Office for Disability Issues

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SDEF

The Scottish Disability Equality Forum works for social inclusion in Scotland through the removal of barriers and the promotion of equal access for people affected by disability.

It is a membership organisation, representing individuals with any type of impairment, disability organisations and groups who share its values. It aims to ensure the voices of people affected by disability are heard and heeded.

SDEF promotes access in its widest sense: access to the built and natural environment and access to the same opportunities as are enjoyed by other people in our community. It takes a broad definition of access, within which it focuses on access to the environment and access to information and mechanisms promoting two-way communications. It campaigns to improve access in these areas and seeks to become a free source of high quality information on them.

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SDEF Consultation Response�

Section 1: What would equality for disabled people look like?

Consultation questions

Question 1:

What does equality for disabled people mean to you?

To be able to live life independently and have choices as to where and how you live it; to be able to access and benefit from education, employment, transport, culture, leisure and health services; to be economically active; valued as a citizen: to have equal rights and equality of opportunity and not be disadvantaged as a consequence of disability; to have full and equal access to the built and natural environments; and to have access to community life and be integrated into society.

Question 2:

Can you describe any examples of equality for disabled people you have experienced or know about?

The Disability Equality Duty requirement for public sector bodies has enabled people with disabilities to highlight inequalities and seek improvement in employment practises and local authority service provision. However, it is the beginning of a very long journey.

Under the Duty local authorities have looked at access auditing buildings to ensure they are accessible to people with disabilities, providing information in multiple formats and in Plain English and Easy Read and ensuring that recruitment procedures and human resources policies are not discriminatory.

Equality issues impact on all aspects of life so examples of equality could be a local authority stipulating that a certain percentage of licensed taxis have to be fully wheelchair accessible. Other examples might be improving the built environment by providing ramps, dropped kerbs and accessible parking bays or ensuring websites can be used by people with visual impairments.

The provision of Direct Payments so that people can arrange their own care is another way of promoting equality of opportunity to lead an independent life.

Question 3:

Do you think there should be a single measure of equality, or that we need to measure progress on different aspects of disabled people’s lives?

Question 4:

If you think we need more than one measure, what do you think should be the five main features of equality that are measured?

Inequality pervades every aspect of someone’s life from the moment they wake in the morning to how they live throughout the day; whether it’s the help they need to dress, how they achieve educational success, gain and retain employment, travel to work, are paid fairly or live in poverty, shop, eat, experience crime or harassment or access healthcare. It would be difficult to encompass these in a single measure. Current statistics show that a person with disabilities is less likely to own their home, is more likely to be unemployed, will have a lower level of educational attainment and will be more likely to die from something unrelated to their disability as a result of lack of access to health screening, for example.

Over the past two years politicians have talked about measuring wellness or wellbeing but to demonstrate improved equalities in terms of outcomes one would need to consider specifics that could be measured. These would cover areas already identified, for example, employment rates for those with disabilities; uptake of direct payments or independent living funds; journeys made by public transport; number of adapted/accessible houses being built and lived in; hate crime experienced by people with disabilities; access to education and qualifications awarded resulting in uptake of professional and managerial appointments; and representation in local and national government. Health statistics would show improved access to screening and improved mortality rate for disabled people.

Section 2: How should we monitor progress towards equality?

Consultation questions: early years and family support

Question 5:

What aspects of life for disabled children and their families do you think it most important for us to monitor over time?

Question 6:

Which three measures do you think would be the most important indicators of equality in this area?

Measures relating to aspects of life affecting children with disabilities and their families should cover monitoring disabled children living in poverty, access to finance and families receiving tax credits; accessible housing; the provision of specialist equipment; respite for disabled children and family carers; access to mainstream education and level of educational achievement, including assessment of need and provision of support; participation in culture, sport and leisure activities.

Consultation questions: transition to adulthood

Question 7:

What aspects of transition to adulthood for disabled young people do you think it most important for us to monitor over time?

Question 8:

Which three measures do you think would be the most important indicators of equality in this area?

Aspects that might be covered should include access to further and higher education; the number of young disabled people joining the workplace; the provision of suitable accommodation and the number of young people able to form and maintain their own household, the uptake of support for independent living and financial literacy; the provision and access of counselling / young persons advice services; provision of accessible health education, participation in sport and leisure (including provision of specialist equipment) and young people having the space and opportunity to form friendships and relationships.

Consultation questions: employment

Question 9:

What do you think are the most important issues in respect of employment that we ought to monitor?

Question 10:

Which three measures do you think would be the most important indicators of equality in this area?

Improvement in the employment rates of people with disability would be a key indicator. However, it is important to gauge type of employment as progress should not mean larger numbers of disabled people in low paid, low level jobs. The number of people with disabilities moving into managerial positions and uptake of in work training would reflect better equality in the workplace as would a reduction in the rate of people leaving employment for reason of disability and reduction in claims and legal actions relating to disability discrimination in employment.

The provision of support for people to enable them to acquire a job or stay in work and human resources policies and codes of practice that embrace equalities issues could also be monitored. Workforce surveys of how comfortable people feel about declaring a disability might be useful here. Additionally, the number of disabled people attending job interviews might be useful to measure.

Wider issues such as the ability of those with disabilities to travel to work by public transport should also feature.

The number of disabled people establishing their own businesses should also be considered.

Consultation questions: independent living

Question 11:

What do you think are the most important issues in respect of independent living that we ought to monitor?

Question 12:

Which three measures do you think would be the most important indicators of equality in this area?

The issues around independent living that should be monitored include the provision of accurate information concerning direct payments and Independent Living Funds (ILF). At present there is confusion over different sources of funding and the budget constraints of local authorities can affect the level and quality of information provided. A move to individual budgets would provide clarity over what care/service is covered and would give more choice for people as to how they lead their lives.

Local authority workers should be better informed in terms of what is available to support people with disabilities and the assessment process for the person with disabilities and family carers should be simplified. The low expectations of some public sector workers regarding how able someone is to lead an independent life can affect the support that people are offered. �A greater understanding of the social model of disability is required here and a challenge to perceptions regarding appropriate care, for example, people are still expected to go into long term residential care rather than live in the community.

Another issue that affects independent living is the availability of trained care or personal assistants who support people with disabilities and low pay rates that deter people from carrying out this type of work.

Independent living could be reflected in the take up of direct payments/ ILF, a reduction in people attending day centres, as some feel day centres are used as a substitute for personal care or an alternative to education and training and an increased number of inclusive/independent living centres. The number of people who continue to live in their own homes with support rather than move to residential care is a key indicator.

Consultation questions: areas not already covered

Question 13:

Are there any other issues in respect of disability equality that we ought to monitor?

Question 14:

Which three measures do you think would be the most important indicators of equality in this area?

The high cost of living for people with disabilities still needs to be tackled. Poverty affects the ability of anyone to lead a fulfilled and healthy life. Statistically, families with a disabled person are more likely to experience poverty.

The needs of people with disabilities under the age of 65 should be addressed. Research often focuses on the very young, youth and elderly with services targeted to these groups. However, a large swathe of people, who have different needs and aspirations, is simply ignored.

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Liz Rowlett

Scottish Disability Equality Forum

12 Enterprise House

Springkerse Business Park

Stirling

FK7 7UF

01786 446456

� Copyright Scottish Disability Equality Forum 2003-2007

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