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DAII's Disability Access Guide for the Voluntary Sector

Introduction

Welcome to the new Disability Action in Islington (DAII) bi-monthly disability access bulletin, funded
by the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund.

Issue by issue this bulletin will build into a practical and easy to use reference guide, for you to keep and use, tailored for the voluntary sector in Islington.

The bulletin is designed to enable voluntary sector organisations to create a realistic and sustainable plan for becoming more accessible to disabled people as service users and employees.

All of our information, including this bulletin, is available in Braille, large print, easy read, disc and audio format.

In this edition of the Bulletin:

Disability - the facts!

Of the 60 million people in the UK, 10 million are disabled people. For a whole range of reasons this is a figure which is on the increase so it is important to anticipate, and not just react, when a disabled person approaches your service.

There are about 28,000 disabled people living in Islington, over 16% of the total population. This is the third largest population of disabled people in London. Many of whom might want to access the services you provide, be on your management committee, be your volunteers, employees or customers.

Many people think of wheelchair users when they think about disability but only 5% of disabled people are wheelchair users. Many people have hidden impairments, so it is really is about thinking much more widely. Your services will need to be accessible to people with visual/hearing impairments, people with learning difficulties, people with hidden impairments and people with a wide range of mobility issues.

DON'T forget these facts and figures - you might want to use them in your funding bids!

Why do we have the Disability Discrimination Act 1995?

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) is a piece of civil rights legislation that has been in existence since 1995.

The aim of the Act is to end discrimination towards disabled people in terms of services, employment, education etc.

There has been a tremendous amount of discrimination towards disabled people much of which has been because the needs of disabled people have not been considered when developing and delivering products and services. For example buildings have been designed without considering the needs of disabled people, information has been provided in inaccessible formats. The list is very long...

Historically, disability has been viewed from the perspective that the problem is the disabled person:

Disabled people cannot do things - walk, talk, work, make decisions, get up stairs...

However, there has been a sizable shift in perspective, mainly led by disabled people who have questioned this kind of thinking.

Disabled people can do things - If non-disabled people change their attitudes to disability, if barriers to education, employment, transport etc are removed.

It is this that has lead to the DDA, which has been implemented in several stages over the last 7 years. The final stage of Part III will come into effect on 1st October.

What does the DDA say?

Its says that where it is impossible, or unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to use a service, the service provider must take REASONABLE steps to -

This is called a REASONABLE ADJUSTMENT and it might mean many different things for different organisations. Each organisation will have to work out what is reasonable for them and be able to justify their actions.

The important thing to remember is that the duty of REASONABLE ADJUSTMENT is an anticipatory one - this means that you will need anticipate that disabled people will want to access your services and plan and deliver your services accordingly.

So what about October 1st 2004?

On October 1st 2004, the last stage of Part III of the DDA comes into effect - this is when the law “gets physical”.

This part of the act is about the removal of physical barriers to services. It says that where there is a physical barrier which makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to use a service then that barrier must be removed.

This can be done by either:

The removal of the physical barrier or the delivery of the service in a setting where the barrier does not exist or delivery of the service in a different way. This might be about producing some of your information in large print, or meeting with a disabled person in a place which has a Hearing Induction Loop (if they are hearing impaired) or allocating more time for an advice session for a person with learning difficulties. It is really important to build in the cost of doing the above into future funding bids and to put interim measures into place.

By doing this you will indicate to potential funders that you are serious about working towards being accessible. Although there will be no ‘Disability Rights Police Force' checking up on organisations the Disability Rights Commission is in place as a watchdog as well as a source of support to organisations. In addition to supporting individual disabled people to bring cases, they can also act as a mediator and have a range of legal remedies which they can exercise.

Being able to show that you have adopted a plan that will support disabled people to access your services will be important in securing future funding so that you can be accessible. All too often organisations have Equal Opportunities statements which say that they do not discriminate against disabled people but have no policies and procedures which prevent such discrimination from taking place. DON'T BE ONE OF THESE ORGANISATIONS!

What does it mean for you?

It means that you need to start to plan and implement a sensible and sustainable Disability Plan.

That is the starting point. The list of Do's and Don'ts below can act as a starting point, so read on.

Getting started on a Disability Plan - The Do's and Don't of Accessibility

You can use the list below as the basis for your accessibility plan. Perhaps take it to your management meeting and discuss what the first steps should be. It is really important that disabled people are involved in this process from start to finish. The watch word is CONSULT.

DO

Start Now!

Your mission statement probably states that you do not discriminate against disabled people. So it's now time to start to develop a plan to make sure that you don't.

DON'T

DO nothing!

Funders are interested in funding organisations who are working towards being inclusive of disabled people There are approximately 28 thousand disabled service users in Islington alone.

Monitor the numbers of disabled people accessing your services.

DO

Make a list of the services you provide and how you provide them.

DON'T

Panic and do nothing! Preparation prevents poor performance.

DO

List the barriers to services that people from different impairment groups might have accessing them.

Ask yourself questions like:

How would people with hearing impairments use our telephone help line? Is our information on tape for people with poor literacy or visual impairment?

DON'T

Forget to consult disabled people.
Attend one of DAII's free DDA seminars!
Also consult with your users and other people providing services to them. Network!

DO

Now formulate a sensible and sustainable plan. Make sure it has time scales and named people responsible for actions.
The very existence of this document will help with fundraising for changes which will cost money

DON'T

Forget to document. Evidence is important!
How we will support you to make it happen!

Over the next 12 months DAII be delivering a series of free seminars to accompany this bulletin. The aim of which will be to provide you with further information about the DDA and support you to become accessible to disabled people.

The proposed dates for the events are as follows:

EVENT DATES:

Please email us to let us know if you are interested in attending one of the seminars.

The first one will be happening at Islington Training Network and is already full. However, I will be sending out an email if places become available. In addition to this we will provide you with lots of sources of useful information, similar to that listed below. This should help you to formulate your plan.

But where to start?

Well, the best place to go for information about the legislation and information for service providers is the Disability Rights Commission. They have produced a wide range of guidance for service providers and we would recommend that you get a copy of “2004 - What it means to you. A Guide for service providers”. In addition to this they have an exhaustitive list of useful links from which you can continue your research.

Another source of information is the Employers Forum on Disability, who produces a wide range of publications and a series of fact sheets They cover disability statistics, resources for employers and people with disabilities, and sources of advice in areas such as building access and disability awareness training and the fact sheets can be downloaded for free!

Other useful sources of information:

The Centre for Accessible Environments
Nutmeg House, 60 Gainsford Street, London, SE1 2NY.

Tel: 020 7357 8182
Fax: 020 7357 8183

The Centre for Accessible Environments (CAE) is the UK's leading authority on accessible environments. It can offer specialist technical advice on improving physical access.

Disabled Living Foundation (DLF)

380 Harrow Road, London, W9 2HU

Tel: 0845 130 9177

The Disabled Living Foundation is a specialist organisation providing advice and information on aids and equipment for disabled people. The DLF also produces a range of fact sheets on different equipment. They also offer an internet publication called Access Solutions which provides information on appropriate equipment/assistive technology necessary to make "reasonable adjustments" to premises ensuring full access for all.

Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB)

Customer Services, PO Box 173, Peterborough, PE2 6WS.

Tel: 0845 766 9999
Fax: 020 7388 2034

The RNIB offers products, advice and information on visual impairment issues.

MK Design

10 Footes Lane, Frampton Cotterell, Bristol, BS36 2JQ.

Tel: 01454 852802
Fax: 01454 852802

MK Design produce tactile and Braille signs.

Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID)

19 - 23 Featherstone Street, London, EC1Y 8SL.

Tel: 0808 808 0123
Fax: 020 7296 8199

The RNID provides advice and information, including information on equipment such as induction loops.

W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

MIT/CSAIL Building 32 - 530, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Tel: 1 617 253 2613

This is the main contact details for advice on producing accessible websites. They have set the international standards for accessibility on the internet.

Watchfire Corporation (Bobby Standards)

211 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9HF

Tel 020 7917 2962
Fax 020 7917 2963

This company has produced a web accessibility software tool called “Bobby” which is designed to help expose and repair barriers to accessibility and encourage compliance with existing accessibility guidelines.

Ask the Access Auditor

Q: Who are the Council's access officers, and what can they do for the voluntary sector?

A: The Council has one access officer post, which is job shared by Sabrina Aaronovitch and Trish Sweeney. They can help organisations who are thinking about adaptations to provide better access for disabled people. Where needed, they can make a site visit, free of charge, and are also available for informal telephone advice. They can provide guidance on Access Building Regulations and the DDA; and advise on any planning, conservation and highways issues which may need to be addressed. For contact, telephone 0207 527 2394 or e-mail trish.sweeney@islington.gov.uk or sabrina.aaronovitch@islington.gov.uk. Or visit the Council's website www.islington.gov.uk on the ‘Access and Inclusive Design' page (via A-Z services) for more information.

About Disability Action in Islington (DAII)

Since 1996 DAII has provided assistance to disabled people in Islington, so that they can have more control in their daily lives, and challenge exclusion and discrimination.
DAII runs an information service which includes a help line and weekly drop in session. The service is currently being improved and will be re-launched in November of this year.

For more information telephone 020 7226 0137;
Minicom: 020 7359 1891.

DAII also provides a range of services to the local statutory, voluntary and business sector including access audits and disability equality training.

DAII is uniquely placed to understand the barriers, which prevent disabled people from accessing goods and services. One of our roles is to support organisations in removing these barriers. The Disability Discrimination Act also recognises barriers to goods and services and obligates organisations to make reasonable adjustments to remove them.

Our Contact details:

Disability Action in Islington
90-92 Upper Street
London
N1 0NP

Fax: 020 7359 1855 Tel: 020 7226 0137
Minicom: 020 7359 1891

Email: info@daii.org

Feedback and questions

Please post any feedback or questions to info@daii.org.

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