Disability
Liverpool City Council's commitment towards Disability Equality
The City of Liverpool has a population of 439,473 people, and of these, 24.6% are covered by the Disability Discriminmation Act 2005 (2001 Census).
Liverpool City Council recognises that disabled pople do not have the same opportunities or choices in life as non-disabled people, and often this is as a result of barriers in society. In order to truly promote disability equality we have adopted the social model of disability. We have set ourselves the challenge of addressing and removing barriers which prevent disabled people from enjoying equal access to our services and employment opportunities.
We respect the diversity of disabled people as each individual may encounter barriers which are specific to themselves. For example, people who are deaf or hard of hearing may be excluded because British Sign Language (BSL) is their first language and they do not use English. Or people with learning disabilities who do not receive information in accessible formats. Disabled people can also experience multiple discrimination and exclusion, for example as a result of their age, ethnicity or sexuality.
The City Council is committed towards:
- a workforce which is representative of the local population
- employment policies are being reviewed to ensure barriers to employment are minimised or removed
- taking the views of our disabled customers and staff into account when reviewing, revising and introducing new policies by a consultation process.
The council has to meet its statutory obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 and the Amendment Act 2005 which aim to end the discrimination which many disabled people face and promote civil rights for disabled people and protect them from discrimination.
We have a responsibility to ensure that all people including disabled people can easily access the council, whether it's getting into a council building, contacting and receiving information from the council or using a council service.
Disability Equality Duty 2005
With effect from 04th December 2006 all public bodies including Liverpool City Council, must publish their Disability Equality Schemes. This is a legal duty which was introduced by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. We have consulted with disabled people on our Scheme, through questionnaires, focus groups and the council's Staff Diversity Forum, and we have also set up a Working Group to monitor and oversee its development and progress against the Action Plan.
The findings from the consultation exercises were shared with managers who developed actions in order to address the feedback from disabled people. These actions have been included in the Scheme which is currently available to view on line. The Scheme was approved by Resources & Corporate Services Select Committee, and by Executive Management Board in February 2007.
View the Disability Equality Scheme
Corporate Access Group
The council has set up a Corporate Access Group which meets every other month. The group which is made up of disabled people from community organisations for and of disabled people, and council officers, was set up as a communication and consultation forum on access issues. Through the group disabled people have been able to engage directly with council officers and contract developers in order to influence design and implementation of major regeneration projects in the city. Minutes from the meetings are available to view on line:
Minutes of meeting 8th April 2008![(MS Word [57Kb] opens in new window)](/images/Word.gif)
Minutes of meeting 26th February 2008
Minutes of meeting 14th January 2008
Minutes of meeting 19th November 2007
Minutes of meeting Monday 08 October 2007
Minutes of meeting Monday 04 June 2007
More information
How to apply for a blue badge
How to apply for a residents parking space
How to report disability harassment or Hate Crime
Equality & Human Rights Commission can also provide further information and guidance on disability equality relating to both service provision and employment.