Hi folks,

If you are planning to go to The Gathering tomorrow (19 th February), you may be interested in attending a free seminar we are holding in partnership with the Scottish Information Commissioner to provide some practical tips and insight on how to use your Freedom of Information rights to support your campaigning and advocacy work.

We are running two short seminars, at 9am and then again at 11am, at The Gathering.  The seminar is entitled ‘Using ‘Freedom of Information’ to access information from Scottish public authorities’.

Voluntary organisations have legal rights to ask for and receive information from Scotland’s public authorities - information which can support campaigning/advocacy/awareness raising work  This workshop shares recent research on how the third sector is using FOI rights in Scotland, and provides practical training on how to make this right work for you.

If you would like to attend please contact Susan Gray on 01334 464655 or email: enquiries@itspublicknowledge.info

Remember if you have any articles, stories, suggestions, comments, ideas etc or vacancies/training that you want highlighted in the newsletter, website or e-bulletin (free of charge of course!) please get in contact by email – information@inclusionscotland.org , telephone – 0141 887 7058 or write to me at Inclusion Scotland, 5A Sir James Clarke Building, Abbey Mill Business Centre, Paisley PA1 1TJ.

Have a great weekend!

Best wishes,

Donna

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News Update

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Information

Inclusion Scotland Membership

Inclusion Scotland is Scotland’s leading organisation of disabled people.  We aim to draw attention to the physical, social, economic, cultural and attitudinal barriers that affect our everyday lives as disabled people in Scotland.

If you or your organisation would like to join Inclusion Scotland, see our website www.inclusionscotland.org for more information.  Or contact information@inclusionscotland.org or telephone 0141 887 7058.

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UK Life After Stroke Awards 2010

The Stroke Association organises the UK Life After Stroke Awards to recognise the courage and determination of people whose lives have been affected by stroke.  

If you know of a stroke survivor, carer, volunteer or an Occupational Therapist in Scotland who fits the nomination criteria, please submit a nomination.   

Nominations can be made for the following eight categories:

·       Children and Young People’s Courage Award (up to 18 years old)

·       Adult Courage Award (18-64 years old)

·       Adult Courage Award (65 years and over)

·       Susie Hulks Memorial Award for Art

·       Carer’s Award

·       The Stroke Association Award for Volunteering

·       Stroke Club Award

·       Excellence in Stroke Care Award (to be presented to an Occupational Therapist)

The 2010 Life After Stroke Awards (LASA) nominations period is open now until Friday 26th February 2010 .  People can nominate on-line through our website www.stroke.org.uk/lasa or by using a hard copy nomination form, which can be requested by emailing: lasa@stroke.org.uk or Tel: 01604 687720.

Those chosen to receive an award will be invited to stay in a central London hotel the evening before and to attend the award ceremony the following day to accept their award from a celebrity supporter of The Stroke Association.   All travel and accommodation expenses will be paid.

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Monday 8th March 2010 is International Womens Day.

 

There is a protest march in London in which disabled women will be represented and will be key speakers for the event.

European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) want to know what events are happening in Scotland and the UK for disabled women.

 

If you have any news you wish to share with them please write to Debbie - debbie.jolly@enil.eu

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Consultations, Surveys & Campaigns

End of Life Assistance Bill

Margo McDonald MSP has now introduced her End of Life Assistance Bill into the Scottish Parliament.  The Bill is available to view on the Inclusion Scotland website .

There are considerable differences between the Bill as published and what the consultation document set out.  In general the focus of the Bill has been narrowed so that “only” those with terminal illness and likely to die in the next six months and those with an impairment who are unable to live “independently” would fit the criteria for eligibility for assistance.

Inclusion Scotland are concerned that changes which could have a profound effect on how disabled people are viewed and treated by the NHS and wider society are being considered in a fairly one-sided atmosphere.

Of course some people may support Margo’s Bill and we respect their viewpoint but Inclusion Scotland’s agreed policy is to oppose any change in the current law on suicide and/or assisted dying.  That will mean talking to and writing to MSPs to make sure that they hear the alternative viewpoint.

We intend to expand the Contact 100 group on Assisted Suicide so please let us know if you wish to join it and we will keep you informed of the Bill’s progress and provide suggestions as to how you might help in lobbying at a local and national level.

If you wish to join the group or have any comments or thoughts or the Bill please forward them to information@inclusionscotland.org or telephone 0141 887 7058.

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Self-Directed Support Strategy Consultation

The self-directed support draft strategy is now out for public consultation and can be accessed by following the attached link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/02/05133942/0

Inclusion Scotland will be responding and want to hear your views on it!

If you have any comments please send them to information@inclusionscotland.org or telephone 0141 887 7058

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BBC – Assisted Dying

The BBC has quite rightly been accused today of pushing the right-to-die agenda by giving hours of airtime and leading news bulletins to the opinions of campaigners and publishing the results of opinion polls in a selective way.

See Daily Mail comment - http://bit.ly/aEJNBm

The BBC website gives prominence to the extreme views of celebrity fantasy fiction writer Terry Pratchett (Dimbleby lecture) and Mrs Kay Gilderdale (one-sided Panorama programme produced by Jeremy Vine) without giving similar space to opposing opinions.

The way that the views of disabled people in particular have been marginalised in a debate which affects them so personally has been appalling.

Please write to complain to the BBC about the bias of the coverage - go to https://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/forms/

Alternatively phone them on 03700 100 222 or write to BBC Complaints, PO Box 1922, Glasgow G2 3WT.

Feel free to disseminate this email amongst your supporters and network.

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Invitation to take part in Equality Bill non statutory guidance consultation

The new Equality Bill is the most significant piece of equality legislation for many years.

Inline with our statutory powers, the Equality and Human Rights Commission is producing non statutory guidance to cover all aspects of the Equality Bill once it becomes law. The main purpose of this guidance is to help people understand the Equality Act and how it will affect them.

We are acutely aware that the guidance should reflect the needs and expectations of the people who are going to use it. Many individuals and organisations have already shared their thoughts with us on what good guidance looks like, and what they expect to see in our documents. We are grateful for their input. This next phase of stakeholder engagement – the online consultation – is an essential part of the drafting process.

There will be three separate online consultations on:

1.    Employment

2.    Services, Public Functions and Associations

3.    Education.

All consultations will run until 16 April and can be accessed at: www.equalityhumanrights.com/equalitybill

 

If you require access to the consultation in an alternative format, please call our Helpline on 0845 604 6610 who will assist in meeting your needs.
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Social Care Procurement

The Scottish Government has just released a new consultation on Social Care Procurement.  The full consultation can be accessed here - www.scotland.gov.uk/Consultations/Current

Inclusion Scotland are looking to send on a response to the consultation but we need your opinions, views and comments!

If you have anything to say (good or bad!) about the consultation then please send them to me at donna@inclusionscotland.org by 26 th March 2010.  You can also phone me about the paper on 0141 887 7058.

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A National Approach to Anti-Bullying for Scotland's Children and Young People

Inclusion Scotland wish to respond to the above consultation on how disabled children and young people are affected by bullying.  We would like to hear you stories and experiences along with any comments you have on the strategy document.

The Anti-Bullying Strategy Document can be found here –

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/11/13154751/0

Please send all comments to information@inclusionscotland.org or telephone 0141 887 7058 by 19 th February 2010. 

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Hate Crime Marketing Survey

We are a group of public and voluntary sector organisations working together to identify and eliminate unlawful discrimination, attacks and harassment and to promote good relations. 

A Hate Incident - is any incident perceived as such by you or any other person. Anyone can be the victim of a hate incident. Incidents perceived by any person to have been motivated by hatred, malice or prejudice of Race, Religion / Faith, Sexual Orientation, Transgender identity or Disability are recorded, monitored and investigated as hate incidents. 

We need your help with a deciding on what marketing materials for a campaign we are running to raise awareness of our work. This survey should take you about 5 minutes: http://www.survs.com/survey/3N9185810D   For more information about our work visit www.stophateincentralscotland.org.uk

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If you have used Mental Welfare Commission services they want to know what you think of them.

 

To complete the survey please click on the link below:

 

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MWCsurvey

 

Or on this link if you would like an easy-read version of the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MWCsurvey-easyread

 

Your answers will be kept private.

 

You can ask a carer, an advocate, a friend or staff to help you fill in the survey.

 

The survey closes the 26th of February 2010.

 

If you have any questions about this survey you can phone Hannah Biggs on 0131 555 5959 or email her on hannah@sdcmh.org.uk

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Scope Money Matters Survey 2010

We want to know more about the financial experiences of disabled people and families with disabled children to help us influence financial information, advice and services for the better.

We’d be very grateful if you’d take 10-15 minutes to complete the survey.

The survey will close on 15 March 2010.

Click here to take part.

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Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) Consultation

The NMC’s review of pre-registration nursing education is about ensuring nurses of the future are equipped to work in a modern healthcare environment. Our consultation on the second and final phase of this review is now live and can be accessed at the following link. http://www.nmc-uk.org/aArticle.aspx?ArticleID=4072

 

The consultation focuses on nursing education programmes that students undertake in order to become a registered nurse. It is based on a set of draft Standards for pre-registration nursing education that set out what nursing students must demonstrate to be fit for practice at the point of registration. These standards will be used by institutions that offer NMC approved nurse education programme to develop curriculums.

 

There are two aspects to the proposed standards:

·       The knowledge, skills and attitudes that graduate nurses need to demonstrate at the point of registration (standards for competence);

·       The requirements that all pre-registration nursing programmes must meet, including those relating to the teaching, learning and assessment of nursing students (standards for education).

 

This consultation will shape the way that nurses work and practice in the future. Have your say on the future of nursing by taking part in our online survey. ........................................................................................................................

Scottish Requirements for Social Work Training and the Standards in Social Work Education

Respect Training and Consultancy has been asked to carry out an impact assessment of the Scottish Requirements for Social Work Training and the Standards in Social Work Education (SiSWE) in order to establish genuine competence standards, and provide proposals for the revision of the document. 

Four focus groups will be held in February to review the SiSWE and the entry, teaching, learning and assessment requirements from a disability equality perspective. 

·       1pm - 3pm  23/02/10   Edinburgh

·       1pm – 3pm  25/02/10  Glasgow

·       1pm – 3pm 26/02/10    Aberdeen

If you, or other members of your organisation are unable to attend a focus group, Respect would be happy to receive a response from you by email. Responses will be treated in the strictest confidence and your name and other identifying details will not appear in the final report.

We would be particularly interested to hear your views on:

·       Any previous consultations on the requirements and standards that you/your organisation may have responded to or participated in

·       Your direct experience of the requirements and standards e.g. as a social work student or a member of staff in an HEI.

·       Whether you believe some of the standards and requirements may be potentially discriminatory and if so how they could be rewritten

·       Anything else that you believe is relevant to this project.

The framework document can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2003/01/16202/17015

The closing date for responses to the Call for Evidence is March 1 st   2010. Please contact sasha@respect.org   for further details, to book a place at one of the focus group sessions or to send your response to the call for evidence.

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 EHRC – Equality Bill

EHRC non-statutory guidance covering employment, goods and services and education is now out for consultation.  The following link takes you to the relevant page on the EHRC website:

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/legislative-framework/equality-bill/

Consultation is open till 16 th April 2010.

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Events & Training

Free Cheese and Wine sessions for disability groups

The General Election is coming and with every political party talking about budget cuts, it’s never been more important to have your say and vote .  But who do you vote for and how do you vote?

The Citizenship Academy wants to help disabled people to get their voices heard.  To this end, the Academy is running a free series of cheese and wine events where disabled people will have the space to talk about voting, democracy and active citizenship.

 If you would like one of the events to take place with your group or more information then please contact William Neil by email at william.neil@lcdisability.org or call on 0131 346 9040.

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The Independent Living in Scotland events are rolling on and we are have dates for your diary.  These events are for disabled people to find out more about what independent living is and what they can do to make it a reality for all disabled people.

·       27 th February, Touchbase, Kinning Park, Glasgow – an event for disabled people from Muslim communities in Glasgow and surrounding areas. This event is being run in partnership with Kitaba

·       12 th March – Royal Marine Hotel, Brora – up north does not have to mean out of sight.  This event is for all  disabled people in the surrounding areas. If a group of people want to get together to organise community travel from another area in the Sutherland we can talk to you about funding this

·       17 th March, tweed Horizons, Newton St Boswells – an event for all disabled people in the Borders area.  This event is being run in partnership with Disabled People’s Housing Service Borders

·       19 th March, Edinburgh – an event for people with mental health issues from across the Central Belt.  This event is being run in partnership with Voices of Experience (VoX)

Watch out for new dates and new events from April.  We hope to be in the Aberdeen area, Ayrshire and to host an event for disabled people from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered communities. 

Contact Independent Living in Scotland at contactilis@equalityhumanrights.com or call 0141 228 5910 for details. You can also write to us at ILiS, Equality Human Rights Commission, 58 Robertson Street, Glasgow G2 8DU.

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Edinburgh: The Gathering

18 & 19 Feb 2010 at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC).

The SCVO Gathering is the largest voluntary sector event in the UK.

For more information:  www.gatherscotland.org.uk

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Poverty Alliance Seminars

2010 will be a significant year in the fight against poverty. The UK General Election and the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion will provide a real opportunity to debate about how best to tackle poverty. It is an opportunity to look at existing strategies, consider the successes and failures and what the next steps ought to be.

The Poverty Alliance’s annual seminar series will focus on looking at what has been achieved so far, and what the anti-poverty movement in Scotland should be calling for in the next period in order to ensure that poor people are not made to pay for the economic crisis.

Half day seminars will take place between:

For more information and to register visit http://www.povertyalliance.org/events.asp

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Birds of Paradise Theatre - Clutter Keeps Company by Davey Anderson

On tour throughout February and March 2010 across Scotland

For more information visit the website:  www.birdsofparadisetheatre.co.uk

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Scottish Consortium for Learning Disabilities conference

Equal, Connected, Contributing - Research Perspectives On The

Citizenship And Human Rights Of People With Learning Disabilities

24th February 2010 in Perth

The SCLD, in collaboration with the Open  University and the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social  Services (IRISS), is organising a one day research conference to  reflect upon the contributions and participation of people with  learning difficulties within our society.