European year of disabled people

Report: 10
Date: 13 March 2003
By: Clerk and the Commissioner

Summary

This report outlines MPA and MPS plans for participating in the European Year of Disabled People in 2003 and current disabilities equalities work.

A. Recommendation

That Members note and comment on the MPA and MPS initiatives relating to European Year of Disabled People, and progress on disabilities equalities work.

B. Supporting information

Introduction

1. 2003 is the European Year of Disabled People (EYDP). The concepts of disability equality and the inclusion of disabled people in all areas of decision-making are to be marked and promoted at all level across Europe. This report briefs members on the initiatives the MPA and MPS are planning to undertake to participate in EYDP and also outlines progress on disability equalities work in general.

European Year of Disabled People

2. The Mayor has developed a programme of events to mark EYDP. Its theme is ‘Nothing about disabled people without disabled people’. Officers from the MPA and MPS attend the GLA Project Team co-ordinating this work. The programme includes:

• Launching the GLA’s Disability Equalities Scheme, which will be developed throughout 2003 with disabled Londoners.
• Carrying out research on the social and economic circumstances of disabled people in London.
• Supporting the London stage of the Special Olympics Torch Run from South Bank to Waterloo (June).
• Hosting an exhibition on the history of the disability rights movement.
• Organising a Disability Rights Festival in the newly regenerated Trafalgar Square (September).
• Holding a Conference on Disability (November/December).

3. The Mayor has asked the functional bodies for their plans for EYDP. The MPA response (attached as appendix 1) identified the following proposed areas of activity to be undertaken by the MPA and MPS:

• Participation in a national review of recruitment and occupational standards to bring these in line with the Disability Discrimination Act for police officers from 2004.
• Holding a themed Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board on the issue of disability involving disabled people.
• Carrying out a review of the Appropriate Adults Scheme.
• Developing the ways to hear the views and priorities of disabled people in this year’s consultation on policing priorities.
• Participating in the Special Olympic Torch Run.
• Establishing a Strategic Disability Team within the Diversity Directorate and a Disability Programme Board.
• Consulting with the disabled community on policing issues.
• Setting up a focus group for disabled staff.
• Developing a disability action plan within a new MPA diversity strategy.

4. Members are asked to consider whether they would welcome a themed board meeting, how they may want to take forward an appropriate adults review and any other suggestions for the year.

5. Members should also note that the Mayor’s Office is requesting financial contributions from functional bodies to support the GLA programme, particularly the conference in December. In response, we have asked the Mayor to identify all anticipated contributions required from the Functional Bodies for equalities/cultural events in the forthcoming year, to allow us to assess our financial capacity to support these. We have stated disability events will receive priority funding this year.

Progress on disability equalities work

6. The above list only provides an overview of the work and some of these areas are still in need of development. The November report to the Board contained a more detailed list of actions following the MPS disability seminar held last year. Key progress since then includes work by the MPS to establish the Diversity Directorate’s Strategic Disability Team. The Head of the Unit is in post and is to be supported by three team members to be in place by April. The Unit will provide strategic advice and co-ordination on disability equality issues, both service and employment-related. A Diversity Programme Board has also been established, comprising internal stakeholders responsible for implementing actions. This Board reports to the Diversity Co-ordination Forum and has developed a Vision and Objectives to guide its work which is attached as Appendix 2).

7. The national review team on recruitment has circulated a draft of its recommendations on medical standards based on risk assessments. A second national team is being set up to focus on occupational standards and pension issues to ensure compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act.

8. New action areas include a consultation event with staff, planned for June and updating managers on progress in October. Through the consultation, an assessment will be made on the level of staff interest in the setting up of a Disability Staff Group/Association. Work on surveying staff perceptions and attitudes will be considered along with the other cultural survey work discussed in a separate report on this Board’s agenda. Currently, there is no collection of staff disability monitoring details and further consideration will be given to this issue. A disability awareness training package has been developed, and to help roll this out as well as to ensure training is delivered on an on-going basis locally until disability training is integrated into the corporate diversity (CRR) training programme, the training of all trainers is planned.

9. Details are awaited on the Disability Equalities Action Plan that the GLA is producing. This may commit the Authority to specific work and actions. The MPA and MPS have signed up to the Equalities for All review and officers are progressing the development of an improvement plan encompassing actions, targets and monitoring relating to disability equality.

C. Equality and diversity implications

Approximately 20% (6.9 million) of the British working-age population are disabled. As life expectancy in Britain increases and the population ages, the numbers of disabled people is increasing rapidly. Working age disabled people are seven times more likely to be out of work and claiming benefits than non-disabled people. Disabled people are more likely to become victims of certain types of crime and may find it more difficult to access the police and other community safety services or to report crime. High levels of fear of crime are experienced by disabled people. The objectives of the MPA/MPS’ initiatives towards European Year of Disabled People, in collaboration with the GLA programme, are to enable policing in London to be more responsive to disabled Londoners and staff.

D. Financial implications

Much of the work identified will be met from the MPA and MPS’ equalities and diversity budgets. The Authority will be expected to contribute to elements of the Mayor’s/GLA EYDP programme. It is proposed that a decision on this is reached once the broad list of joint cultural events and diversity initiatives is received from the Mayor.

E. Background papers

• GLA Equalities for All review
• Nacro, community safety practice briefing, ‘Access all areas’, 2002

F. Contact details

Report author: Jude Sequeira, MPA and Linda Van den Hende, MPS.

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendix 1

Letter to Natalie Salmon, London Stakeholders Team from Toby Harris, Chair of the MPA

London Stakeholders Team
Greater London Authority
20/01/2003

Dear Natalie,

European Year of Disabled People

We are writing in response to your letters dated 30 October and 13 December 2002 to express the MPA’s support of European Year of Disabled People (EYDP) in 2003. As requested, we outline the areas of work that will contribute toward developing disability equality as a rights based issue and making a positive impact upon disabled people with regard to policing in London. Not all these are high visibility actions but we hope these demonstrate the vigour with which we plan to take forward and integrate disability matters into the work of both the MPA and MPS during EYDP. Initiatives include:

1. The employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 will extend to cover police officers from 2004. In practical terms this means that forces will have to ensure policies and practices do not unjustly discriminate against disabled applicants or police officers who become disabled in work. The MPS is taking a significant role in developing a national policing review through the Home Office of disability criteria and recruitment standards, including occupational health and fitness standards and other policies and practices such as pension arrangements. The MPS lead officer on disability is Linda Van den Hende and she has been involved in selecting the Consultant carrying out the review and remains involved with the ongoing quality control of the project The MPA will seek to ensure this review dismantles as many barriers as possible to encourage the right of disabled people to be employed in the policing of the community. We will consider making disability issues a theme at one of the MPA’s Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board committees.
2. The MPA is planning to carry out a review of the arrangements of the provision of Appropriate Adults in London. Appropriate Adults are approved individuals registered and made available to advocate for juveniles and vulnerable adults detained in police custody, to ensure their rights are observed and needs are met. The availability of Appropriate Adults has an impact upon the time it takes for the police to deal with detainees; this can put vulnerable detainees at risk and affects the quality of service they receive. Initial findings indicate that arrangements across London vary. The Youth Justice Board funds the training and recruitment of Appropriate Adults for juveniles only, resulting in inadequate provision for vulnerable adults, especially those with a learning difficulty. Also, whilst Social Service departments are currently the lead agencies to ensure appropriate arrangements are in place, the MPA is aware that the schemes are ineffectively managed. The MPA is promoting a review of these arrangements with a view to getting a more detailed understanding of the nature of the problems, so that we can start to work with others to ensure consistent standards across London are met. This will allow the police to deliver a more effective and efficient policing service to vulnerable adults.
3. The Authority is responsible for consulting Londoners on policing priorities. We shall seek to target disabled people in the 2003 consultation programme, working with organisations such as People First, to ensure their views and priorities are heard.
4. We understand the Commissioner is sponsoring the Special Olympics Torch Run on 11 June 2003, an initiative we applaud.
5. The MPS is setting up a Disability Unit within its Diversity Directorate to raise the profile of disability issues in the MPS. The Unit will build upon the work of the MPS Disability Programme Board, providing the strategic direction on disability matters and taking forward a work programme.
6. The Commissioner has set up a focus group for disabled staff. This is being developed to hear the concerns of employees, particularly support staff, and to enable them to work with managers to develop solutions.
7. Following the GLA group best value review of equalities, the MPA is committed to developing a diversity strategy. This will be considered by the MPA’s Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board and we will be happy to share this with you when it becomes available.

We will need to consider the scope of contributing financially to the GLA’s plans for EYDP festivals and exhibitions in 2003. To assist us, we request a full list of events planned across the Mayor’s Office and the GLA for the coming 15 months, including the Respect Festival, Black History Month and EYDP events, where functional body contributions/sponsorship will be expected. As you will appreciate, we need this in order to develop and plan our budget. Where budget is available, we will seek to prioritise events for EYDB in 2003 - which may mean less contributions to other events.

Also, if you would like the MPA to liaise between event organisers and the MPS to achieve an appropriate policing style at the planned outdoor events, please let us know.

For further information, please contact Jude Sequeira, the MPA representative, or Linda Van den Hende from the MPS, as members of the EYDP project team.

Yours sincerely,

Toby Harris
Chair of the Authority

cc Cecile Wright (Chair of Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board), Rachel Whittaker (Chair of Human Resources Committee), Cindy Butts (Chair of the Consultation Committee), Nicholas Long (Lead member - Consultation), Commander Cressida Dick (MPS Director of Diversity), Linda Van den Hende (MPS)

Appendix 2

Disability Programme Board

Vision

To make the MPS a fully inclusive organisation for disabled people both those we employ and seek to employ and those for whom we provide service. This will contribute to the MPS Vision of making London the safest major city in the world by underpinning the values of working in partnership and treating everyone fairly.

Objectives

1. To encourage and foster a confidence where disabled people are able to contribute to the development of our services and employment practices to ensure they are fully inclusive for disabled people.

2. To encourage disabled people to organise into groups both internally and externally to provide a consultation mechanism to assist the MPS in achieving its objectives.

3. To ensure that the MPS, in conjunction with partners, encourages and welcomes people with disabilities to seek to work within a full range of roles and supports those who are already part of our internal community.

4. To ensure that services provided by the MPS are fully accessible to disabled people who are victims, witnesses and those suspected of committing crime and those with whom we have day-to-day contact.

5. To seek to ensure that policies in use within the MPS are fully inclusive for disabled people.

6. To monitor work practices and service provision to demonstrate our commitment to the vision and promotion of best practice.

7. To encourage understanding and awareness of disability issues amongst staff and the wider community.

8. To ensure that we have appropriate communication arrangements in place both internal to the organisation and externally.

9. To ensure the development of minimum standards of investigation into crimes targeted against disabled people.

10. To encourage the MPS to adopt the social model of disability.

We will do all of these things in support of the Diversity Strategy, and in partnership with our staff and the community.

Developed and approved by the Programme Board, Finalised by the Programme Board 30 January 2003

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