Agenda and minutes

The apologies of Councillor Guest were noted.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 2 December 2021, and to deal with any matters arising, attached.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 2 December 2021 be approved and signed as a correct record.

The Panel considered the report of the Service Director – Legal and Business

Operations for the fourth meeting of the ‘Accessible Southampton Inquiry’.  The Panel considered ‘Accessibility to information and communication’ and noted the presentations.

Summary of information provided:

What contributes to good accessibility in information & communication from Disabled People’s Viewpoint – Ian Loynes, Chief Executive, Spectrum CIL

·  A presentation was delivered by Ian Loynes, summarising the key issues raised at the Accessible Southampton Focus Group meeting. 

·  Key points raised in the presentation included the following:

o  Information and communication should be written to be understandable to the audience in question – This is not applied by all SCC services

o  If information or communication is aimed at the ‘general public’ then it needs to ensure that it will be accessible and understandable to all equality groups (including Disabled People)

o  Consider if all the intended audience will be able to access your chosen communication method

o  Use Plain English

o  Make it easy for staff to get it right - Provision of accessible info should not be a cost issue

o  SCC should consider having an Accessible Information Standard (Sans Serif font, minimum size 14pt)

o  Ability to easily produce other formats ‘on demand’

o  The language of disability is important – words matter (Best practice provided by Spectrum CIL and added to the Inquiry evidence log)

o  Just common decency: Don’t use words that people don’t like - words to describe Disabled People, that we find offensive such as ‘Handicapped’ or ‘Bed/House Bound’ are still routinely used (and often inaccurate!)

o  Just as some people prefer information in non-English languages, some Disabled People need information in other formats - ie:  BSL, Braille, Audio, Easy Read, Makaton

o  Client information should include preference for how they would like their information provided and should be applied consistently across an organisation

o  All general information should say that other formats are available on request

o  Whilst its hard/dangerous to generalise, many people still do not have access to the Internet - Yet more and more the only way to gain a service or information is via the Internet

o  Access to services/information must remain available in a variety of ways. Invest in schemes which provide equipment / training to encourage more to benefit from the Internet

o  Internet should provide a range of accessibility controls

o  Provide easy access to a human being (easy to find Phone number)

o  Far too many public meetings are still inaccessible to Disabled People

o  To include as part of an access statement (eg public meetings will always be held in accessible venues). Checklist to ensure meetings are accessible

o  Opportunity for accessible communication standards and language to be included in staff/cllr inductions and training to improve awareness.

Communication Access Symbol – Rosie Dowty, Lead Speech & Language Therapist, at Southampton Community Learning Disability Service, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust & Kate Dench, Learning Disability Joint Commissioning Manager at the Integrated Commissioning Unit

·  Key points raised by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.