Havant Borough
Council
Disability Equality Scheme
2006 - 2009
Foreword
This is the first Disability Equality Scheme
to be produced by Havant Borough Council. The scheme is linked into
an overarching equality policy which sets out the vision which the
council has to eliminate unlawful discrimination and to promote
equal opportunities for all people. There are particular people who
may experience exclusion for reasons relating to their race,
ethnicity, disability, age, gender, sexual orientation or religion.
The Comprehensive Equality Policy and associated schemes explain
what we intend to do to improve fair and equal access to employment
and council services.
In 1993 with disability discrimination
being debated by government a Local Disability Access Committee was
formed by council officers and elected members. The Committee
advises the council of ways to prevent discrimination against
disabled residents by the council whilst carrying out its
functions. Disabled residents and representatives of local
disability organisations were invited to become members of the
committee along with relevant council officers responsible for
service provision within the borough. Their work led to this
policy.
Introduction to the
Scheme
The Disability Discrimination Act (1995) was
introduced in order to improve opportunities for disabled people.
It is unlawful to discriminate against a person because they
experience disability. Organisations must also make ‘reasonable
adjustments’ to ensure that the person can access services and
employment.
Despite the improvements that this law has
brought, there are still many barriers which prevent disabled
people from fair and equal access. The government has set out a
vision for disability equality:
“By 2025, disabled people in Britain should
have full opportunities and choices to improve their quality of
life and will be respected and included as equal members of
society”.
Public bodies have a significant impact on the
lives of all citizens and the law has been amended to place greater
responsibilities on them to achieve this vision. Therefore as from
5 December 2006 all public bodies, when carrying out their
functions, must have due regard to the need to:
- eliminate unlawful disability discrimination
- eliminate disability related harassment
- promote equality of opportunities
- promote positive attitudes towards disabled persons
- encourage participation by disabled persons in public
life.
There is also a specific requirement to
publish a Disability Equality Scheme which sets out the action that
will be taken to meet these requirements.
How will the scheme affect local
residents?
People with disabilities as employees and
service users can expect to be treated with respect and to have
their communication needs met. The service they receive from the
council will not be diminished because they are disabled. We will
take steps to raise awareness of this commitment with our staff and
customers.
We want the actions that are proposed in this
scheme to make a real difference to the lives of disabled people
who work and live in our borough. By taking this action we will
also improve services for everyone.
How many people will this
scheme affect?
In producing this Disability Equality
Scheme Havant Borough Council has adopted the “social model of
disability” rather than the individual “medical model of
disability.” This means considering the wider community in the
design of buildings and the organisation and delivery of services
from conception through to the final product, rather than
considering the needs of disabled people separately or as an
afterthought and thereby risking segregation and different
treatment.
Social inclusion means considering the
needs of everyone in an equal way and recognising that people are
not excluded by their disabilities but by the inaccessibility of
their environment.
Creating an inclusive environment also
means considering the needs of parents with pushchairs and both
young and elderly people. If the built environment and the services
the council offers are accessible to disabled people they are sure
to be more accessible to everyone.
There are several methods for calculating
how many local residents have disabilities. A useful method
to give a broad idea is to consider how many people are in receipt
of the two main disability-related state benefits: Disability
Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance.
There are a total of 4,530 people in
receipt of DLA and 2,470 people being paid AA (total 7,000) out of
a total borough population of 115,700 i.e. approximately 6%.
However this figure does not include any disabled residents who for
a variety of reasons are not claiming state disability
benefits.
How will we involve people with
disabilities?
The draft scheme will be published at the end
of January 2007 and a consultation plan for further local-based
involvement of disabled people will then be implemented between
1st February and 30th April. As a result the
scheme will be amended for final publication by the end of May
2007.
The council will need to continue to challenge
what it currently does to find out if this disadvantages disabled
people. To do this we will need to encourage constructive feedback
and then take action to make reasonable adjustments.
Implementing the Scheme
There is an established structure in place
within the council that will make sure that this scheme is
interpreted by each department into specific actions for their
services. The Equality Standard Project Team co-ordinates progress
within HBC and reports progress to Members and the Executive
Management Team.
This scheme will be reviewed every three years
from December 2006.
Impact Assessment
Discrimination is usually not intended, it
happens because a policy or service has not considered a wide range
of different needs. Race and Disability Equality Impact Assessment
is a legal requirement for all public bodies. It is a systematic
way of finding out whether a policy, service or strategy will have
an adverse impact for any particular group or sector of Havant’s
diverse community.
The process is designed to tackle the long
term challenge of removing “institutional discrimination” from the
public sector, and ensure that polices, services and strategies do
not unfairly discriminate against disabled people.
By December 2006 each department will look
again at their list of functions, decide which ones are most likely
to have an impact on the lives of disabled people and then make a
plan to fully assess the impact.
An important part of this process is to gather
information about the barriers which affect people with
disabilities and prevent fair access to employment and services.
This information is then used to inform the impact assessment. To
support this approach we will listen to and engage with the views
of disabled people.
Publishing the Scheme
The scheme will be published through the web
site and in a range of other formats. Copies will be sent to known
community groups and will also be available through libraries and
information centres. It will also be important to find other ways
to communicate this to the people who will benefit from the actions
described in the scheme.
Monitoring the Scheme
Annual progress reports will be published and
presented to Elected Members and Chief Officers. During the first
year an external monitoring group will be established to ensure
that disabled people have a role in managing performance. The
scheme will be reviewed in 2009.
Contact
For enquiries about this scheme please
contact:
Caren Ranson, Equalities and Access
Officer
Tel: 023 9244 6007
e.mail: caren.ransom@havant.gov.uk
January 2007