§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how she is working with interested parties to encourage the development of audio-description technology adapted for(a) museum and heritage collections and (b) visual arts work. [175016]
§ Estelle MorrisDCMS and its sponsored bodies have undertaken a range of initiatives aimed at increasing the use of audio description, which, through visual information and interpretive commentary, can greatly enhance appreciation of cultural exhibits and sites by visually-impaired people. Some of the key initiatives are as follows.
Arts Council England (ACE) and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), with support from English Heritage, funded the "Talking Images" project managed by the Royal National Institute for the Blind, which resulted in extensive guidance for museums, galleries and heritage sites on how to provide audio description and venue access, including a technical specification for user-friendly audio-guide equipment.
MLA has produced further guidance on inclusive technology, distributed to more than 3,000 museums, libraries and archives, and is also promoting technical web-accessibility for online cultural collections, so that new services such as audio description can be easily accessed. An example of innovation in this area is the Tate Modern's imap website, which uses audio description and images adapted for the partially-sighted through heightened colour contrast.
English Heritage has audio guides at over 50 of its properties and is looking to increase this number. Many sites also have set tours for the visually-impaired and interactive audio tours. English Heritage has also produced a guide on improving access for blind and partially-sighted people.