Agenda item

Councillor Rory Vaughan warmly welcomed members of the Disabled People’s Commission (DPC), members of the audience and representatives from both voluntary and public-sector organisations to the meeting.  Tara Flood, Chair of the DPC, led the presentation, accompanied by Patricia Quigley and David Issac.

Tara Flood began by explaining the background to the DPC report, which represented the extensive, collaborative work undertaken over the past 16 months.  The structure of the report was based on information provided by disabled people and detailed key messages and findings, with the focal point being co-production and the next steps required to achieve this.  The DPC had received funding and generous support from the Council but was entirely independent, with a membership drawn from people living in the borough who identified as disabled in some way.  Disabled people were not one homogenous group, variable factors and differences in ability allowed for variation in experiences and co-production challenges, which should place people at the heart of the decision-making process.

Detailing the different stages of the research undertaken, Ms Flood described the three surveys undertaken with disabled people, councillors, staff, and key stakeholders. There had been three public engagement events held in August 2016, including one with young disabled people.  It was explained that the while the report was currently in draft form, the final version would be in a fully accessible, easy read format.  The report contained a message from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Cowan, to ensure that change cascaded from the top of the organisation.  The report set out the measures for success, explaining what co-production was, outlining the economic case for supporting co-production, together with identified priority areas. 

Patricia Quigley, DPC Commissioner, described how the report provided a snapshot of the range of barriers that had been reported by disabled people (page 3 of the report), ranging from physical, such as inaccessible stairs, pavement obstacles, inaccessible public transport, to multiple discrimination due to disability, gender, race, age, or LGBT.  Ms Quigley reported that many disabled people felt that no one had taken the time to ask them what they wanted or what they needed.  It was unacceptable that disabled people had little or no say in what services were provided and how.  Worryingly, 60% of disabled people surveyed responded that their quality of life had deteriorated and that they were essentially invisible to decision-makers and 46% felt that they could not influence decision-makers.  More positively, however, 86% reported that they wanted to be more involved in making the decisions affecting their lives.  Of the Council staff surveyed, 94% of staff indicated that they would like to involve disabled residents and 50% felt that there was room for improvement in how this could be achieved. While this was encouraging it was important to work together and that failure to progress this was not an option. 

Ms Flood confirmed that a key message of the report was that decision-makers and service commissioners must work with disabled people, although she acknowledged that there had not been sufficient time or resources to speak to every disabled person within the borough.  The report focused on social mobility, recognising the barriers to achieving aspirations, which, once removed, would level the playing field.  The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD, 2006) advocated the rights of disabled individuals and the title of the report, “Nothing About Disabled People Without Disabled People”, reflected the need to treat disabled people equally.  It was hoped that the report would extend beyond the borough boundaries, and extend further to receive national recognition.  The abolition of home care charges placing a spotlight on how the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham progressed this. 

David Issac, DPC Commissioner, referred to the implementation of changes and how this could potentially be delivered, however, this was not being proposed as something new, nor was it being presented as a unifying model.  Co-production was being supported by the Council from the top down and would eventually be delivered and supported by frontline staff, but would be driven and led by disabled people.  It was also important to recognise how relevant this would be to other communities and marginalised groups across the borough.  They had worked with disabled residents to develop a working definition to evaluate differences and therefore formulate co-design.  The DPC wanted to help with the implementation, consultation should not be an afterthought and disabled people need to be involved in decision making, from beginning to end.  The recommendations were designed to be strategic, rather than issue-based, with measures included within each one.  They were challenging and required political will from the very start. 

Referencing Recommendation two, Mr Isaac made the point that not all the requirements of CRPD had been implemented but local authorities had a responsibility to do so.  Recommendation three encouraged the development of a culture of co-production across the borough, building up the skills of residents and staff, recognising the resources required but acknowledging the long term economic cost-effectiveness.  Recommendation seven highlighted the unique voice of disabled residents within the borough and the need to support and fund local groups.  Highlighting the need to monitor and evaluate co-production, it was important to know that progress was being made and that services would be held to account. 

A key priority was the Independent Living Fund and the move from a preventative to independent strategy, giving recognition to the need for disabled people to have care from beginning of their lives onwards.  Accessible housing was another priority which presented an opportunity to co-produce a housing strategy which reflected what disabled people wanted: accessible, secure, and affordable housing.  A third key issue was to develop a transitions strategy, to benefit young disabled people.  The DPC would also provide a unique perspective on the Town Hall Refurbishment plan, offering an inclusive approach to reflect best practice in accessible design.  Ms Flood invited members of the Committee to endorse the report and help ensure that momentum is sustained.  A two-year action plan had been drafted and it was anticipated that the DPC report would be launched in January 2018. 

Victoria Brignell, Commissioner, DPC, and Chair of the Action On Disability, endorsed the report and commented that it was a great opportunity for Hammersmith and Fulham to be a beacon of good practice.  Change was needed and co-production could not be a temporary solution.  It should be a firmly embedded in the Town Hall structure

Mike Gannon, Commissioner, DPC, commented that the report was a key benchmark and recommended that it be supported regardless of political affiliation, allowing disabled people to be heard and not just seen. 

Martin Doyle, Commissioner, DPC, and Chair of People First, was excited and proud of the report and what had been achieved, and hoped that this would continue.

Jane Wilmot, Commissioner, DPC and Hammersmith and Fulham CCG, Lay Member of Governing Body, commented that it had been a privilege to have involved in the work of the DPC, it had been an opportunity to learn and to share experiences.  The DPC was not alone in promoting co-production, and the CCG had already begun to work on co-production.

Bryan Naylor, Co-optee, welcomed the report but noted the lack of any reference to the involvement of carers, many of whom were elderly and who play a significant role in providing care. He added that older people would endorse the report and all that had been stated.   Ms Flood concurred and that they had tried to address the issue of how to affect the change that was required and to place this at the heart of the lives of disabled people, including parents, carers, and families.  Disability crosses all groups and ethnicities and the recommendations for disabled people could be equally applied across any marginalised group.  Patricia Quigley added that if they had included all groups, the process would have become overly bureaucratic and unwieldy and if co-production was done first, and correctly, then everything else would fall into place.  David Isaac clarified that a ‘co-production hub’ would replicate across the board and would be more inclusive. 

Patrick McVeigh, Co-optee, welcomed the report and accepted the adopted approach but suggested that it would be helpful to have a list of issues that were specific to Hammersmith and Fulham, which would help to identify priorities. 

Jim Grealy, Co-optee, also welcomed the report and the strategic approach taken, detailing priorities and objectives.  He enquired about the approach taken to young people and educational support.  He observed that the Council did a great deal of work with schools in the Borough and the while an inclusive approach was preferable it was not always done well.  The issue was more about how to teach able people to live with disabled people, and this started in the classroom.  Ms Flood explained that her day job was as Chief Executive of the Alliance for Inclusive Education and responded that there was a huge amount of work that the Borough could do and concurred that this need to begin in the classroom, with educational providers supported to welcome and include disabled people.  Further encouragement was needed to build these relationships and that much of the detail of how this could be achieved was in the action plan that DPC had prepared. 

Councillor Andrew Brown welcomed the report which he felt was well written and difficult to challenge.  He observed that if the Conservatives were successful in the Council elections in 2018, he would welcome an opportunity to work with disabled residents on developing and delivering co-production.  Referring to the title of the report and how co-production would address the way in which the Council delivered core services, Councillor Brown asked how a process could be managed that would allow an individual disabled person to make decisions about themselves.  Ms Flood replied that it was a question of control and choice and that the Councillor Brown’s question linked to the priority areas highlighted in the report.  The recommendations in the report recognised disabled people as individuals, encouraged trust and revised aspirations.  Ms Flood explained that on leaving school at 16 years of age, she had not received the support or guidance she needed.  This was experienced through her contact and relationships with other disabled people.  Choice and control should be valued and included as a right.  It was acknowledged that the changes being sought would not take place overnight and could be a protracted process.  Ms Quigley added that co-production by definition, meant working together, from the beginning.

In response to a further question from Councillor Brown, Ms Flood explained that UK had lost its global position, no longer leading on disabled rights and innovation.  The UK had led the way on independent living and co-production but the commitment to this had declined in past seven years and there had been a corresponding increase in hate crime reported by disabled people.  The work undertaken in the 1990’s was in danger of being lost, in addition to losing the expertise. Disabled people felt that their lives were being adversely affected and this would offer an opportunity to readdress this. Economically, properly implemented co-production could save the Council a great deal of money. 

A member of the public explained that he was a carer for his adult, disabled son.  He posed the question: “What would be the long-term cost to disabled people if co-production was not implemented”?  This was an opportunity for the Borough to be innovative. 

Mike Gannon commented that most disabled people tended to seek self-employment and very few were employed.  He explained that following a stroke in 2012, he had received help and support from the Council.  He hoped that the support structures in place now, would be continued in the future and that everyone had a vested interest in the future of our society. Investment in people long term was invaluable and he welcomed the opportunity to be involved in projects like the Town Hall refurbishment. 

A member of the public recounted her experience of the lack of disabled appropriate play equipment in a local park, how a local resident had then crowd funded play equipment for disabled children and welcomed the opportunity that it represented.

Councillor Ben Coleman, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care commended the report as an excellent piece of work.  Describing the recommendations as radical, Councillor Coleman added that the DPC had done an extraordinary job and he was excited about continuing the next phase of the work required to deliver co-production.  Councillor Coleman recognised that if co-production was implemented well, this would have positive and economic repercussions, for both disabled people and the Council.  He affirmed that an easy read format would be provided in January, together with the drafting of an implementation plan, which would be co-produced, at the earliest opportunity.  Councillor Coleman thanked the DPC for their drive, commitment, and passion, in producing an exciting and moving report. 

Welcoming Councillor Coleman’s commitment and support, Ms Flood hoped that there would be apolitical and non-biased support.  By comparison, producing the report had been easy, with the greater challenge being to make life for disabled people easier. 

Councillor Vaughan thanked the Ms Flood and her co-Commissioners for producing the report.  Councillor Vaughan also thanked Kevin Caulfield, Policy and Strategy Officer, for his exceptional commitment and contribution in supporting the work of the DPC and its final report.  The Committee fully endorsed the report, its findings and recommendations, together with the on-going work on the development of an action plan, which would be launched formally in January 2018.  Councillor Vaughan acknowledged that this was a long-term project and hoped that the Committee’s endorsement would be reflected throughout the Council.

RESOLVED

1.      The Council to implement a human rights approach to its policy and service development, using the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) as the framework for change.

2.      The Council adopts and implements a policy which commits the Council to working in co-production with Disabled residents.

3.      The Council develops and implements an accessible communication strategy that promotes the development of co-production across the borough.

4.      The Council with the Co-production Hub develops a co-production support strategy and resources its implementation to skill up and build the capacity of Disabled residents, local Disabled people’s organisations (DPOs), staff and councillors to participate in the co-production of policy and service development.

5.      The Council to co-produce a quality assurance and social and economic value framework, which will define the values, behaviours and characteristics of all service providers and organisations funded or commissioned by the Council.

6.    The Council analyses existing financial expenditure and resources on all co-production, engagement, and consultation activities with Disabled residents to identify current expenditure and then reconfigures to develop a co-production budget.

7.    Recognising the unique role, values, and authentic voice of Hammersmith & Fulham’s Disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) and their network, the Council works with them to identify and agree a long-term funding strategy, which will ensure that local Disabled residents’ rights are upheld, inclusion and equality advanced and that Disabled residents can lead on co-production.

8.    Carry out monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the recommendations and associated co-production work to evidence the impact and share learning within and beyond Hammersmith and Fulham.