Scots toast new pub access law

An amendment to licensing laws passed by the Scottish Parliament will potentially put some of the spontaneity back into a night out. Sunil Peck reports

Mark Cooper remembers feeling annoyed about the night in early 2009 when he had to leave the Edinburgh pub he was drinking in with mates so he could go to an accessible toilet. The pub they were in did have disabled access, but the nearest usable toilet for him was in another pub 200 yards along the road.

In fact, he was so angry that he started an internet campaign which attracted more than 700 supporters in its first week.

With the support of the disability organisation Capability Scotland and the MSP George Foulkes, Mark's campaign gathered momentum and has culminated in the passing of an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act in the Scottish Parliament which requires new pubs to show how accessible they are for disabled customers when they apply for a licence.

Speaking to Disability Now after the passing of the amendment, Mark, who now works as a parliamentary and policy officer at Capability Scotland, said: "I am delighted that the hard work put in by me and my colleagues at Capability Scotland and George Foulkes has paid off."

The difficulties posed by the absence of access information were highlighted for Mark when he went out to celebrate the new law and he struggled to get his wheelchair through the door in yet another pub.

"That shows why this campaign is needed. We thought that because the pub had flat access we would be able to fit my wheelchair through the door with no problem."

What about the pub with disabled access which Mark had to leave in 2009 in order to use a disabled toilet? Will the new legislation mean that Mark can now enjoy a few pints there?

"No. The point of the campaign is not to say that every pub should be accessible. It's about improving the access information available to disabled people so that they can make a choice about where they can go to."

The hope is that the information will be made available for people to view online.

"The amendment says that people will have to provide information about the facilities in their premises as well as information on access and egress to and from the premises. So that is things like if the door to get into the pub is heavy as well as whether or not there are large print menus or disabled toilets inside."

Is he concerned about the pub trade's willingness to co-operate with the legislation?

"I am confident. I have had very positive feedback from the pub trade. I know the trade is struggling so if disabled people can have information about a particular pub, that pub could see an increase in sales."

Mark is still mulling over how the campaign to promote greater access to pubs can be moved on. Perhaps it could be extended to cover premises which already have a licence. But he says that one possibility could be a mobile phone application for people to access the information when they are out which would eliminate the need to plan nights out in advance. He also talks about the possibility of broadening it to cover pubs in the rest of the UK.

"It's about independent living. Disabled people should have the right to a barrier-free social life. Having to leave a pub just because you can't go to the toilet is social exclusion."

Mark says: "At the moment I tend to stick to the same places where I know that I'm not going to have a problem going to the toilet."

Meanwhile, south of the border throughout England and Wales, disabled drinkers who need accessible toilets will continue to have to stick to pubs they know or plan their nights out based on information gained from recces.