Access to the conference centre, conference hotel and fringe venues

The conference venues and hotels we book must be wheelchair accessible. The Conference Access Group undertakes thorough site visits of our conference centres and hotels to check accessibility of the meeting rooms, usability of the lifts, disabled toilets and ramps, as well as the facilities provided in the hotels' accessible bedrooms.
 
Where accessibility can be improved, we push for it. For example we were delighted that our Conference Hotel in Brighton 2007, replaced its non-DDA compliant ramp with a wheelchair lift following a CAG visit.
 
Conference centre: The speaker's podium is easily height adjustable and the stage in the auditorium is wheelchair accessible. We also retain the steps because in some cases slopes can also be a hurdle to people with mobility problems.
 
We are also working with the conference venues to assist us with the needs of working dogs and in the past, the staff from the RSPCA have taken dogs for walks during debates. If you require assistance at conference with a working dog, please contact Robert Littlehales, Disabled Access Steward, rlittlehales@aol.com.
 
Fringe meetings: Whilst fringe meeting room bookings outside the conference and fringe hotels are beyond our control, we will not promote any fringe meeting listing or advertisement in our documentation that is not held in a wheelchair accessible meeting room.
 
To help reps get to and from fringe meetings, a wheelchair accessible bus is provided during peak fringe times between the conference centre and fringe hotels. This service is available to all reps with mobility problems.