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Scottish Disability Equality Forum along with thistle logo in purple and green

SDEF Newsletter No.1 - December 2001

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Welcome to this first edition of SDEF News, available free to all members and associate members of SDEF.  We will keep you up to date on our own activities and relevant events and publications in the field of disability.  If you would like your work publicised in future editions, or would like to tell us about something new, please contact us at the address below.

This newsletter is available by email, on disc or in other formats if preferred.  Please contact us to let us know how you would like to receive it.

SDEF Update
Changes at the Scottish Parliament
Legislation
Consultations
Scottish Executive Publications
News from the sector

What are we up to?

You’ve joined the new-look SDEF - what have we been up to since our conference in July?

We have amended our constitution and now have charitable status (charity no. SC031893).  We also changed our rules of membership to make it easier for a wide range of organisations to join us.  You will find a list of our current members at the end of this newsletter. 

 

We have consulted with members and drawn up a strategic plan for our next year’s work, and identified priorities for longer term work.  Our immediate priorities are to:

  • build SDEF’s membership to make it more fully representative;

  • share information with our members, and involve them fully in the work we are doing;

  • work closely with other infrastructure bodies, and develop good working links with the other bodies in the disability field and with the other infrastructure bodies dealing with equality issues;

  • continue to work with our members to identify the gaps in support for people with disabilities and their organisations.  An infrastructure for access organisations is a key current concern for our membership, and must be a first priority.

We have responded to four recent Scottish Executive consultations.  The Management Committee drafted a response to the recent consultation on the draft regulations for a Mobility and Access Committee (Scotland), and circulated this to Scottish Access Panels before submitting it to the Executive.  We also responded to recent consultations on legislation surrounding special educational needs and building regulations. 

We are now setting up a fully representative system for responding to consultations, which will allow members to input at every stage.  This involves setting up an “early warning” system of monitoring Scottish Executive publications to ensure that we have the maximum notice of relevant consultation papers. 

We have started to make links across the voluntary sector and develop relationships with decision-makers.  We have joined the Paths for All Partnership to represent disability interests.  We have met with SATA and Disability Agenda Scotland.  We have been in touch regularly with the Disability Rights Commission in Scotland. Our Convenor has been made Vice-Convener of the Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group on Disability. 

We have compiled a database of 1300 disability voluntary organisations from a variety of sources and are working to contact all of these groups.

We have met with Scottish Executive officials from the Equality Unit and the Community Care Division to discuss financial support for our work, and have received a further tranche of funding to allow us to continue to develop our membership and links with other groups.  We are funded until the end of March 2002.

We are meeting with officials later this month to discuss long term funding from the Scottish Executive for our work  - watch this space!

Changes at the Scottish Parliament and Executive

The New Cabinet:

Deputy First Minister/ Minister for Justice
Jim Wallace, Lib Dem

Minister for Education
Cathy Jamieson, Lab

Minister for Enterprise, Transport, and Lifelong Learning
Wendy Alexander, Lab

Minister for Finances and Public Services
Andy Kerr, Lab

Minister for Health and Community Care
Malcolm Chisholm, Lab

Minister for Parliamentary Business
Patricia Ferguson, Lab

Minister for Environment and Rural Development
Ross Finnie, Lib Dem

Minister for Social Justice
Iain Gray, Lab

Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture
Mike Watson, Lab

Deputy Ministers

Deputy Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs
Nicol Stephen, Lib Dem

Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning
Lewis MacDonald, Lab

Deputy Minister for Finances and Public Services
Peter Peacock, Lab

Deputy Ministers for Health and Community Care
Hugh Henry, Lab and Mary Mulligan

Deputy Minister for Justice
Dr Richard Simpson, Lab

Deputy Minister for Parliamentary Business 
Euan Robson, Lib Dem

Deputy Minister for the Environment and Rural Development 
Allan Wilson, Lab

Deputy Minister for Social Justice
Margaret Curran, Lab

Deputy Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture
Elaine Murray, Lab

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES Committee Membership

Kate Maclean (Lab) - Convener

Lyndsay McIntosh
Gil Paterson
Jamie Stone
Michael McMahon

Cathie Peattie

Tommy Sheridan

Elaine Smith

Kay Ullrich - Vice Convener

Richard Walsh (Clerk) 0131 348 5216

HEALTH AND COMMUNITY CARE COMMITTEE      

Margaret Smith (LD) - Convener

Dorothy-Grace Elder 

Janis Hughes 

Margaret Jamieson - Vice Convener

John McAllion 

Nicola Sturgeon 

Shona Robison 

Mary Scanlon 

Richard Simpson     

Jennifer Smart (Clerk) - 0131 348 5210

News on Legislation

Proposed changes to Direct Payments Regulations

The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Bill will make a number of changes to legislation on Direct Payments in Scotland.  The provisions in the Bill are based on proposals made in the consultation document Better care for all our futures (April 2001).   The changes will be phased in over the next two years.

What are direct payments?

Direct payments allow people to purchase services to meet their care needs instead of the Local Authority providing services for them.  They can increase the choice and control people have over their own lives by increasing independence and freedom of choice.  This has been possible for some years, however changes have to be made.

Changes under new legislation

  • Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001

This will allow 16 and 17 year olds to use Direct Payments to purchase children’s services.  Disabled parents will also be able to access these to assist in their parenting roles.

  • Community Care and Health Scotland Bill

This Bill will impose a duty on Local Authorities to offer community care to those people who choose this method to meet their care needs. 

These will be extended to other community care groups who are not eligible at present e.g. people who are frail, receiving rehabilitation after an accident, recovering from alcohol or drug dependency, or fleeing from domestic abuse,  may now be considered.

This money will also now be able to be used to purchase care from Local Authorities.  At present this is prohibited.  This will also increase choice and will also help make Direct Payments available to people in remote areas where Local Authorities may be the only source of services.

A representative, such as a guardian or lawyer with the relevant powers will be able to ensure that someone can receive Direct Payments.  This will allow people with mental health problems or learning difficulties to benefit from Direct Payments.  It will also allow parents to purchase services which their children are assessed as needing.

There will still be a requirement for some recipients to make a personal contribution, but the new legislation will allow payments to be made on a gross basis and the user’s contribution recovered later.  This will put Direct Payment recipients on equal footing with those receiving Local Authority services.  The Bill will however give the Local Authority a mechanism to recover the amount it has assessed to be due.

Land Reform Bill

After a long period of consultation and re-drafting, the Land Reform Bill was published on Wednesday 28th November. The Bill, if passed into law, will give new rights of access to the Scottish countryside and provide rural communities and crofters a right to buy land.

The Fieldfare Trust has been campaigning for greater consideration within the first section of the Bill for the rights of disabled people to access the Scottish countryside. As is typical of so much legislation the Bill has just one reference to disabled people. Where local authorities exercise their discretionary power to make access improvements, they will be required “to have regard to the needs of disabled people”.  None of the other parties with responsibilities for access management including landowners have any specific duties to meet the needs of disabled people.

One argument goes that such new duties should not be necessary now that the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) is in place, and countryside accessing managers are service providers under its provision. This misses a key issue with respect to rights for disabled people. The onus is on disabled people to challenge discrimination where it takes place. Countryside managers will face no sanction or incentive to meet the needs of disabled people unless they wish to avoid being caught out or challenged where their provision discriminates on the grounds of disability.

If real progress is to be made in improving access for disabled people, all those responsible for delivering services must be required to act and not wait for disabled people to take the necessary steps to rectify an unacceptable situation.  How else will standards of provision ever be improved? This approach applies to many areas of social policy, not just countryside access. However, the opportunity exists for the Scottish Disability Equality Forum to influence the passage of the Land Reform Bill and set a precedent for the inclusion of disability orientated clauses in all future legislation.

The principle of people with disabilities having things by right is fundamental.  If you feel that this is an important issue, we urge all members of SDEF to allow us to co-ordinate the comments of your organisations, and join Fieldfare Trust, and others to lobby the Scottish Parliament. It is vital to ensure the rights of people with disabilities are recognised and enshrined in law.  

Please contact us if you would like to be involved.

You can see the Land Reform Bill on the Scottish Parliament web site (www.scottish.parliament.uk/parl_bus/bills/b44s1.pdf)

 

Consultations

SDEF has responded to several recent consultations - on access to transport, building standards, and education.  Copies of our responses are available on request.

Here are a few current consultation documents:

Disability Discrimination Act 1995: Carrying of Guide & Hearing Dogs in Taxis

There are four consultation papers now out on this issue.  Closing date is 31st December and copies of the papers can be obtained from Stephanie Bow at the Scottish Executive Local Government Division on 0131 244 7058.  If members are responding on their own behalf, we would be grateful for a copy of comments made.  If you would like SDEF to take up any issues, please let us know.

 

Vulnerable Adults

A consultation paper has just been issued looking at the provision of a legislative framework to protect vulnerable adults, beyond those with mental disorder.  Responses are due to the Justice Department by 8th March - please let us know if there are any issues you would like SDEF to raise.  The paper is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/justice/vacp-01.asp or from Jean Wilson, Justice Department, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh EH11 3XD.

Education for Work and Enterprise

The Scottish Executive is currently consulting on how to educate young people for work.  If you have any views on this issue which SDEF could feed into the consultation, please let us know.  Copies of the consultation paper are available from David McNeil on 0141 242 0146.  Closing date for the consultation is mid-January 2002, so please pass us your comments by Monday 7th January.

If you would like to comment directly, you can do so online at www.educationforwork.com - but please let us have a copy of your comments if you can.

Review of the European Blue Badge scheme of parking concessions for disabled people

A consultation document on this issue is currently being prepared.  If you would like to receive a copy, send your contact details to:

Michael Toyer Esq
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Disability Policy Branch
Mobility and Inclusion Unit
Zone 1/18
Great Minister House
76 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DR

Email: [email protected]

Getting Involved in Planning - a consultation paper on increasing public involvement in the planning process has been produced. Comments should be made by 31st March 2002.  Copies of the paper are available from tel. 08457 741741 or at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/planning/gtcp-00.asp

 

Scottish Executive Publications

New statistics have been released (end November) by Scottish Executive National Statistics on registered blind and partially sighted people in Scotland (see http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/health/infonote_2.asp)

The Social Justice Annual Report 2001 has been produced, setting out progress against the social justice milestones (see http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/social/sjsu-00.asp)

National Care Standards for Care Homes for Older People have been produced (see http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/social/chop-00.asp)

Designing Places - A Policy Statement for Scotland has been produced by the Scottish Executive Development Department as a strategy for improving urban and rural design and planning (see http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/planning/dpps-00.asp)

The Preliminary Report on the Equality Strategy was published in October - a report on progress in mainstreaming equality across the Scottish Executive.  It is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/society/equality/pres-00.asp

 

News from Around the Sector

BAYWATCH and YOU

We all complain about the misuse of supermarket parking spaces but what have we done about it?

In 1999, major supermarkets launched “Disabled Link-up” - an initiative to show their commitment to improving car parking facilities for customers with a disability.

The Disabled Drivers’ Motor Club (DDMC) were involved in their own “Give us back our parking spaces” campaign.  The British Polio Fellowship (BPF) surveyed a sample of supermarkets across the country and found that nothing was known about these initiatives.  In September 2000, BPF wrote to the head offices of all the major supermarkets.  The overall responses showed that a coherent policy of preventing abuse wsy not being followed despite the existence of “Disabled Link-up”.

BAYWATCH was formed, involving BPF, DDMC and DDA (Disabled Drviers Association) and the work is being publicised by “Disability Now”.

At the mobility Roadshow in Crawthorpe, an opportunity to complete a questionnaire on supermarket parking was available at the stands of the participating organisations.

The BAYWATCH survey undertaken by BPF revealed that although supermarket chains had good policies on parking, there was a high level of ignorance at individual store level.  The findings were similar to those of DDMC’s “Give us back our parking spaces” and although there are shining examples of good practice, supermarket parking is still a major headache for people with disabilities.

The aims of BAYWATCH are:-

  • to ask for good management
  • stop the abuse of spaces
  • put in good signage
  • see that the spaces are in the right place

Where does BAYWATCH and YOU come in?

YOU can look out for bad practice and turn it to good practice

YOU can publicise BAYWATCH in your area

YOU can offer to get involved.

To get involved, phone BPF on Freephone 0800 018 0586

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SDEF address, 12 Enterprise House, Springkerse Business Park, Stirling, FK7 7UF.  Scottish Charity Number SCO31893.  Company Number SC 243392.   Scottish Executive Logo and SDEF gratefully acknowledges the support of the Scottish Executive