Promoting disability equality
Headington Hill Hall 8 June 2006
On 8 June we held a Disability Equality Duty consultation event at Headington Hill Hall and invited key representatives of local charities and user groups. Representatives of public service providers including Oxford Brookes and Oxford University, Oxford City and County Councils and South Oxfordshire District Council facilitated the event.
Michelle Holliday (former Equality and Diversity Officer) of Oxford Brookes opened the event as host, and background information was provided by Peter Quinn of Oxford University. The introduction included an update on DDA legislation, what a Disability Equality Scheme is, why we are introducing one, what it will be used for and who it is intended to help.
The venue was organised cabinet style, with tables for contributors to sit and discuss in small groups. Each table was supported by a facilitator and note taker and was arranged to include a good mix of organisations to aid balanced discussion.
Groups concentrated on exploring issues and discussing problems faced by disabled people and considering possible solutions to these as well as identifying examples of existing good practice that could be shared
Responses from the day have been collated into the following topics:
- Attitudes
- Transport and parking
- Access (in its broadest sense)
- Information and communication
- Policies and procedures
- Employment
- Education
- Good practice
- Feedback on the day itself
The day, which was a great success, is just one of a range of activities taking place with disabled stakeholders and the general public over the coming months, and the consultation process is still firmly open.
If, on reading through the responses, you have any thoughts on what you could add to the ideas generated then please do get in touch. The primary contact points at each organisation are as follows:
| Organisation | Contact | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Oxfordshire District Council | Katherine May | katherine.may@southoxon.gov.uk/td> |
|
| Oxford City Council | Lynne Hooper | lhooper@oxford.gov.uk |
|
| Oxford County Council | Adrian Harper-Smith | adrian.harper-smith@oxfordshire.gov.uk |
|
| Oxford University | Peter Quinn | peter.quinn@admin.ox.ac.uk |
|
Next steps will be for the organisations involved to sit down and thoroughly review the responses in order to identify organisation-specific issues and those where further joint working may be possible and how the feedback will be incorporated into our Disability Equality Schemes and associated action plans. We intend to hold a similar event next year to review the schemes once they have been developed and to gain input from stakeholders about their progress.
We look forward to receiving your thoughts and hope that we’ll be able to welcome you to future events.