Disability Working Group Satellite Group 2
24 August, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh
Background Papers
Public sector work on disability | |
Scottish Executive race equality scheme | |
Toolkits - 'Fair for All' and European Structural Funds | |
Disability and the public sector
Introduction
The Group had asked for a paper covering 'what the police, fire brigades and NHS, and if possible the wider public sector, are doing on disability'.
This has been difficult to provide for a number of reasons:
- The broad scope of the request, covering the entire public sector.
- The breadth of issues arising on disability - employment, access to goods and services, the new duty, consultation etc.
- The patchiness of information or data on how the public sector in Scotland is responding to disability legislation and disabled people's needs.
We have set out below what we know to be happening in the NHS, in further and higher education, and in the police and fire services. We are not aware of any comprehensive account of what local authorities are doing, although we have noted that there is currently a large scale research project looking at how local authorities in England are responding to disability legislation.
The Health Service
"Fair for All - Disability" is a strategic partnership initiative developed by the Scottish Executive Health Department (SEHD), NHS Scotland and the Disability Rights Commission (DRC)
The project is part of the Scottish Executive Health Department's wider Equality & Diversity strategy. Other related work includes the Centre for Ethnic Minority Health, the Inclusion project and the Spiritual Care project.
The project aims to enable NHS Scotland personnel at all levels to develop and provide services that do not discriminate against disabled people as service users.
By developing a partnership approach working with Scotland's Health Boards, the project will enable staff to understand their duties under the existing legislation, provide baseline guidance and support to practitioners on how to improve access to services for disabled people.
The project will work with NHS Scotland and Scottish Executive Health Department staff, disabled people, patients and service users. Ultimately, the key outcomes of the project will be to improve disabled people's experiences of health services as staff, patients & users of Health services.
A separate paper has been provided on this (below).
The Police and Fire services
As employers
The police and fire service have only recently found themselves covered by disability discrimination legislation. Prior to October 2004, employees within the police and fire service were not covered by the employment provisions of the DDA. They were brought within the law by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment) Regulations 2003 which came into force on 1 October 2004. ( http://194.202.202.185/campaigns/equality_diversity/final_regs.html)
To help them address the changes guidance has been issued.
Fire service guidance was written in consultation with the Disability Rights Commission and published by the UK Government (the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister). It covers all of the UK, including Scotland, and can be accessed at: http://www.fireservice.co.uk/recruitment/dda.php
Guidance was provided to police forces in Scotland about the implications of the extensions of the employment provisions of the DDA to police officers. This guidance was based on documents drawn up by the Home Office and adapted by a Scottish Police Service Working Group for distribution to the Scottish Forces.
Services and functions and the new duty
Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 organisations providing services to the public are under a duty not to discriminate against disabled people in the way they deliver those services. Until the DDA was amended earlier this year it was only the provision of services that was covered by the law. Public functions other than those relating specifically to the provision of a service to the public were exempt. Such functions would include, for example, police powers of arrest and detention - these are public functions rather than a service available to the public.
Under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 the DDA has been extended to cover all functions of public authorities making it clear that all police and fire service functions are now subject to the DDA.
The police and fire services are aware that from December 2006 they will also be obliged to actively promote disability equality and that there will be a requirement to produce a Disability Equality Scheme.
We do not have information at this stage on how individual police forces and local authorities are approaching the new duty. Within the police service, the ACPOS Diversity Standing Committee will consider service delivery issues while employment issues will be considered by a national equal opportunities committee.
Further and Higher Education
The Scottish Executive is committed to ensuring that everyone has the chance to learn regardless of their background or personal circumstances. Our policy of widening access to further and higher education is breaking down barriers to participation faced by disadvantaged groups. Social justice and inclusion are key themes of our policy development.
Access
Participation in further and higher education is at an all time high. In academic year 2003-04 there were over 467,000 enrolments in further education colleges and there are over a quarter of a million people participating in higher education courses in Scotland. Almost 50% of Scots will participate in higher education by the time they are 21.
5% of students aged 30 and under in HEIs in 2002-03 reported that they have a disability. In colleges, 6% of students aged 30 and under in 2003-04 reported that they have a disability. Although there is no definitive data on the proportion of people in Scotland with a disability, data from the Census suggests that the percentage of people aged 30 and under with a disability might be in the region of 6%-9%.
Since 1999, a range of policy initiatives have been aimed at improving support for students with disabilities or additional support needs in further education.
The Beattie Committee, which reported in 1999, made a number of recommendations aimed at improving support for young people in further education. £4.5 million was invested over 3 years to allow colleges to develop their inclusiveness strategies and participate in staff training and development opportunities. A key aspect of this work was the development of the BRITE (Beattie Resources for Inclusiveness in Technology and Education) Centre and associated initiative. BRITE is a resource for the further education sector which focuses on improving inclusiveness through good teaching and learning strategies. Staff from all colleges have taken part in a four unit training and development programme.
Partnership
In January 2005 the Executive published Partnership Matters, a Guide to Local Authorities, NHS Boards and Voluntary Organisations on Supporting Students with Additional Needs in Further Education. Partnership Matters recognises that for some young people, participation in further education is only possible when a package of support is put in place. Partnership Matters focuses therefore on setting out the statutory roles and responsibilities of colleges, social work departments and NHS Boards in the provision of such support and encourages partnership working to provide the best support for the individual. Although the document does not refer to Higher Education Institutions, it applies equally to them. We will shortly be issuing the document to all HEIs.
The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) has funded a range of projects including a national Coordinator for Disability since 1995 and the Scottish Disability Team since 2001-02. Funding has also been allocated to HEIs to appoint institutional disability coordinators. The Teachability project produced resources to assist staff to ensure their teaching and learning is accessible to learners with disabilities.
The Funding Councils will shortly publish a comprehensive review of widening participation. The document will set out the agenda for the coming years with an action plan and a range of measures against which to measure future progress.
Future Policy Developments
The Executive has recently launched a new consultation paper "Finding Practical Solutions to Complex Needs". We are aware that a small but significant number of young people with complex additional support needs may be unable to access appropriate further education provision in Scotland. Many of these young people then apply to attend specialist further education provision outside Scotland and seek funding from their local authorities to do so. Young people, their parents and various organisations have highlighted to us that current arrangements may prevent the most disadvantaged young people from accessing any further education provision. This consultation seeks to explore current arrangements and to consider how provision might be made in future.
Local authorities
We have not been able to identify any comprehensive survey of how Scottish local authorities are addressing disability equality work. To obtain this information would probably require a significant research project.
In England, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has commissioned such a project - to examine local authority performance on disability equality in the context of the DDA 1995 and recent changes to disability legislation.
Project: Able Authorities? Disabled People and Local Government
Objectives
This research should:
1. Examine the performance of local authorities in the area of disability equality, across the range of activities
2. Indicate to what extent, if at all, councils are implementing and preparing to implement current and future requirements of the DDA.
3. Explain or unpack the limited quantitative data available on disabled people and local authorities (BVPI Data; Council Census; authority data such as employment monitoring)
4. Assess the employment experience of disabled people working for local authorities.
5. Examine how local authorities are encouraging and supporting participation by disabled people. This should include councillors but also examine other participative or consultative structures.
6. The research should feed in to planned work on the redevelopment of BV156.
Description
Very little is know about how Local Authorities in England are meeting their obligations under the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act. However, the literature which does exist mainly concentrates on people with physical disabilities and their access needs, suggesting that there may be a gap in terms of local authorities' conceptualisations of disabled people, their access and service needs. This project would be designed to assess local government's performance in meeting the needs of disabled people and ensuring that disabled people have full access to services. It would aim to facilitate local authorities in meeting their obligations under DDA and provide a learning process, drawing on good and/or innovative practice relevant to including disabled people.
Expected completion date: 30 September 2005
Cost: £100,000Disability Working Group, Satellite Group 2
Scottish Executive race equality scheme - Background
The Scottish Executive's race equality scheme was published in 2002. It is currently being reviewed and will be re-published in November 2005. A new database, which will allow departments to list their policies, indicate whether they are relevant to the duty or not, and record the outcome of impact assessments, among other things, will form a key component of the new scheme. It will also take account of feedback from the Commission for Racial Equality.
Race Equality Scheme 2002
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/society/wtre-00.asp
Progress Report - March 2004
Race Equality Scheme Annual Report-http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/equality/resar-00.asp
Overarching Commitments Progress-http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/equality/reapsp-00.asp
Individual Dept'l Action Plans-
Disability Working Group, Satellite Group 2
Initiatives and Toolkits1. NHS 'Fair for All' Equality Impact Assessment
What is it?
Fair for All - Disability is a strategic partnership initiative developed by the Scottish Executive Health Department (SEHD), NHS Scotland and the Disability Rights Commission (DRC)
The project is part of the Scottish Executive Health Department's wider Equality & Diversity strategy. Other related work includes the Centre for Ethnic Minority Health, the Inclusion project and the Spiritual Care project.
What does the project aim to do?
The project aims to enable NHS Scotland personnel at all levels to develop and provide services that do not discriminate against disabled people as service users -
a key requirement of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
By developing a partnership approach working with Scotland's Health Boards, the project will enable staff to understand their duties under the existing legislation, provide baseline guidance and support to practitioners on how to improve access to services for disabled people.
Who is it for?
The project will work with NHS Scotland and Scottish Executive Health Department staff, disabled people, patients and service users.
Ultimately, the key outcomes of the project will be to improve disabled people's experiences of health services as staff, patients & users of Health services.
What will the project actually do?
1. The project has recently completed a baseline survey of Scotland's health boards from which we will identify the work that is currently being progressed in different areas and where improvements will need to be made.
In August 2005, a summary of the findings and the implications of this will be published.
2. In August 2005, the Scottish Executive Health Department will publish interim consultation versions of two key guidance documents developed by the project team.
These will consist of
i) strategic guidance aimed at assisting policy makers, board members and senior management staff to understand their current duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and how this impacts on their work
ii) practical guidance aimed at all staff who have direct patient contact outlining practical changes that can be made to improve disabled people's experience when using services
The consultation will last until November 2005 with final guidance published in early 2006.
From June 2005, the FFA team will advise and work with staff at all levels on the implementation of the guidance.
3. The project will also be establishing a NHS Scotland Disability Equality Network and Best Practice Exchange. As part of a Fair For All - Disability Leadership Challenge, Chief Executive's and Health Board Chairs will be asked to nominate and support key staff who will join the network with the aim of developing mechanisms for sharing best practice both within their own individual health board areas and across Scotland.
4. Throughout the next 2 years, the project will work with key health partners and National and local disability groups to ensure disabled people are central to health service planning and delivery mechanisms, both nationally and at individual board levels. This will build upon the work of the SEHD Involving People team and will contribute to helping prepare health boards for the new Disability Equality Duties expected to come into force in December 2006.
5. All of the above projects will be supported by the Fair for All - Disability website and supporting publicity and campaign work.
The website is currently in development and will 'go live' in August 2005
Why is it needed?
The Scottish Health White Paper 'Partnership for Care' (2003) commits NHS Scotland to creating a patient-centred National Health Service based firmly on the ideals of public healthcare services that are accessible to all.
The principles set out within Fair for All ensure that the health service recognises and responds sensitively to the individual needs, background and circumstances of people's lives.
Approximately 1 in 5 adults in Scotland have a disability (0.9 million*)
(*DWP Review of Disability Estimates 2004)
18% of men and 19% of women consider themselves to have a disability and/or a long term illness.
45 % of adults in Scotland aged 75 and over have a disability
The 2001 Census shows that 24 per cent of adults in Scotland have a limiting long-term illness.
(Source: Social Focus on Disability - 2004, Scottish Executive National Statistics Publication)
Further statistics include:
- Over 50% of adults with a disability or long term illness rated their health over the last 5 years as 'not good' compared with 5% of non-disabled people
- Nearly one third of adults with a disability have visited their GP on more than 10 occasions last year compared with 6% of non-disabled adults
- In 2001, it was estimated that over 30,000 people were admitted to hospital as a result of mental illness
- In 2003, there were
- 38,000 registered blind or partially sighted people in Scotland
- an estimated 758,000 people who were deaf or hard of hearing - 44% of disabled adults require regular help and care
Many of the issues reported by disabled people when asked about accessing healthcare services include
- difficulties arising because of access problems in relation to the built environment
- difficulties in obtaining information in accessible formats
- problems arising from poor staff attitudes and behaviours (often through lack of knowledge or training)
- difficulties in obtaining appropriate communication support
Fair for All Impact Assessment Toolkit (website version) - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/health/eqdiat-00.asp
2. European Structural Funds Toolkit
Published in 2000.
This Toolkit was developed to mainstream equality in the planning process for European Structural Fund Programmes in Scotland and to achieve real change in the substance of projects supported under the Programmes. The process which has led to the production of the Toolkit involved partnership and commitment to ensure equal opportunities was fully integrated into the Structural Funds Programmes in Scotland. The joint working of the Scottish Executive, EOC Scotland, the Scottish Co-ordination Team and Programme Management Executives, drawing on the expertise of Rona Fitzgerald and practical examples from across Europe, raised the profile of equal opportunities as a horizontal priority, and the potential for innovative equal opportunities projects across the Programmes in Scotland.
The toolkit can be accessed from the following site:
http://www.hipp.org.uk/downloads/guidance.asp?cat=22