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Broadcasting and Creative Industries Disability Network (BCIDN) Manifesto
The BCIDN commitments are:
- Increase the presence of disabled people on air and on screen
- Increase the number of disabled people in all areas of the workforce
- Increase access to services, on and off air
- Ensure access to all buildings
Channel 4's Action Plan
Commitment 1: increase presence of disabled people on screen
- Disability Advisor already surveys disability inclusion in mainstream programmes for the annual Independent Television Commission (ITC) report. Propose to present this measurement of progress annually to Programme Review (attended by all commissioning editors) in January of each year.
- Disability Advisor will continue to work with commissioning editors and producers to achieve greater inclusion of disabled people across all programmes as contributors, contestants, experts, presenters, actors, audience and interviewees.
- Disability Advisor will compile a showreel of clips providing examples of good practice in this area. Target (initially) 10 production companies and send with a letter encouraging producers to follow these examples.
- The newly designed Four All disability database website (www.channel4.com/4disabledtalent) provides Guidelines for Producers including advice on working with people with disabilities, meeting access needs, hiring sign language interpreters, reaching more disabled contributors, etc. The website will be regularly updated.
Commitment 2: increase employment of disabled people in all areas of the workforce including programme production
In order to meet our legal obligations Channel 4 will:
- Review all recruitment procedures (such as advertising, interview procedures and selection or assessment centres) to ensure that job opportunities are positively made available to disabled people.
- Make reasonable adjustments as required for employees who are or who become disabled during their employment with the Channel.
In addition to the above, Channel 4 is committed to an action plan of increasing disability awareness across management and staff throughout the Channel by investing in training and listening to the views of employees. Specific actions include the following:
- Disability awareness is to be embedded in all management training programmes from January 2002, particularly in areas such as recruitment and performance management, with a view to encouraging disability awareness throughout our managers' everyday activities;
- Follow on from Deaf Awareness training for all HR people, conducted in 2001, by extending the programme to other teams within Channel 4;
- Implement a "consultative forum" of disabled employees at the Channel in order to create a forum for discussing the work environment, access issues and positive changes.
Training in programme production
- Funds set aside (£35,000 in 2002) for support of training disabled people external to the Channel with a view to increasing the skills base and encouraging employment in production. Following the success of the 1999 TV Skills course and building on the Vee-TV training experience, in 2002 we will initiate a more structured approach to training deaf and disabled people in programme production.
Monitoring employment
- In order to help monitor employment of disabled people in production a 'Disability' button has been added to the Commissioning Form so that details of any disabled crew can be recorded.
Commitment 3: increase access to services, on and off air
- The ITC lays down targets for subtitling, audio description and signing. Channel 4 is committed to meeting those targets.
- Programme Support - which provides, websites, phonelines and print publications for adults and young people as part of Channel 4's licence requirement on educational broadcasting; and channel4.com - Channel 4's website will develop their commitment to access for disabled people. We already provide:
Phonelines
- Channel 4's Blinded season in 2001 saw the introduction of 'pause' and 'rewind' options for the recorded information lines that were offered to viewers after the programmes. These enabled blind or visually impaired people enough time to write down telephone numbers and addresses, and this has now been incorporated into all recorded information lines offered by Channel 4.
- Recorded information line scripts are also available on the channel4.com website and 4-Tel, and viewers are alerted to this in programme announcements.
- Channel 4's staffed helplines have a minicom facility, and helpline advisers are familiar with users who come to them through the Typetalk system.
- The Health House website (at channel4.com/health) enables users to receive confidential advice similar to that given over a helpline through the web. This is accompanied by phone support when necessary.
- Announcements given after programmes, advertising recorded information lines and staffed helplines, repeat phone numbers for those viewers who need more time to write down the number. The number is also always given as a visual on screen, as well as being spoken.
Booklets
- Alternative formats, including large print, audio cassette and Braille, are available upon request.
Websites
- All websites produced by the Programme Support department have text-only options. All key homepages and showcards on the main channel4.com website also have text-only options.
- An Access Advice button giving information on how users can alter their operating system or web browsing applications is provided on the channel4.com homepage. This gives information on increasing contrast, changing colours, increasing and decreasing font size, manipulating page format and keyboard alternatives.
Action points
- Programme Support and channel4.com will continue to update its web design guidelines so designers are aware of the latest issues on accessibility, including:
- Colour combinations that should be avoided (for people with colour-blindness); and the need to ensure that navigation devices given are not colour-dependent, eg: Click on red button.
- The use of captions/transcripts for audio elements, and audio description for video sequences where appropriate. Some comedy or music audio content, we are advised, is not suitable material for providing transcripts. Comprehensive alt tags will be provided in these cases.
- The need to consider creative, non-text based alternatives for games and other interactive material.
- Problems faced by people navigating without a mouse, including the use of easy-to-access links.
Commitment 4: ensure access to all buildings by 2004
In order to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) by 2004, disability access audits have been carried out in two of the buildings and a working group/consultative forum (including disabled members of staff) is being set up to audit the other buildings and review existing access. Requirements arising from the audits will be reviewed and actions taken where necessary.
Current accessibility
- Channel 4 has five buildings. The headquarters at 124 Horseferry Road was designed and built specifically for Channel 4: it is accessible for disabled people, with facilities throughout the building.
- There is a complex of three other buildings near to Horseferry Road: Greencoat House and Greencoat Place are wheelchair accessible throughout; Francis House is accessible on parts of all floors except the 4th floor.
- The fifth building (FilmFour on Charlotte Street) is accessible via a ramp to the entrance and there is lift access to each floor except the basement.
Initiatives in place and planned for the future
- Hearing induction loops installed in meeting rooms at Horseferry Road and due to be installed in the meeting room suite at the complex of three buildings.
- Procedures implemented to offer assistance to disabled people to leave the buildings in an emergency. This includes evacuation chair training for first aiders, fire marshals and security officers.
- Low level reception desks at two out of the three reception desks; the third desk is due to be replaced as part of a refurbishment project in early 2002.
- Access ramps built where they are needed at three of the buildings and one due to be built at Francis House in 2002. Greencoat Place is accessible via street level.
- Televisions in Channel 4 receptions have subtitles switched on.
- The two cinemas fitted with induction loops and accessible for wheelchair users.
- A custom-built ramp to make the cinema staging accessible.
- Disability awareness training planned for reception staff in 2002.
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