Access
The
Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 & 2005
The 1995 Act imposed duties on service providers to ensure that
goods, facilities and services are as accessible to disabled people
as they are to other members of society.
It states that service providers must take reasonable steps to
change any practices, policies or procedures which make it unreasonably
difficult or impossible for disabled people to use them.
The 2005 act extends the scope of the 1995 act. Changes
include:
- Introducing a public body duty to promote equality of opportunity
- Extending the meaning of disability to cover those with HIV,
cancer and MS from the point of diagnosis
- Making it unlawful for operators of transport vehicles to discriminate
against disabled people.
- Making changes to the blue badge parking scheme
- Requiring landlords to make reasonable adjustments to policies,
practices and procedures
- Making sure that all public body activities are covered
The DDA 2005 also places a duty on all public bodies to promote disability
equality and to produce a Disability Equality Scheme.
There are several resources available locally to assist disabled
people to access facilities and services in the Bracknell area.
Blue Badge parking
(disabled parking)
For information about entitlement to a Blue Badge, see details in
the Social
Services and Housing section.
Radar keys for disabled toilets
These can be obtained either direct from Radar - see details in the Leisure section
- or from Time Square and Easthampstead House.
Disabled parking bays
in residential areas
The availability of parking close to the house of a person who is
disabled can sometimes be a problem in an area like Bracknell where
there is a lot of new housing and limited parking space. The
Access Officer can sometimes give advice, or alternatively you can
contact the Traffic and Safety Team at Time Square.
The e+ Card
This card is available free to all Bracknell Forest residents and
assists with access to a variety of local resources. It enables
residents to use the local libraries (with an hour of free Internet
access every day at all the local libraries), provides discounts at
certain shops in the borough and is used to facilitate access to services
at the Sport and Leisure Centres.
The easiest way to obtain an e+ card is to go to the public
library or Bracknell
Sport and Leisure Centre. You will need to take proof of
your address with you. Your photograph will be taken at the
library.
The e+ card is available to all with no minimum age, though a parent
or guardian will have to act as guarantor for all those under 16 years
of age. For children with special needs this guarantor can be
the carer, even if they are not the parents or legal guardians.
Fair Access to Care Services
The policy and criteria guiding the provision of resources to children
in the borough of Bracknell Forest has been outlined in a document
called Fair Access to Care Services. It refers to all the relevant
legislation, clarifies the definitions of 'children in need' and 'disabled
children' and explains the eligibility and priority system used by
the Children’s Services Department.
The Children’s Services Department will endeavour to provide a service
to children and families whose needs fall within the eligibility criteria,
to the extent that this is possible within its limited resources. Where
the demand for services exceeds the resources, greater priority will
be given to those who have been assessed as being in the greatest need. If,
after an assessment, a child’s needs are identified as being below
the priority level and therefore the child is not eligible for a service,
the family will be given advice and information about other resources
or services in the area.
A copy of this document can be obtained from the Disabled Children
Team, see below for telephone number.
Access for
families from black and minority ethnic groups
Research findings, both nationally and locally, indicate that families
from black and minority ethnic cultures who are caring for children
with special needs often have disadvantages when accessing services. They
may have language, and consequently communication, difficulties which
make it difficult to negotiate the services they require. They
are often more socially isolated than other families, especially in
an area like Bracknell, where there are only small numbers of people
from black and minority ethnic groups. Families who are experiencing
such difficulties should contact either the Disabled Children Team
in the Social Services and Housing department, or the Council for Racial
Equality in Reading.
Disabled Children Team
See entry in Social
Services and Housing section.
A worker from within this team, where appropriate, will be able to
assist in obtaining an interpreter to help a family from a black and
minority ethnic culture.
Reading
Council for Racial Equality
1 St Giles Court
Southampton Street
Reading
RG1 2QL
The office is open Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 5pm.
Alafia
This is a project set up by the Council for Racial Equality.
It is intended for families living in the Reading area, but project
workers are happy to talk to families from Bracknell if they telephone
or call at the office. The aims of the project are:
- to provide support for disabled children from black and minority
ethnic groups and their families and carers
- to identify and provide information to families about existing
services and facilities
- to develop and establish appropriate and effective ways of supporting
families from black and minority ethnic groups who have children
with a disability
- to offer training to associated professional staff in order to
help them improve their services to families from black and minority
ethnic groups
- to promote the health of families from black and minority ethnic
groups
Alafia maintains a list of disabled children from black and minority
ethnic groups in the Reading area. The project workers provide
support to families caring for disabled children and are able to assist
families to access local services and benefits. They visit individual
families in the Reading area and arrange support groups for any interested
families.
A regular monthly meeting is held on the first Wednesday of each month
at Wycliffe Baptist Church, Reading, from 10am to 12pm. For further
details contact the Alafia co-ordinator, Nina Sethi, at the Council
for Racial Equality (see above) or email nina@rcre.co.uk.
Include Me Too (IM2)
2nd Floor, St Johns House
St Johns Square
Wolverhampton
WV2 4BH
The main core of activity for IM2 is in representing and facilitating
the voices of marginalised disabled children, young people, families,
communities and services especially for black and other minority community
groups. IM2, furthermore, produces publications, training and
practice guides and materials to increase further awareness, attitudinal
change and legal compliance in the field.
This includes 'The National Charter of Rights for Disabled Children
and Young People Handbook' which has been endorsed by all the main
political parties and many other national disability, children and
family organisations in the UK.
Complaints
If you wish to complain about a service or decision made by the Bracknell
Forest Children’s Services and Housing Department, you should initially
speak to the manager of the team or unit providing the service. If
the outcome is still not satisfactory, you can contact:
Customer Response Officer:
| Tel: |
01344 351588 - office hours |
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0800 169 4491 - 24 hour answerphone |
Shopmobility
2 Crossway
Bracknell
RG12 1AF
Opening hours are 10am to 4pm from Tuesdays to Saturdays.
Scooters and powered wheelchairs can be hired for adults and children,
the latter at the discretion of the shop manager. Children
under the age of 16 years have to be accompanied by an adult. An
annual registration fee of £15 is payable with no additional hiring
charge.
Alternatively, vehicles can be hired at a casual daily rate. Contact
Shopmobility for further details.
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