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MENTAL HEALTH TRIBUNAL FOR SCOTLAND
(An Executive Agency of the Scottish Government)
Core Functions of Agency
The Administration of the Mental Health Tribunal Scotland was established as an Executive Agency on 1 April 2005 and commenced live operations on 5 October 2005 when the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 came into force.
The Administration is responsible for providing case management and hearing support to ensure that the Tribunal can, through the panels sitting across Scotland, determine the applications and referrals made to it under the Act. We work closely with all stakeholders to ensure that the administrative processes not only comply with the requirements of legislation but run as smoothly as possible to provide the best service to the people of Scotland.
Agency Priorities in 2008 - 2009
The Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland is in the final stages of agreeing its corporate plan and priorities. When these are complete we will introduce new initiatives which will be formally incorporated into our key priorities list and action plan.
Agency Statement of objectives to advance disability equality
The agency will ensure that staff are aware of their responsibilities in relation to disability equality, including the need to involve disabled people in policy making.
We aim to ensure that disabled people are involved in the development of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland and in the design, development and delivery of our services which recognise and respond sensitively to the individual needs and circumstances of disabled people's lives.
In addition, we also aim to counter inequalities related to disabilities throughout the agency.
Impact Assessment
Disability equality impact assessment is a mechanism for the thorough and systematic analysis of a policy or practice to determine the consequences for disability equality.
The Scottish Government has developed an Equality Impact Assessment ( EQIA) toolkit which can be used across 6 equality strands. The toolkit is supported by guidance and by a programme of briefing sessions, training and ongoing support from the Scottish Government's Equality Unit for individual impact assessments.
EQIA will be used in relation to policies and practices contributing to our strategic objectives.
We will consider all new policies, including reviews of and changes to existing policies, to establish whether disability equality impact assessment is necessary. In line with our toolkit, this will cover any policy which impacts on people.
We will also look at and prioritise our existing policies and practices for impact assessment. We will also work with Analytical Services colleagues to examine the evidence in relation to existing policies and disability and use the outcome of this to support our impact assessment priorities.
Responsibility for considering priorities and ensuring that impact assessment is undertaken will be at senior management level. The Equality Unit will continually look at how the impact assessment process can be improved and how staff from across the agency can best be supported.
MENTAL HEALTH TRIBUNAL FOR SCOTLAND
Key policy areas for advancing equality of opportunity for disabled people
Policy | Action | By whom | By when | Expected Outcome | Progress and measure |
|---|
Training | Staff and members will have disability awareness training. | MHTS | During 2007 | Awareness of the issues faced by those with disabilities. | New entrants are advised as part of their induction that the views of disabled people will be considered when processes or policy is being created or reviewed Training for all staff is due to commence and is expected to be completed by summer 2008. Members will be advised as part of their initial training and refresher information will be given annually thereafter. |
Recruitment Policy | Staff and Members are selected with due regard to disability policy. | MHTS | Ongoing | Members and staff are recruited with disabilities to ensure equality. | The recruitment process for all administration staff has been conducted as per current SG processes and procedures. The recruitment of members has been conducted by the Public Appointments Office. Recruitment adverts continue to declare that MHTS is an Equal Opportunities Employer and encourages applications from people with disabilities. |
User consultation | We will involve disabled people in setting up Tribunal processes | MHTS | Ongoing | Tribunal processes and format is fully accessible to disabled people | MHTS established the Users' and Carers' group which meets quarterly. Initially MHTS wrote to all groups that could be identified and invited then to attend. MHTS continues to extend this open invitation to everyone. |
Accessibility of processes and information. | Review systems and processes to ensure that they are fully accessible to disabled people. User documentation being produced to take account of their needs. | MHTS MHTS | Ongoing Sept 2007 | All disabled stakeholders treated equally and able to access processes and information. Visually impaired readers will have easier access to information. | All hearings venues are provided by, and are owned by, the Health Boards and Local Authorities. MHTS has compiled guidelines that all hearing venues should meet and the standard that they should attain. Most venues are fully accessible for those with disabilities and comply with the standards set. MHTS retain a list of those venues that do not comply and when it is known that a stakeholder has a specific requirement they ensure that an appropriate venue is selected to accommodate their needs. Venues are reviewed annually by MHTS staff to ensure continued compliance. MHTS has its own hearings suite, housed within the headquarters at Hamilton, which is fully DDA compliant. The MHTS website has a low graphics facility which provides visually impaired readers with an alternative view and which is larger than the standard font. All internal processes and policy instructions are placed within our manuals which is located in a dedicated folder. All users of the manuals can increase the font size as they wish. |
Arrangements for delivering the general duty
| Action | By whom | By when | Expected Outcome | Progress and Measure |
|---|
1. What arrangements will you put in place to ensure that the policies you develop and/or the services you provide pay due regard to the need to eliminate any unlawful discrimination against disabled people? | Create disability awareness training programme for all staff and members. e.g. Learning Disability training for members. | MHTS | During 2007 | Staff and members understand their responsibilities towards disabled stakeholders and staff. | HR is in the process of developing a training programme to deliver to all administration staff. Expected Early 2008 The President's office is developing a similar training programme for members. Expected to be available for 2008 refresher training. |
2. What arrangements will you put in place to ensure that the policies you develop and/or the services you provide are able to pay due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity between disabled and non-disabled persons? | Incorporate action within Business Plan. User consultation. | MHTS | During 2007 | Ensure equality of opportunity. | Business plan for 2007/08 is in the final stages of completion and disability is informally included within it. |
3. What arrangements will you put in place to ensure that the policies you develop and/or the services you provide are able to pay due regard to the need to eliminate any harassment of disabled people, related to their disability? | Disability awareness training programme for all staff and members. Performance Appraisal scheme for staff and members. | MHTS MHTS | During 2007 Ongoing | Disabled staff and stakeholders do not experience harassment on account of their disability. Staff and members are able to communicate any difficulties they may experience. | Disability awareness training is being developed. Expected early 2008. Staff have the opportunity to raise any issues regarding harassment. |
4. What arrangements will you put in place to promote positive attitudes towards disabled people? | User consultation on format of Tribunals and literature. | MHTS | Ongoing | Tribunal and associated literature is accessible to all. | User satisfaction questioner will be developed and will encompass specific questions in relation to disability. |
5. What action will you take to encourage the participation of disabled people in public life? | Recruitment Policy actively seeks to recruit disabled members of the Tribunal. | MHTS | Ongoing | Ensures that disabled people with the relevant skills can become members of the Tribunal. | Currently have disabled members who play a full part in the hearings process. We have administration staff who are disabled. |
6. How will you ensure that disabled people are involved in the development of your department's policies and activities? | Establish a Users' and Carers' group which will include disabled people. | MHTS | Ongoing | Views of disabled people will help to inform our service. Appropriate disabled people will be actively involved in developing policy and other activities that directly affects them. | This group is now established and meets quarterly. |
7. What arrangements will you put in place to ensure that we are able to report on progress on an annual basis? | Include action plans within the Business Plan. . | MHTS | April 2007 | Ability to monitor progress and action across equality duties. | Business plan for 2007/08 is in the final stages of completion and disability is informally included within it. |
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