Annual Report for the year to 31 December, 2007

TAG is constituted by adoption of a Constitution and registered as Charity No 1051222. Its address is 36 Victoria Street, Wetherby, Yorkshire LS22 6RE. This is the third full year of operating under its new name (it was formerly the Telecommunications Action Group until 27 October 2004) and under the revised aims which embrace all forms of electronic communications, including both telecommunications and broadcasting, to reflect the legislative changes introduced by the Communications Act 2003 and the setting up of the regulator, Ofcom.

The charity trustees during the year to 31 December, 2007 were:

Mrs Ruth Myers Chairman
Mr Bill Pechey Vice Chairman
Mr R Ross Trotter Secretary
Mr David M Myers Treasurer

The Honorary Officers are the Trustees of TAG, they hold office for two years and are eligible for re-election bi-annually in rotation.

The member organisations of TAG during 2007 were British Deaf Association, Deaf Broadcasting Council, Deafax, Deafness Support Network, deafPLUS, Hearing Concern, LINK, National Association of Deafened People, National Deaf Children’s Society, Royal Association in Aid of Deaf People, RNID, Scottish Council on Deafness and Sense.

TAG’s mission is to promote equality of access to electronic communications, including telecommunications and broadcasting, for deaf, deafened, hard-of-hearing, deafblind people and sign language users, especially in terms of function and cost. A good working relationship has been established with Ofcom, PhoneAbility, BT Age and Disability Action and other bodies. TAG is represented on the Consumer Forum on Communications and the Consumer Expert Group, and is a member of the United Kingdom Council on Deafness. TAG responds to relevant industry documents and endeavours to attend as many events as possible to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing people have a ‘visible voice’. TAG monitors European issues and developments in EU Directives.

Two issues of our newsletter Sequel, which is distributed to approx 400 opinion formers and service providers, were produced in 2007. The magazine carried articles ranging from comments on the Ofcom report on alternative relay services, to subtitles on digital and downloaded services, as well as a look at the history of deaf telecommunications. Sequel is created by an editorial team led by Stephen Fleming, and TAG appreciates their work. The newsletter complements TAG’s website at www.tagcomm.org.uk which TAG’s webmaster, Geoff Brown, keeps up to date.

2007 marked the 21st anniversary of TAG’s existence and a major task was the production of a booklet to mark the occasion called The Road to Access. Liberally illustrated with photographs this charts the history of deaf telecommunications and broadcasting, has some case studies showing advances over the period, and has sections from sponsors and member organisations. The work on this booklet was again led by Stephen Fleming and TAG’s Chairman, Ruth Myers.

Another main focus of TAG’s work in 2007 has been the commencement of a relay campaign to lobby for access to improved and alternative relay services, such as captioned and video relay. A working group was set up and the campaign was announced at a meeting of the Consumer Forum on Communications. TAG has the support of that body and the Ofcom Consumer Panel, and will work closely with Ofcom to achieve the much needed improvements. This campaign will launch in 2008.

Work on access services, especially subtitling and signing, is ongoing, both to ensure that the targets for these services continue to increase without a drop in quality, and also that they are properly monitored. TAG continues to meet with relevant personnel at Ofcom and to attend various meetings on this subject, both concerning the access service targets and revision of the guidelines for how they are delivered. The TAG Officers had a useful meeting with Red Bee Media to discuss relevant issues. TAG is also represented at the Channel 4 Deaf Organisations meetings.

The TAG Officers meet regularly with the National Manager of BT Age & Disability Action (now part of BT Consumer Affairs and Inclusion) and the Product Manager of BT TextDirect. TAG’s Vice Chairman also attends meetings of the Orange TACT Forum. TAG has continued to take up issues of relevance to deaf customers with both fixed line and mobile telecommunication providers.

The Trustees appreciate the help and support given by member organisations and organisations with which we are in contact and the expertise provided by TAG’s co-opted members.