Nottinghamshire has a number of excellent service providing organisations but has never had a strong supporting structure of disabled people’s organisations. It was therefore decided to employ a reputable disability consultancy, Equal Ability, to conduct interviews with a smaller number of key voluntary disability organisations, to establish a baseline of need for infrastructure support in this part of the sector. Conclusions were as follows:
Disabled peoples organisations are clearly struggling to acquire sufficient infrastructure resources to enable them to effectively undertake the work they see as needed on behalf of, and within, the disabled community. In this they are not alone in the voluntary sector. However, there are some key issues that perhaps make their situation additionally complex, and in need of specific consideration.
There is a long history of disabled people’s groups being fragmented, and an acknowledged need to build community and to increase the involvement, empowerment and representation of disabled people.
There is no clear support structure to enable disabled people’s groups, and indeed other groups, to provide full access.
The resources available to the voluntary sector are not always fully accessible to disabled peoples groups because of a range of access barriers, such as, the timing of courses, the provision of accessible material, and general lack of disability awareness amongst providers.
There are impairment related energy issues for disabled people who are combating a whole range of access barriers in other parts of their lives on a daily basis.
It is clear that there is growing consensus and cohesion around the concept of, and need for, a CIL (Centre for Independent Living). We believe that this cohesion could be built upon to develop a specific infrastructure organisation, controlled and run by disabled people, for disabled people’s groups. This could be combined with, or immediately support, a CIL. To do this it could be worth considering operating a social firm or perhaps take up the new Community Interest Company form when available. We would envisage the role and benefits of this as including the following.
A fully accessible central Nottingham meeting and office facility, and enabling access to such facilities elsewhere in the County. This would essentially need to be networked, through good use of technology, to other accessible meeting venues around Nottinghamshire. This would reduce the need for travel, and the investment of time and energy required for those for whom a central Nottingham venue is not easily accessible.
A single point for the provision of support, whether directly or through other organisations, to enable the provision of fully accessible services and meetings. It would provide alternative formats, including Braille and easy-read; book interpreter and other human aids to communication services; book personal assistants; maintain and update a directory of accessible venues; provide training on accessible meetings; and so on. This would not only assist groups of disabled people, but also other voluntary sector groups. It could also provide a means of income generation if made available to the statutory and commercial sectors.
A secretariat and treasury service provided to groups of disabled people together with serviced office space. Significant responsibility, and indeed risk, could thereby be removed from those organisations to enable them to involve more disabled people, and concentrate on their aims, rather than the business of surviving. It would mean reducing the need for active officers.
A resource for disabled people to gain more development opportunities in a peer-supported environment, and for community to be built. It would also enable more minority groups within the disabled community to be nurtured and grown. This should enable disabled people to be more effectively represented in, and on, those organisations making decisions that affect their lives, and those of their peers.
We would see it developing as a centre of excellence, enabling organisations across the sectors to better understand and meet the needs of disabled people in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
The Consortium still has to decide how to respond to the Consultants' conclusions above.
