Council under fire over ‘undemocratic’ process

Edinburgh campaigners are concerned about the way the Council is operating during the Covid crisis. So far there has been no action to set up accessible virtual meetings of the Council – and Edinburgh East Save Our Services argues that people want an immediate return to a more transparent decision-making process.

“Since mid-March the city council has changed its way of operating,” said Lorna Frost of Edinburgh East Save our Services. “Other organisations have already formulated guidelines for meetings and it is timely for our Council to rethink the way it proceeds during the Covid crisis.

“Our community group wanted to take these issues up with the Council but our attempt to ‘talk about it’ has been rebuffed. In addition, our councillors,  who are our elected representatives, have been told any issues they raise with a council officer must be virus-related, but we think the current crises across our city – in care homes, schools, Lothian Buses and regarding poverty and mental health – are all virus-related.

“It is crucial that the Council re-engages fully with the people of Edinburgh,  their elected representatives,  and voluntary groups immediately.

“Community councils should also be reactivated in a secure way. We need to work together to tackle the severe issues of poverty and inequality arising from the Covid-crisis.”

Edinburgh East Save Our Services emailed council leader Adam McVey on Wednesday:

Dear Convener McVey

We would appreciate clarification on governance concerns, particularly on the following matter.

We have read the minutes of the April EDC LAP meeting and our understanding of: ‘To note that the Chief Executive would report to the first meeting of the Policy and Sustainability Committee in May 2020 on potential options for holding meetings of Full Council‘ is that accessible/transparent meetings of the Council and its committees may or may not go ahead depending on the report of the Chief Executive  tomorrow.

Our opinion is that it is very important that the affairs of the city are conducted in an open way, particularly in this time of crisis, and we want to let the Council know this.From our reading of the minutes it seems this decision has not already been taken, but that it will be taken tomorrow, and that is why we wanted to influence this decision.

You are responsible for and entrusted with the wellbeing of the people of Edinburgh and we are disappointed with your response and also the lack of any additional explanation.

It seems very difficult for residents to interact with their local authority in a meaningful way, if at all.

Regards

Lorna Frost (for Edinburgh East Save our Services)

The campaigners also sent the following questions by email:

EESOS submission to EDC PSC 14/5/20

Edinburgh East Save our Services submits the following questions to the meeting of the Policy and Sustainability Committee on Thursday 14th May 2020 at 10am.

The questions relate to the Council’s Interim Political Management Arrangements for 2020 (item 4 Minute of the LAP 23/4/20)

Why have no measures been taken to set up accessible virtual meetings of the Council and its committees since mid-March ?

How long does the Council intend to continue proceeding in this way? ( The Scottish government has already formulated guidelines for meetings.)

Why have restrictions (namely that any issues should be virus- related) been put on our councillors (our elected representatives) raising issues with a council officer?

What exactly are the criteria which define virus-related?

Aren’t the current crises across Edinburgh, in care homes, schools, Lothian Buses, poverty, and mental health virus-related?

Lorna said: “In reply we were told that the council refused to accept our submission. Convener Mcvey says it does not meet the requirements of a deputation as it relates to a decision that was taken in April.

“This is an astonishing response since the decision was not taken through the council’s normal democratic processes.”

Better outcomes for children who need additional support

New tools to assist learners 

Councils and teachers are being given extra help to improve outcomes for young people with additional support needs.

The Scottish Government’s new guidance on mainstreaming provides clear, updated information to help decide the best learning environment for a young person. For the first time, it includes a Scottish definition of inclusion and practical guidance to deliver inclusion in schools. Continue reading Better outcomes for children who need additional support

Educate to Liberate: Local MSP backs plans for inclusive education

Ben Macpherson, SNP MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith has given his backing to proposals that will deliver a more inclusive education system by improving the experiences of LGBTI pupils. 

Continue reading Educate to Liberate: Local MSP backs plans for inclusive education

fashionABLE: platform soles?

AUTUMN FASHION SHOWCASE:  “fashionABLE” AT WAVERLEY STATION

CATWALK AT PLATFORM 2

Events run at 12.00 and 2.00pm on Friday 23 September

Stacy Paris 1

Coming up this month on the Scottish Fashion scene, “fashionABLE” – a new fashion event demonstrating that diversity in life does not mean exclusion from the catwalk and designs. Continue reading fashionABLE: platform soles?

Beach wheelchairs event at Porty this Saturday

wheelchairs
Portobello Beach Wheelchairs is a local community group which believes that everyone has the right to enjoy our beautiful beach. We are currently gathering public opinion and raising awareness of beach wheelchairs with the aim of raising funds to buy, store and maintain beach wheelchairs to be used by visitors to Portobello Beach.

Continue reading Beach wheelchairs event at Porty this Saturday

Creating a more inclusive community? That’s Positively Diverse!

PCHP_BME_INVITE

Is your group or organisation fully engaged with the BME community? Would you like to think about ways to do this more effectively?

Forth Neighbourhood Partnership and Pilton Community Health Project’s Living in Harmony Group are staging a Positively Diverse, a free one-day learning event for local workers to encourage and support them to think about how to include a more diverse section of the community in their activities.

The event takes place at

Spartans Community Football Academy at Ainslie Park

on Thursday 1 October from 10am – 3.30pm.

LIHlogo (2)

To book your place call PCHP on 551 1671 or email admin@pchp.org.uk

 

Edinburgh College stages epic event!

Every Person Counts: learning lessons on  inclusion from Cambodia

Epic Encounters1

A fully inclusive dance company from Cambodia featuring performers with various disabilities visited Edinburgh College last month to deliver a workshop and perform to the college’s dance students.

Epic Encounters is a group of talented dance and theatre performers from Cambodia, consisting of hearing-impaired, disabled and non-disabled performers. It is first and only fully inclusive dance company in South East Asia.

The company came to the college’s Performing Arts Studio Scotland​(PASS) to perform examples of its work that it uses to raise awareness of issues in Cambodia such as road safety, sexual health and child protection to PASS students and staff.

The performers also led an inclusive movement workshop based on their performances and the company motto of Epic Arts – Every Person Counts.

They performed a thought-provoking piece called Come Back Brighter, about the effect of the Khmer Rouge Regime on the artists of Cambodia and the current explosion of creativity sweeping the country. The performance also included a mini sign language lesson and life story from one of the performers.

The Epic Encounters team tours nationally and internationally, creating and performing educational theatre and dance performances. It mixes traditional Khmer dance and contemporary physical theatre techniques to inspire, raise awareness and educate.

Epic Encounters is a social enterprise from Epic Arts Kampot. Epic Arts is an international NGO that works to raise the aspirations of disabled and non-disabled Cambodians through arts-based education, community and social businesses such as the dance company, which is a valuable source of sustainable income for the charity Epic Encounters visited the college as the final stop on a UK tour of performances, workshops and talks.Ethelinda Lashley, a dance lecturer at PASS, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to learn from dancers from a very different background and to understand and appreciate the importance of diversity and inclusivity in dance. Our students are encouraged to appreciate dance within a social and cultural context and explore this through their work.”

Susan Inglis, equalities, policy and research manager for the college, said: “The performance by Epic Arts from Cambodia was most impressive and inspirational.

“The dance team should be congratulated for bringing this highly skilled and energetic inclusive dance group to the college. They demonstrated vividly their commitment to a world where every person counts, and where people with disabilities are valued, accepted and respected.”

EdCollege

A sporting chance for disabled people?

Sport brings about  ‘transformation’ in attitudes to disabled people?

sportNearly 70% of the British public feel attitudes towards disabled people have improved since the London Paralympic Games in 2012, according to new statistics published by the government. But while public opinion may be changing, disability campaigners say the government itself must do more to support disabled people – in sport and in work opportunities.

The findings from the DWP survey are from one of the most detailed surveys of its kind and marks the second anniversary of the Paralympic Games in London.

It also comes as we approach the first anniversary of the ‘Disability Confident’ campaign – designed to break down barriers in employing disabled people. Disability Confident was launched by the Prime Minister David Cameron and has showcased the talents of disabled people across the country.

Minister of State for Disabled People Mike Penning said: “London 2012 helped lead to a transformation in the representation of, and attitudes towards, disabled people in Britain. It challenged mind-sets and left a positive lasting legacy. But more still needs to be done to challenge perceptions.

“Twelve million people in Britain have a disability – that’s 1 in 5 of us. Disabled people have the same aspirations as everyone else, particularly in the workplace. That is why we have travelled round the country over the past year with the likes of Sophie Christiansen and Simon Weston to speak to big business about employing more disabled people”.

The employment rate for disabled people has increased gradually over the years to 45%. The government kick-started a 2 year advertising campaign to support businesses to become more confident at recruiting disabled people, as more disabled jobseekers cite employers’ attitudes as a barrier to work than transport.

The government says changes in attitudes are already leading to positive developments for disabled people across the country:

  • Disabled people are moving into work or training at the rate of 100 placements every working day.
  • 315,000 more disabled people are playing sport regularly now than in 2005.
  • Professional football clubs are moving to make improvements to the accessibility of their stadiums, after the government called for urgent action and after the Olympic Park showed what was possible.
  • BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and BSKYB have pledged to increase the number of disabled people in the broadcasting industry.
  • Over 8,100 rail carriages now comply with modern accessibility standards and over £500m will have been spent on upgrading railway stations to become more accessible by 2019.
  • London’s 8,500 buses are now fully low-floor accessible and all of London’s 22,000 black cabs have wheelchair ramps.
  • 66 tube stations are now step-free and TFL plan to make a further 28 London Underground and Overground stations step-free over the next decade.
  • Professional institutions in the built environment for architects, town planners, surveyors, facilities management and engineers have committed to making their professionals proficient in inclusive design.

Paralympic triple-gold medallist Sophie Christiansen: said: “London 2012 not only inspired a generation, it challenged the ideas of a generation about what disabled people were capable of. Just because we might be a bit different does not mean we should be looked at any differently. We all have unique talents and deserve the opportunity to fulfil our true potential.”

Next month’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will feature more disabled athletes than ever in the competition’s history, with 50 from Britain’s home nations alone. They will compete in 20 events covering the five core Para-Sports: athletics, lawn bowls, powerlifting, swimming and cycling.

wheelchairsCapability Scotland and Independent Living in Scotland (ILiS) have been running The Solution Series, pop up think tanks that bring people together to seek solutions to specific barriers to independent living.  One of the topics recently discussed was disabled people’s equal participation in sport.

With Wimbledon producing a British champion in the wheelchair doubles, the World Cup reaching it’s climax and the Commonwealth Games just around the corner, sport is on everyone’s minds. Disabled people’s participation in sport has received more press in recent years – the London 2012 Paralympics being the largest to date – but there is still a long way to go to ensure that disabled people equally participate in sport, according to charity Capability Scotland.

An inclusive approach to sport is key to help ensure disabled people can fully participate in society. The most recent think tank by ILiS discussed participation of disabled people in sport, and ways in which to encourage this, with five key solutions identified .

The benefits of exercise and physical activity are wide ranging, yet disabled people are often excluded from sporting activities. The latest Scottish Health Survey found that significantly less disabled people reached recommended levels of physical activity,

Eric Mitchell, Policy Projects Manager at Capability Scotland, who contributed to the think tank, said “Capability Scotland is committed to encouraging disabled people to participate in sports. Solutions that came out of the most recent think tank are an important step forward in disabled people’s full participation in society. Recent activities that have been going on across our services highlight our commitment to disabled people’s equal participation in sport.”

“As part of Commonwealth Games celebrations, our services have been holding a range of sporting activities designed to encourage customers to develop their sporting skills and try out new activities, from seated volleyball to boccia (boules). A range of different sports providers from the local communities have come in to Capability Scotland services to run taster sessions.

“As a result of the success of these events, new plans for sports and leisure activities across services have been put in place. We are looking forward to continue to work alongside ILiS to ensure that disabled people have the equal opportunities to participate in sport.”

athleteDespite advances, however, it’s no level playing field and The Federation of Disability Sport has complied statistics that illustrate that there is still some way to go in changing attitudes to disability. For example:

  • One hundred and eighty disability hate crimes are committed every day in this country.
  • Fear and loss of confidence are the most common consequences of disability harassment.
  • Prosecutions and convictions for disability hate crime fell in 2011/12 after rising three years in a row – only partly due to fewer referrals from the police

And there are other barriers to participation – the opportunity to take part in sport and other social activities is often the last thing on the mind of some disabled people. For a considerable number, keeping a roof over their head, and finding enough money to both heat their homes and eat healthily is a daily challenge.

Earlier this week a group of eighty charities published a new report which accuses the UK government of systematically violating human rights law in it’s treatment of disabled people. The Just Fair report claims the government’s austerity programme and welfare reforms have undermined the rights of disabled people,  causing ‘significant hardship.’

Professor of International Human Rights Law Aoife Nolan, who is a trustee of Just Fair, said: “Not only do these policies cause significant hardship and anxiety but they also amount to impermissable backward steps in relation to disabled peoples’ human right, contrary to the UN human rights framework.”

Unsurprisingly the government has dismissed the report, which has now been submitted to United Nations. Disability Minister Mike Penning – yes, the same man who heralded the ‘transformation’ – said the reforms are necessary to ‘fix a broken system”.

So while society’s attitudes to disabled people may be changing, there’s still a long long way to go. We’re still many miles away from awarding any gold medals.