Archived press
release.
As part of its commitment to ensuring that all its services are
accessible to any resident, Suffolk Coastal is looking for disabled
people to volunteer and have their say in drawing up an important
new policy document.
Following new legislation, a disability equality scheme is now
being drawn up by the Council that will form a central role in its
Services For All policy. With this in mind, over the coming months
the views of local people are being actively sought.
“We announced last year that we would be assessing the
accessibility of our services and how we could introduce
improvements to the way they are provided if necessary and where
appropriate,” said Councillor Doreen Savage, Cabinet Member for
Customers and Partners.
“We live in a large district with differing needs and we want to
ensure that we make our services equally available to everyone
regardless of whether they live in one of our towns or a remote
rural village, and whatever their income, education, sex, race,
disability or religious beliefs.
“We are now at the stage where we need local people with
disabilities of any kind to have their say and this is their chance
to shape our services in the future. I hope as many people as
possible, either representing particular groups or as individuals,
will come forward to help make this new scheme as effective and
relevant to local needs as possible,” added Councillor Savage.
Suffolk Coastal is committed to treating all people with dignity
and respect, providing high quality services that are appropriate
and accessible to all sectors of the community, and consulting
local communities to identify their needs and, where practical, to
deliver services to meet those
needs.
The Council also wants to encourage and enable all members of the
community to participate in local decision-making, to treat people
fairly as an employer, promote equality and diversity, and work
with others to promote equal opportunities.
“Among our aims is the provision of buildings that are
accessible to all, to offer clear information to everyone about our
services, and to ensure that all our employees understand our
equality commitments so they can play their part in making Services
For All a reality.
“We provide a wide range of services and, while I am sure we do
not deliberately exclude some parts of our community, it is
important that we double-check to make sure that this is not
occurring and that we are being fair to everyone. Services For All
is what we should be doing already, and drawing up a disability
equality scheme will help ensure that we are,” added Councillor
Savage.
The scheme will explain the Council’s aims to make sure that it
is taking all reasonable steps to prevent or put right any
perceived disadvantage that a person with a disability might
encounter when using one of its services. This also applies to any
disabled person employed by the Council or one of its partners.
Helping to draw up the scheme should not take up too much time,
and the Council is ready to offer a range of different approaches
to ensure that as many people as possible are involved. These could
include group discussions and surveys of individuals and specific
organisations, as well as questionnaires in CoastLine, the
Council’s magazine delivered to all homes, and on its website.
“If you are interested in helping us, or know someone or an
organisation that we should be contacting that could help, then
please get in touch with the Council by whichever method is
available to you and we will be happy to engage with you and your
organisation,” added Councillor Savage.
Anyone wanting more information can contact Pam Dalziel on 01394
444287 or can email
pam.dalziel@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk
or write to her at Services For All, Suffolk Coastal District
Council, Melton Hill, Woodbridge IP12
1AU.