public authorities (for example, the Scottish Arts Council). Access for disabled audiences is a key feature of major commissions and curated exhibitions. Access criteria are also being built into grants procedures and staff are expected to use an access checklist for organising and promoting external events. The Scottish Arts Council's highly successful publication Getting there, first published in 2006, revised in 2007 was re-launched in 2008 (see paragraph 2.6). This practical resource is designed to support Scottish arts organisations in developing an inclusive approach in every aspect of their operations. Ensuring physical accessibility is one part of the holistic approach which this resource promotes.

2.29 For one body (National Library of Scotland) the first stage of a fully accessible visitor centre was completed in 2007 and the second (and final) stage is due for completion in 2008. Others (such as the National Galleries of Scotland) have extensive ongoing physical access programme which includes the provision of induction loops and comprehensive visual assistance (e.g. Braille, large type, signage). In the financial year 2006-07, 3% of the National Galleries of Scotland's 1.5million visitors were disabled. As a result, their scheme identifies a need to improve on attendance statistics of disabled people. There are now plans for further development including improving physical access to the Portrait Gallery.

2.30 Some organisations are also providing advice to partners to improve access, for example Scottish Screen has been working with independent and multiplex cinemas to improve access. Many of the public authorities have access advisory panels or groups and take advice from staff and external experts such as ArtLink, Capability Scotland and the British Deaf Association. The Adapt Trust has been appointed by a number of national organisations (e.g. National Galleries Scotland and National Museums Scotland) to assist them in their efforts to achieve greater accessibility in both old and new build premises.

2.31 In some cases, it was difficult to assess whether the reported activity preceded the duty or was being undertaken directly as a result of new obligations arising from the Disability Discrimination Act. For example, within the public authorities with a focus on libraries, museums and galleries, some of the work on disability especially with regard to physical access, design issues in terms of buildings and pathways appear to have preceded the commencement of the duty.

Impact Assessment

2.32 The practice of public authorities regarding Equality Impact Assessment varies. One scheme (the Scottish Arts Council) includes a rigorous protocol for impact assessment of all policies. The 2006 action plan includes ambitious targets for taking this work forward and the 2007 annual report explains: "each assessment has taken much longer than planned to complete. We had underestimated the number of people affected by even minor changes to policies and practices, and the length of time needed to make such changes". The 2007 action plan maintains the commitment to impact assessment but includes revised, more realistic timescales.

2.33 Some have used Access Panels as a mechanism for accessing the views of disabled people. Scottish Screen indicates in its annual report that it has 'reviewed existing policies, procedures and practices' in partnership with the Glasgow Access Panel.

2.34 Other public authorities recognise the importance of equality impact assessing policies and many have this as an area of work for the 2007-8 period.

Training

2.35 This is an area that all public authorities acknowledged as being important. The focus of the training tends to be on raising employee awareness of disability issues, particularly in seeking to improve the customer care area. Training is also seen as a way of sensitising staff to disability issues with the aspiration of positive outcomes such as the development of human resource practices (e.g. recruitment and selection) which are more sensitive and relevant for disabled people as well as improving the numbers of applications for jobs from disabled applicants and volunteers.

2.36 Some public authorities have prioritised those being trained with front-of house staff (National Library of Scotland), Helpdesk staff (Scottish Arts Council) and education workers (National Museum of Scotland) being seen as key staff for such training. Such training offered has sometimes moved beyond generic disability awareness or induction training to specialised training that develops staff capacity to work effectively with particular groups such as people with mental health needs, people with sensory impairments or in the usage of communication aids. Other public authorities (such as Scottish Screen) offer assistance in promoting disability awareness, via their Digital Access Programme, to media training centres. Some public authorities have also provided disability awareness training to Board members.

2.37 One public authority state that they (National Museum of Scotland) have revised their whole organisational competency framework to embed the equality agenda and provided equality impact assessment training.

Communication and Marketing

2.38 Most public authorities have undertaken work to phase out inaccessible website content and replaced it with an accessible font and colour scheme and plain English. Some (such as the National Library of Scotland) have utilised external expertise to make sure that the content of events and exhibitions portrays disabled people in a respectful manner. The National Library of Scotland's website was considered to be of a very high standard and reflected in an acknowledgment by the Royal National Institute of the Blind's 2006 Audit of accessible websites.

2.39 Others have engaged in a range of work to improve their communication and marketing to disabled people or about disability issues:

• undertaking work with disabled pupils and adults to obtain audience feedback to services provided
• promoting positive images of disabled people in marketing material
• promoting diversity in the making, viewing and understanding of screen content
• offering support to disabled groups to access services e.g. making more use of museums
• encouraging partner organisations to provide better facilities for disabled people

2.40 To sum up, in the area of access to arts and culture there is a great deal of positive activity in some schemes and annual reports, particularly in relation to:

• Improving accessibility in terms of physical access into buildings as well as intellectual access in terms of major commissions, curated exhibitions and content of websites
• Involving disabled people to gain audience feedback, to advise in decision-making processes of organisations, for example in shaping policy and priority action areas
• Provision of a range of training to enhance employee awareness of disability issues. The training ranged from improving basic awareness to specialised training such as working with people with mental needs or in the usage of specific communication aids
• Consideration of equality impact assessment on current but particularly new polices and programmes.

Areas where progress is less evident

2.41 From the available evidence public authorities appear to be at different points on a learning curve regarding the mainstreaming of equality issues into organisational practices. There is also a range of institutional starting points and the steepness of learning curves is variable.

2.42 For example, the public authorities in this portfolio started from very different levels of engagement with disability equality. Some (the Scottish Arts Council) have years of experience having previously commissioned research, funded initiatives and developed organisational policies and strategies while others are just beginning to build up knowledge and intelligence in this area. Those at the start of the learning curve are beginning to consider the collation of baseline data about the profile of service users and commencing discussions within the organisation and considering how to embed disability issues into their overall organisational plan.

2.43 The following are areas where progress has been less evident:

• Availability of data
• Anti-harassment
• Service development
• Mainstreaming

Availability of data

2.44 Some public authorities collect baseline data from which progress can be monitored either as a service provider (e.g. number of disabled users, types of services most used) or as an employer (number of disabled employees, including roles and levels, numbers of disabled people applying for posts and their success and progression rates). Those that do, such as the National Library of Scotland and the Scottish Arts Council, are now beginning to embed disability equality within their human resource processes and are able to set more realistic targets for the future in terms of participation levels. However, use of baseline data, from which progress can be monitored, is less developed in many schemes.

Anti-harassment

2.45 Though some agencies mention disability-related harassment, most would not appear to address it directly, either in terms of employment or service delivery. This area might have been included in generic equality of opportunity policies but these were not reviewed for the purposes of this report. There is also no information about whether staff training on workplace culture/dignity at work, address harassment in general and disability-related harassment in particular. This is an area where more explicit inclusion in documentation would make the position clearer.

Service development

2.46 Though the public authorities articulate their commitment to making their services more accessible to disabled people, there is only limited evidence through action plans and annual reports of concrete progress. This may reflect the early stage of the disability equality duty and the fact that only the first round of schemes and annual reports are available for consideration.

2.47 Though several focus on its delivery of services and address barriers to inclusion, such as transport, service costs, affordable housing, physical access constraints and provision of information, the absence of clear baseline data and measurable targets makes progress on these issues difficult to assess from the documents available.

Mainstreaming

2.48 Though some public authorities have begun to mainstream disability issues into their organisational policy and delivery structure (for example, consideration of disability issues are embedded in quality frameworks), this area for many is still embryonic.

2.49 To sum up, public authorities are at varying stages of the learning curves.

The key areas requiring further attention include the identification of baseline data from which progress can be benchmarked and monitored, more systematic consideration of disability issues in relation to health and safety, checking that there are procedures in place to address harassment on grounds of disability and mainstreaming of disability issues to organisational policies and practices.

Categories of Impairment

2.50 Most public authorities understand the complexity of the term 'disabled' and that such a term encompasses a diversity of disabled people. However, the primary areas that have had most attention related to mobility and sensory impairments. Some authorities have included people with learning disabilities and those with mental health issues but these are in the minority.

Consultation and Involvement

2.51 All public authorities acknowledge the importance of consulting and involving disabled people in developing schemes, action plans and in the monitoring of progress. Some routinely involve trades unions. Several public authorities have sought to improve the involvement of disabled people in the decision-making processes of the organisation, for example, in the shaping of policy, identification of priority action areas, identification of barriers faced by disabled people and agree steps to remove these.

2.52 One public authority (the Scottish Arts Council) has worked hard to improve ways in which disabled staff and staff with personal experience of disability issues are able to contribute actively to the development of the scheme and action plans. This was done through the setting up of a standing Disability Group within the authority. Some public authorities are very small and may have very few or no disabled staff from which to draw involvement from.

2.53 The same public authority as above also hold wider consultation events which gather key disability arts organisations and disabled artists to discuss the progress of their schemes and strategies. The concerns and priorities of disabled arts organisations and artists are then detailed in the annual report and clearly reflected in revised action plans. One area that the consultation process identified is the need improved understanding of disability and the range of disability issues within the arts. This authority's updated disability scheme in 2008 includes plans to assess how equalities are being embedded in organisations funded by the public authority. The mechanism this authority is using to achieve this is via its' Quality Framework and the inclusion of equalities as a condition of funding from April 2009.

2.54 However, there is still a need to assist some public authorities to distinguish between consultation and involvement of disabled people throughout the whole process of shaping, implementing and monitoring of schemes. Some have been challenged by the process, particularly regarding 'mainstreaming'.

2.55 The extent and nature of disabled people's input into plans and annual reviews is difficult to assess. In some public authorities, the involvement of one or two disabled individuals in the authority's committee or Board was cited as evidence of the perspective of disabled people being taken seriously. In this context there may be a danger of tokenism. Annual report evidence of disabled people's impact on short and long term planning is as yet limited, though some progress is being made.

2.56 The methods for consultation and involvement include the use of surveys, focus groups, local access forums, 1-1 discussions, having 'disabled representatives' on working groups, advisory bodies and boards and trawling previous research data for useful information. Progress towards meaningful involvement of disabled people and qualitative data collection is varied. Public authorities that have been accustomed to seeking user feedback and to improve consultation and participation have been able to augment these areas of work by including disabled people within ongoing surveys and research studies.

For these public authorities, it would appear that consultations and involvement are having some impact on both the service provision and employment sectors in some organisations, but hard data on outcomes remains scarce.

Summary and conclusion

2.57 All public authorities are addressing the disability equality duty. Some are systematically integrating a longstanding and deep understanding of disability, equality and involvement throughout all its work. Such public authorities have used the tools prescribed by the specific duties to drive forward actions which contribute to meeting the six aims of the General Duty. They have also taken significant steps to gather appropriate qualitative and quantitative data on which to base its targets and actions in the future.

2.58 A number of public authorities have explicitly stated that they have adopted the social model of disability, though some of these more recently than others. These authorities have begun to seek advice and expertise from disability organisations and groups and are beginning to consider how disability equality may be mainstreamed into their work.

2.59 In relation to the public bodies which are at the start of consulting and involving disabled people, clearer outcomes, actions, timescales and targets need to be developed in order to effectively progress disability equality and gather evidence of such progress.

2.60 Some public authorities make no reference to quantitative data at all in relation to their role as service providers or in their role as employers. Without a baseline it is difficult to see how progress is going to be assessed for these bodies.

2.61 In their work towards disability equality the focus of most bodies is still predominantly outwards, mainly in terms of improving access to buildings and services. To these ends many effective and creative means are being developed, for example the provision of information in a variety of accessible formats and virtual visits to physically inaccessible sites. Some public authorities are beginning to consider how they can improve as an employer of disabled people but many are only just beginning to seek out the views of disabled employees and volunteers.

2.62 Few public authorities have directly addressed issues of harassment based on disability. While some may do so as part of a Dignity at Work Policy, this is not evident in their schemes, action plans or annual reports.

2.63 Some public authorities are also attempting to consider disability equality within a larger equalities framework. In doing so, care needs to be taken to ensure that a single equality scheme or a multi-equalities approach still enables disaggregation of data and progress to be measured for the different equality areas, including disability.

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