Overview

I attended both days of Motability The Big Event at the NEC on 17 and 18 May 2024 as I was volunteering on the Euan's Guide stall. Through this I also heard other people's experiences of visiting the NEC. The comments in the review are mine unless I reference someone else. On the second day of attending, when our taxi arrived at the parking attendant booth, the member of staff asked to see my crutch before they would let our vehicle go to the dropping off point. I found this utterly humiliating, and it has clouded my experience of visiting the NEC. However, on paper it ticks many boxes and is generally accessible, there are areas where they could do better. I have received a reply to my complaint and have put it in the additional information section if you'd like to read it.

Transport & Parking

Overall, the NEC is huge and a found the getting to and around it quite confusing, due to lack of signage, and very stressful, due to unfriendly and unhelpful staff. BIRMINGHAM INTERNATIONAL RAILWAY STATION The nearest train station is Birmingham International. From the station there is a step free route to the NEC via a covered Bridgelink. This is quite a distance so with a crutch it was not an option for me. TAXIS Both days we took a taxi from our hotel to the NEC. On the first day we were dropped off in the middle of a car park, see photo, there were barriers so it was quite a distance for me to walk to the venue. We then found out that the taxi driver should have told them at the parking attendant booth that I had a disability and we would have been allowed to be dropped off close to the building. On the second day, knowing our experience from the day before we made sure the driver informed the member of staff at the parking attendant booth that I had a disability. This is what happened Driver: Explained he had a disabled person who uses crutches NEC Parking Staff: Asked to see my crutches Me: I held up my crutch NEC Parking Staff: Let us through saying they get people pretending to be disabled to get through the barrier. Our driver had told us obtaining agreement for a disabled person to be dropped off near the venue is problematic with NEC parking staff. After our incident, he said that what I was subjected to was "mild". Please note that the days we went there was a disability event on, so NEC Parking Staff should have been aware. On leaving the NEC on the first day I was directed to the taxi rank. When I arrived there were no cabs there so I called the number on the sign, see photo. I got through quickly and requested a cab. They explained that they could not order one for me but they could send one down. I asked how long it would take, the reply was as we don't order them we can't tell you. Quite unhelpful. I sat and waited and nothing turned up. I then saw a shuttle bus to the railway station so I went and boarded that. While waiting for the bus to depart a couple of taxis arrived at the taxi stand, however with my mobility I did not want to get off the bus and find the taxi had gone by the time I managed to walk over there. On the NEC website's accessibility page it says "Please note, you should bring your Blue Badge with you, even if you are arriving by taxi or private coach. If you are arriving by taxi and have your Blue Badge with you, you will be able to be dropped off at the main entrances. If you also require a pick up, please advise the taxi firm that you have a blue badge and the taxi will be permitted to pick you up from the main entrances. If you are using a T.O.A black cab you will be picked up at the ranks by the main entrances." I do not have a Blue Badge as I don't have access to a car. If I was a wheelchair user my wheelchair would have been in the boot, would the NEC parking staff have asked for the boot of the car to be opened? What happens if you have a non-visible disability, how do you prove you are disabled. If I had a stoma would I have had to undress and show that to the NEC parking attendant. This is humiliating. I would recommend that the NEC parking staff urgently have some disability awareness training and current procedures for disabled people accessing the NEC are reviewed and updated. FREE STEP FREE SHUTTLE BETWEEN RAILWAY STATION AND NEC There is a free single deck shuttle bus that goes from Birmingham International Railway Station to the NEC. It stops outside the NEC and drops off by a lift by the railway station. I visited during the day and it was pretty regular. It has space for a 2 - 3 wheelchair users. On the second day I was going back to the station so I used the shuttle service.

Access

The venue itself has step free access throughout. There are automatic entrance doors, long wide corridors, which may be a problem when the venue is busy. We attended the Motability Big Event so it was laid out as an exhibition hall. There was a carpeted surface on the floor which was laid out with roads with a line in the middle of them and surrounded by green areas where the exhibitors stalls were laid out. The road system as well as looking cute was very practical as most people followed the road and the two lanes meant that people could get round easily. However, a couple of manual wheelchair users said rolling on the carpet was quite hard going. Euan's Guide had its own stand with a couple of chairs and a dog bowl, which was rather popular. Some stalls had some seating. I did not walk round the entire exhibition area but the bit I did there was plenty of free standing tables and chairs near the food stalls. One area that needs improving is signage it was very difficult to work out where to go both inside Motability's exhibition space and outside in the communal area. The signage was appalling and could do with a re-fresh.

Toilets

Motability is a disabled person's event and no thought had been given to help regulate the queues for the accessible toilets. In other similar events Mobiloo has been there to increase the numbers of accessible toilets. Every time I needed the toilet I had to queue for quite a considerable time. One time the person in front of me who had two crutches, got so desperate that she went to the regular toilets. Thus possibly putting herself at risk due to desperation due to the long wait to get a safe and accessible toilet. Also while on the Euan's Guide stall I spoke with many disabled people who had found the queuing times difficult. Powerchair users also told me that the cubicles were small and often had to reverse backwards out of the toilet due to the lack of space to manoeuvre, and I observed this several times, and then due to the corridor being narrow and busy, some reversed out of the corridor back into the main hall. The toilet was small square, with a large bin and a large hand dryer on the floor. There were plenty of grab rails and the emergency cord was in the middle of the cubicle meaning it was difficult not to bump into it when using the toilet. The NEC need a major rethink their accessible toilets and how disabled people can access them safely. They are not safe! They are not powerchair friendly with respect to space and layout. More accessible toilets need to be available for event geared specifically for our disabled community.

Staff

I have already raised above under parking and transport, that I had to show my crutch to get through the parking barrier. It was humiliating, offensive, ableist and inappropriate. I've already made commented above about the taxi firm I called at the NEC to request a taxi. When I boarded the shuttle bus on the first day, a woman was unable to get her wheelchair up the bus aisle, the bus driver made the comment that she only needed to walk a very short distance to get to the seat (in a brisk tone), she replied explaining when you are disabled even very short distances are a challenge. One of the times I was queuing up for the toilet, the cleaner insisted in going into the toilet first, before a wheelchair user and their carer, to sweep the floor (n.b. there was no accident that urgently needed to cleaned up). She did not ask if it was ok, the disabled person may have had bladder/ bowel problems and urgently needed the toilet, particularly after a substantial wait. The cleaner displayed no self-awareness or customer care skills of the disabled person's needs. Overall, there is a significant systemic ableist attitude problem at the NEC from staff in parking / transport towards disabled people. It is offensive, unhelpful and discriminatory. Whether the staff works directly for the NEC or has been contracted out to another company, does not matter, it means that disabled people are discriminated against, spoken to offensively, stereotyped as seen not to be trusted so other people have to "police" us and decide if we are "disabled" enough to to worthy of being allowed into a closer drop off place, which in itself is a "reasonable adjustment" under the Equality Act 2010.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Overall, I had a positive and enjoyable couple of days volunteering on the Euan's Guide stand. However, everything is over shadowed by the systemic problem of staff's ableist attitudes towards disabled people. Training is urgently needed. Next time I visit I will refuse to show my crutch if asked and if the drop off space is refused me, I will submit a court claim for failure to provide reasonable adjustment. The NEC staff do not operate within the spirit of the Equality Act 2010, and this is discriminatory. REPLY TO COMPLAINT FROM THE NEC ON 10/06/2024 Dear Ms Hodgkinson, Thank you for your letter dated 20th May. Our feedback team have escalated your complaint to me to co-ordinate a response as your letter includes multiple elements. Your complaint has been reviewed by several members of the Venue Management Team, Event Management & relevant Service Partners. I am the NEC Venue General Manager, and my team of Event Managers work in conjunction with our clients to deliver the events we host here at our venue, one of which was Big Event Mobility. I was extremely disappointed to hear about your experience when you were volunteering on the Euan’s Guide stand, and I would like to apologise for such a negative and difficult experience. There are clearly actions for us to take up within the complaint, namely communication and colleague training. With regards to your arrival on both days via a taxi, our process is that all taxis are permitted access through the gate to drop off visitors at the Atrium main entrance. There is no valid explanation as to why on the first day you were directed to another car park and on the second day why our colleague spoke in the manner they did, as on both occasions the taxi should have been directed to the main entrance with no questions. Our Gate colleagues have training in all aspects of customer service, and a specific module in accessibility awareness and can only work on the gates once both are completed, therefore it was even more disappointing to read your letter. As an immediate action, we will be reviewing our training content and asking all colleagues working on the gates to attend refresher training and this will also include our shuttle bus drivers. Our Campus General Manager, who manages the TOA Taxi contract, is taking your feedback forward with TOA, and I can assure you that the points raised will be addressed. The NEC has dedicated accessible toilets in each of our halls, in addition to the public concourse where there are accessible toilets and a Changing Unit Facility. Our facilities were built to the specific design and Building Regulations at the time, therefore we have differing sizes. As and when our toilets are refurbished, we change layouts and design to current Building Regulations. During the planning for this event, the organiser did arrange for a further 10 x accessible toilets to be installed in the hall – these were located on the show floor and had a banner rigged above them to help visitors find them. The organiser also had an event app and the information on toilets was also included in the app. Another action for us will be to discuss how we can work more collaboratively with the organiser to ensure improved communication on toilet facilities. Part of the cleaner’s duties was to check that the hoist in the changing unit facility was working but we do recognise that more interaction between cleaning and our customers is required with an enhanced awareness of customers’ needs and requirements. Our Cleaning Manager is taking this forward with the wider cleaning team. I am sorry that you were not able enjoy a positive experience during your visit to the NEC and for how you were made to feel. I am also very grateful that you have taken the time to share the details with us. Without the views and feedback of our customers, we are unable to improve. I very much hope that we can welcome you into the venue again soon and that we can provide you with a much better experience next time round. Kind regards Linda Linda Ritchie NEC Venue General Manager

Photos