Mrs E Trellis
Lytleton House
22 Stryd y Dwysoges
North Wales

Mr S Blue
General Manager
The Empire Theatre
Duny-on-the-Wold
Dorset

1 November, 2004

Dear Mr Blue,

I am writing to bring to your attention my visit to the Empire Theatre on 30 October 2004 for a performance of ‘The Cherry Orchard’. 

I am hard of hearing, and use two hearing aids to enable me to hear and understand what people are saying. When I go to the theatre I rely on induction loops to help me hear what is being said on stage. Without the loop I cannot understand what is being said because the actors voices tend to echo. When I saw the flyer advertising the production, I was pleased to note that it said that an induction loop had been fitted to the theatre. I was looking forward to going to this production with my niece with whom I was staying.

When I went to the theatre box office on 29 August 2003 to buy the tickets, I asked the young man behind the counter where I should sit in order to get the benefit of the loop. He told me that he wasn’t sure, but that he thought the loop worked in all parts of the auditorium.

When Sarah and I arrived at the theatre, I noticed that there was a purple ‘Induction Loop’ sign on the door into the auditorium. When we took our seats, I turned my hearing aids to the "T" position. Although I didn’t hear anything, I thought that perhaps this was because the play hadn’t started and the induction loop had yet to be switched on. When the play started, I was very surprised that I still could not hear anything. After a few minutes I went to the box office and spoke to a young lady called Liz. She said that she did not know that the theatre had an induction loop, but would check with her manager. When Liz came back, she told me that the theatre did have a loop, but that it only worked in the front five rows. There were no seats available in any of the front five rows. Liz also told me that she was not sure if the loop had been turned on that evening.

I was very upset and annoyed. I had been looking forward to seeing and hearing the play. As your theatre had gone to the expense of fitting an induction loop, I had expected that you would have made sure that it was switched on and working properly. I had also expected your staff to know which seats it covered and would make sure that they could pass this information to patrons, such as myself, who needed to use the loop.

As you may be aware, part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) states that it is unlawful for service providers to discriminate against disabled people by providing them with a lower standard of service, or service on worse terms for reasons relating to their disability. Also, since 1 October 1999, you have been required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to enable disabled customers to access your services. This includes altering practices, policies and procedures that make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of your service. It also includes providing auxiliary aids and services. Auxiliary aids include induction loops and infrared systems. 

Under the DDA, it is your responsibility to ensure that any ‘auxiliary aids’ you provide are carefully chosen and properly maintained. Induction loop systems must be installed in accordance with British Standard 7594. Neck loop receivers, as worn by hearing aid wearers using these systems, should conform to British Standard 6083, part IV. You should have signs clearly on display to indicate the presence of such equipment and staff should be aware of how auxiliary aids such as induction loops or infrared systems work and how to use them.

I enclose copies of the following factsheets produced by RNID, which provide more information about your legal duties and working with induction loops and infrared systems:

Please consider the serious issues that my experience has raised. I look forward to receiving your written response within 21 days.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Yours sincerely

Mrs E Trellis