External Disability Advisory Group

20 September 2023 at 1130am (Committee Room 21, Parliament Buildings)

 

In attendance

External Disability Advisory Group Members

In Person:

  • Stewart Finn, MS Society
  • Allison Gray, Sense
  • Rhona McAuley, Cedar Foundation
  • Amanda Paul, Disabled People’s Parliament
  • Allan Paul
  • Joanne Sansome

Virtual:

  • Tony O’Reilly, North West Disability Forum (unable to participate fully due to technical issues)

Northern Ireland Assembly Commission Staff

  • Karen Martin, Deputy Head of Human Resources (Chair)
  • Hugh Stewart, Head of Building Services (Item 4)
  • Claire Maguire, Public Engagement Manager (Item 5)
  • Eoin Curran, Web Content Manager (Item 6)
  • John Gow, Equality Officer

Apologies

  • Paula Beattie, RNIB
  • June Best, Disabled People’s Parliament
  • Andrew Ewen, Leonard Cheshire
  • Agnes Lunny, Positive Futures
  • Ursula Marshall, Disabled People’s Parliament
  • David McDonald, Disabled People’s Parliament
  • Andrew Murdock, Guide Dogs NI

 

1. Welcome and Introduction

1.1 The Chair opened the meeting and welcomed all to Parliament Buildings.   

 

2. Minutes of the previous meeting

2.1 The minutes of the previous meeting on 7 December 2022 were agreed.

 

3. Actions from the previous meeting

3.1 Clare Maguire, Public Engagement Manager, had been invited to the meeting to provide an update on the Youth Assembly and public engagement (Item 5 below).

 

4. Building Services - update on building accessibility

4.1 The scope to rename and repurpose the Assembly Quiet Room to allow for wider use by service users with disabilities had been raised at the previous meeting. The Head of Building Services explained that the Quiet Room was an integral part of the Assembly’s autism accreditation and must therefore be available for this purpose at all times. Staff would work with the Events Team to arrange an alternative room, if required by other visitors.

4.2 The provision of a lift in Parliament Buildings capable of accommodating larger motorised wheelchairs had been raised with the Department of Finance and a response was awaited. The nature of the building and the requirement to consult with specialists including Historic Buildings, structural engineers and the Fire Officer meant that this was likely to be a lengthy process.

4.3 Following an accessibility audit of Parliament Buildings, a planning application was being submitted to add larger disabled parking spaces to the east and west car parks at Parliament Buildings. Work on this project could not commence until remedial work to the roof was completed and the car parks were restored to full capacity. Ms Paul asked that consideration be given to the length as well as the width of the disabled parking spaces and this was agreed.

Action: Building Services to consider the length of disabled parking spaces at Parliament Buildings

4.4 Ms Paul and Ms Sansome raised the issue of the wheelchair lift to the public gallery in the Assembly Chamber. The Head of Building Services apologised for the incident when the lift had malfunctioned. Building Services would ensure that measures were taken to avoid a repetition of this incident while a solution for larger motorised wheelchairs was identified.

 

5. Engagement Office – update on actions in the Disability Action Plan

5.1 The Public Engagement Manager advised that an Engagement Strategy for the Assembly was in the early stages of development. This would include consideration of Citizen Parliaments, how awareness days were recognised and would take account of the actions in the Equality and Disability Action Plans.

5.2 Recruitment for the new Youth Assembly would open on 25 September and close on 16 October 2024 for those in Years 9-12 (aged approximately between 12-16 years old).  An e-mail had been sent to schools through the C2K system. Applications could be made on the Assembly’s website. Ms Paul asked how we would ensure that the Youth Assembly was representative of society. The Public Engagement Manager said that demographic research had been commissioned and that a randomised selection process would be applied, with 10 places for young people with disabilities based on demographics identified in the research.

5.3 The Public Engagement Team were working with the Orchardville Society to build capacity, and with a local residential dementia unit to arrange a visit for a pilot of a dementia-friendly tour of Parliament Buildings. There had been engagement with special schools, and a conference for teachers had been held last year with 75 attendees, including special needs teachers. Work had been undertaken to develop a sensory toy in the shape of Parliament Buildings for visiting children with disabilities.

5.4 An invitation to visit Parliament Buildings had been sent out to all schools in Northern Ireland, and one special school so far had taken part in a specially designed tour. Public Engagement staff were working with counterparts from the other devolved institutions and Westminster to learn from their experience.

5.5 The Chair said that a person with a disability had completed a work placement for one day a week over a four-week period, in the Human Resources Office. The Placement was arranged under the Assembly Commission’s Apprenticeship and Placement Framework. The experience had been very beneficial for staff within the Human Resources Office and the individual was able to gain work experience across several duties/functions within the Office. Feedback from all parties had been very positive. In terms of lessons learned, it had been important to show flexibility to meet the individual needs of the person on placement and to ensure that they had the best possible experience. It was hoped that a second placement in another area of the Assembly Commission could be arranged in the near future.

5.6 Ms Paul and Ms Sansome asked if persons with a disability could work for the Assembly Commission on a voluntary basis. The Chair advised that, at this stage, placements would be arranged through the Apprenticeship and Placement Framework. Ms Sansome asked if the Assembly operated a work experience programme for schools and suggested that disabled people’s organisations and special schools could help in identifying suitable candidates for placements. The Public Engagement Manger advised that a formal work experience programme was not in place at this time. However, should this be established, consideration would be given as to how disabled people’s organisations and special schools might help to identify suitable work placement candidates.

         

6. Communications Office - update on website and intranet accessibility and accessibility guide

6.1 The Communications Office were looking at producing new guidance and videos to improve accessible online content, focussing on common mistakes. A blog on accessibility had been published for staff to coincide with Global Accessibility Day in May. This resource would be added to with new blog posts on accessibility

6.2 Wordpress sites were being reviewed for accessibility, and Communications staff were reviewing the Assembly’s intranet site to check accessibility, for example by converting PDF documents to the more accessible HTML format.

6.3     The Assembly’s external website was now over 12 years old and a project to redevelop it was in its early stages. The Web Content Officer would keep the Equality Team up to date with progress and consideration would be given as to how EDAG members would could contribute to the development of the website. Ms Paul asked that contact details and a phone number were given prominence in the new website, as these details could often be difficult for people using screen readers to find.

Action: Web Content Officer to liaise with Equality Team on progress to update Assembly website and consider how best to give more prominence to contact details

6.4 Ms Sansome said that it would make it easier for users if consultations from other Government Departments could be included on Citizens Space. The Chair explained that the Assembly’s website on Citizens Space could only be used for Assembly consultations.

 

7. Mystery Visitors Survey

7.1 The Equality Officer explained that a Mystery Visitor Survey had been carried out between October 2022 and July 2023 to fulfil an objective in the Assembly’s Disability Action Plan 2022-2025. The purpose of the survey was to gather information on the real-life experience of visitors with a disability. The survey was distributed to individual mystery visitors through EDAG member organisations, and the Equality Officer thanked members for their help in doing this.

7.2 Although the response to the survey had been low, it was generally positive about the experience of visitors with disabilities. Arrival experience, reception, physical access, hospitality, signage and cleanliness were rated “excellent” or “good”. The main issues identified were in relation to online tour booking, website information, wheelchair access to lifts, physical access to toilets and a fault with the wheelchair lift outside the Assembly Chamber. Measures were being taken to address these issues and progress would be monitored.

7.3 Ms Paul suggested that a map should be produced for visitors to indicate the location of changing facilities and accessible toilets.

Action: Assembly staff to consider the production of a map to indicate the location of accessible facilities.

 

8. Annual Progress Report to the Equality Commission including Disability Action Plan Progress Report

8.1 The Assembly’s Annual Report to for 2022/2023, including an update on progress on the Disability Action Plan 2022-2025, had been submitted to the Equality Commission on 29 June 2023. Of 39 actions in the Disability Action Plan, 29 were complete, three were ongoing, four were not complete and three were not yet due to start.

8.2 The incomplete actions were:

  • Mystery Visitors Survey – now complete (see Item 7 above);
  • develop an accessible meeting guide for committee meetings – work now started;
  • develop autism friendly tour (work now started, intend to deliver pilot by March 2024);
  • develop dementia-friendly tour (work now started, intend to deliver pilot by March 2024).

8.3 The Annual Report had been published on the Assembly’s website here: Annual Equality Progress Report 2022 - 2023

 

9. AOB

9.1 Ms Paul explained the difficulties that some members of Group experience in getting to EDAG meetings that are scheduled in the morning and asked if future meetings could be held later, from 12.30 onwards. The Chair thanked Ms Paul for drawing attention to this issue and agreed that future meetings would start in the afternoon.  

Action: Equality Officer to ensure that future meetings are scheduled for a time no earlier than 1230.

 

Date of next meeting

To be arranged for April 2024.

 

9.2 The Chair thanked those in attendance, particularly external members, and concluded the meeting.