We would like to thank everyone in the Central and East of England region
who completed a Polls Apart survey when they went to vote. Particular thanks
go to members of Scope’s Central and East of England Partnership Committees,
members of the Campaign’s Network and to the staff of the Central and
East of England Community Team.
The polling station was a disgrace. The ramp was at a 45 degree angle over six steps leading to the basement. The polling station used to be at the other end of the building which is ‘disabled friendly’ until a few years ago when it was moved.
Polls Apart 2005 volunteer, North Essex
Polls Apart: Central and East of England (Word Document 69KB)
Results from the Central and East of England were very positive on a number of counts. 94% of polling stations had level access inside the building which made it easy for a disabled person to move around. Ease of access within a building is just as important as access into it so this is encouraging.
The attitudes of polling station staff towards disabled voters and the way staff provide support to vote can make a huge difference to a disabled person’s experience of voting so it was very positive that 97% of polling station staff were helpful and friendly in the Central and East of England.
75% of polling station in the Central and East of England had low-level ballot booths compared to 65% nationwide. Low-level ballot booths guarantee privacy for wheelchair users and disabled and older voters who may need to sit down to vote and are one of the simplest ways to improve access.
The Central and East of England performed well in relation to other regions of the UK although 61% of polling stations still failed the Polls Apart basic access test.
Encouragingly 67% of polling stations in the Central and East of England had level access into the building, compared to 60% UK wide. Though a significant improvement on the UK wide result the fact that over one third of polling stations in the Central and East of England region didn’t have level access prompts serious questions about the extent to which service providers are complying with the October 2004 Disability Discrimination Act duties. To make matters worse many disabled people reported that many buildings did in fact have ramps or accessible entrances but that these were locked away or not used.
The increase in the use of poorly designed and unsafe ramps suggests that temporary ramps are widely being used as an inappropriate alternative to permanent access adjustments. In the Central and East of England a shocking 40% of ramps surveyed were inappropriately designed.
Whichever way we look at it access to polling stations in the Central and East of England region is still poor. 61% of polling stations in the region failed our basic access test. This means that many disabled people in the Central and East of England would have found it difficult or impossible to vote at the General Election 2005.
The UK wide Polls Apart 2005 evaluation results were very disappointing revealing
that the number of accessible polling stations has only improved by 1% since
2001. Though the Central and East of England region performed better in many
areas than the nationwide average it is clear that significant improvements
are still needed before all disabled people have equal access to the voting
process.
