Scottish Council on Deafness Annual Report 2015/16. A society where deaf people have equal access, rights and citizenship

Transcription

1 Scottish Council on Deafness Annual Report 2015/16 A society where deaf people have equal access, rights and citizenship

2 The purpose of SCoD Donald Richards Convenor report The Purpose of the Scottish Council on Deafness To advance health, human rights, equality and diversity by promoting the welfare of people in Scotland whose lives are affected by deafness: 1) Acting on behalf of organisations and agencies working with deaf people in Scotland by forming strategic alliances, developing policy initiatives and using them to improve the human and civil rights of deaf people in Scotland; 2) Maintaining cooperation between voluntary and statutory organisations of and for deaf people; 3) Establishing dialogue with government departments, local authorities and health, education and social work services; 4) Promoting and supporting the needs of individual deaf people and organisations in Scotland by using the Company [SCoD] as a national forum; 5) Campaigning for equal opportunities and improved social inclusions for deaf people; 6) Empowering deaf people to take an active role in addressing the issues that affect their lives. It remains a privilege to be the Convenor of the Scottish Council on Deafness and I am very proud to have been involved at a time when the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 was passed into law. The past year has been eventful with a number of projects progressing, including contactscotland BSL which emerged as a tool to be used across the country. We should note the early response and investment by NHS 24 which led to this development. The membership of SCoD worked very hard over several years to lobby, campaign, support and promote the barriers and issues facing Deaf BSL users. All this work has resulted in the passage of the Bill and the creation of a BSL National Advisory Group. This NAG will be working on a National Plan to promote and support BSL as a language. We congratulated everyone involved in this amazing achievement and we prepared a special newsletter to mark the occasion. SCoD is working with others in the Deaf Sector Partnership to ensure the National Plan will be well informed. This major progress will help us ensure that the understanding of deafness grows. Why? SCoD Annual Report 2015/16

3 SCoD annual report Because more people will have to understand deafness and the barriers deaf people face. At SCoD, we often refer to a spectrum of deafness which includes our four key pillars : Deaf/BSL, Deafened, Deafblind and Hard of Hearing. We know that people do not come in neat packages. We feel the concept of a spectrum and key pillars will help the general understanding that there are different and significant barriers that deaf people experience. We support and use the social model of disability to describe these barriers. We also promote a person centred, human rights based approach. Different barriers have different solutions and we remain focussed on change that improves lives. I noted last year that being involved in the third sector gives a sense of optimism, satisfaction, achievement and fellowship. My view has not changed and I can see that our conference seems valued and the positive contributions to our planned awards are heartening. Our membership is increasing and that brings new and exciting opportunities for the future. At SCoD, we would like to see more partnership working across and between deaf sector organisations, more investment in the deaf sector and more citizenship options for deaf people. It is the extent and nature of the membership contributions that make SCoD the wellrespected organisation it has become. I really must thank you all for your effort, cooperation and ongoing support. I am writing this at a time of continued financial uncertainty. The serious economic pressures are nowhere near over. It is our duty to be as purposeful and cost efficient as possible. We also need to provide good value for money and good quality services. We are pleased to have achieved EFQM, Committed to Excellence. Having centred people (especially those with lived experience ) and quality at the heart of our work, we will plan any new developments to grow from these great foundations. We have challenged ourselves to become more enterprising within the social economy. Page 3

4 Janis McDonald Chief Officer for SCoD We developed the refreshed staff team and the Connect and Thrive programme of work and really saw the benefits over the last year. The priority messages are being heard: Connect and Collaborate; Connect and Communicate; and Connect and Capitalise. Connect and Collaborate I suppose the most obvious example of collaboration is the relatively new Deaf Sector Partnership. We supported the approach and continue to work on the development of this approach offering support to the BSL National Advisory Group. Great engagement will result in a good National Plan and this is a great way to welcome the BSL (Scotland) Act The Love Sensory Awards is another high profile example of our work with others. It was great to see both Dingwall Academy and Windsor Park School as recipients of awards. It was super to see the local press reports from Dingwall and Falkirk. Good news is addictive! We must thank those in Barlinnie Prison who designed and made the actual awards: partners come from unexpected places. Actually, there is none of our work that is not the result of engagement, involvement and participation of others. As a membership based organisation with members from the public, private and third sectors, it is crucial that we work with others. Thankfully the membership is growing and our contacts dataset is getting unmanageable so we have to look for new software solutions. To everyone that collaborated with us, no matter how large or small the piece of work, thank you very much. Hope to see many of you at the March 2017 conference. Connect and Communicate Our transmission of information is the highest rated service when we analyse the members survey. In response to the last survey we now produce bulletins twice a month, we have been using social media and the revised website was developed to lay the foundations of improved engagement and dialogue options with the members. The frequency of website hits, correspondence, use of contactscotlandbsl, and the use of Skype, Facebook and Twitter have all grown in the last year. The policy influencing work is the second highest SCoD Annual Report 2015/16

5 Janis McDonald Chief Officer for SCoD rated service (we could describe that as our receptive work). The Policy Committee has been pressing for a more rigorous approach to promoting and supporting the need for data and research. It is difficult to lobby for change with vague, nonevidenced arguments. We agreed to develop a strand of work around the topic Inclusive Communication. There was overwhelming support from the membership to become an active leader and consider developing Scotland as an Inclusive Communication Nation. We recognise that developing BSL is a requirement and will continue to promote and support the language, however, recognise that language in itself is unlikely to be enough to improve attainment and life chances. Communication skills and appropriate communication support remain a further set of interdependent challenges. We are ready for the next focussed effort to shift the mainstream and achieve inclusion. Scotland is a great place to be with a government that supports Human Rights and a person centred approach. Connect and Capitalise Internal changes, legal structure improvements and a programmed approach have created a learning and development environment conducive to growth and development. Ideally there will be increased collaboration, improved communication and growth results to report on next year. We are already seeing new opportunities and will keep our fingers crossed. Can I take the opportunity to thank the Board, staff members, members and stakeholders for the support shown over the past year? Without the support of many we would not have achieved so much, so quickly. THANK YOU ALL! Page 5

6 Expenditure diture Year ended 31st March 2016 THE SCOTTISH COUNCIL ON DEAFNESS STATEMENT of FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES For the year ended 31 March 2016 Cost of Generating Voluntary Income Governance Costs Cost of Generating Voluntary Income Governance Costs Printing, Stationery & Postage Salaries & Redundancy Payments Accommodation Expenses Professional Fees & Expenses Income Communication Support Other Office Costs Meetings & Events Income from: Donations and legacies Charitable activities Investments Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds: Investment management costs Charitable activities Total expenditure Net incoming before losses on investments Notes Restricted Funds 3 57, , , , ,724 46,954 Unrestricted Funds 190,421 20,000 5, , , , , Total 247, ,377 5, , , , ,587 Net losses on investments Net income Transfers Net movement in funds 5 46,954 46,954 (14,744) 90,889 90,889 (14,744) 137, ,843 ns Donations SG Core Grant Miscellaneous SG Policy & Research Grant Equality & Access for Deaf People Conference SCoD History SCVO Salary Grants Membership Membership Fees Investment Income Access to Work SG Section 16b Back to School Big Lottery Fund SG Special Grant Employment Allowance Fund balances at 8 December 2014 Fund balances 31 March 2016 All the results relate to continuing activities 46,954 ======= 90,889 ======= 137,843 ======= The statement of financial activities include all gains and losses recognised in the period. SCoD Annual Report 2015/16

7 Countersigning service from SCoD SCoD is registered with Disclosure Scotland as an umbrella body. This means we can countersign disclosures basic, standard, enhanced; and Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme applications, on behalf of organisations that do not have a registered signatory. We charge an admin fee of 20 per application in addition to the fees charged by Disclosure Scotland. This admin fee covers our costs for the verification of the person s identification documents and checking the form has been completed properly. We respect the privacy of the person, their documents and the disclosure certificate when we receive it. All documents are stored according to the Data Protection Act Most applicants need a PVG disclosure as they will be working with children and/or protected adults as a paid member of staff. There are different procedures for checking volunteers. It is the person s employer that asks for a scheme record as part of their recruitment procedures. The application to join the scheme needs to be countersigned by an umbrella body. How does the process work? The person who needs the disclosure contacts SCoD and arranges to come to the office with their application, their identification documents and the required fees. We check their identification, which needs to be the original documents, to make sure it is suitable for the requirements of the application process. We have to be satisfied that the person will be doing regulated work under the Disclosure Scotland rules. The person needs to be doing work that involves regular, unsupervised work with children and/or protected adults as part of their everyday work activities. We have several members of staff who are registered as countersignatories and can visit a workplace where there are five or more potential employees needing applications countersigned. A site visit costs a minimum of 100 plus travel expenses. If an organisation has four or less people needing applications countersigned, it may make better sense for the people to come to the SCoD offices. Page 7

8 Mandy Reid Policy and research update In our last annual report, the BSL (Scotland) Bill had just been lodged with the Scottish Parliament by Mark Griffin MSP. This year, we are now working with others in the Deaf Sector Partnership to support the BSL National Advisory Group as they take the work of the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 forward. SCoD has been involved in a number of research projects: some as a partner; other as the lead. I worked with the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance on their Quality Assurance project. This saw small teams working together to carry out evaluations of a number of independent advocacy organisations. This experience lent itself to SCoD tendering for and then carrying out a piece of research for Angus Council to find out what service users, their families and carers as well as future users of joint sensory loss services would like the service to look like. We are also working with the Scottish Legal Aid Board on a piece of research to look at the experiences of deaf people who need a solicitor for civil justice cases. SCoD has submitted a number of consultation responses to the Scottish Government: Welfare Funds (Scotland) 2015 regulations and guidance; Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 guidance; Primary Health Services GP Telephone Numbers; the Independent Review of Planning; and the review of the National Standards of Community Engagement. SCoD and BDA Scotland also worked with the Scottish Government Equality Unit on the consultation paper for the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities Draft Delivery Plan to make sure that it was accessible for people whose first or preferred language is BSL. We have been working with Police Scotland on the Stop and Search Standard Operating Procedures and the Scottish Prison Service on their equality initiatives. As an ongoing member of the DWP Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Implementation Stakeholders Forum and DWP PIP ISF Improvements Working Group, I have continued to give feedback to the DWP on the needs of deaf people who will be claiming PIP and on the accessibility of the application process. The DWP are in the process of reviewing the ISF Group. More information will follow for SCoD members. SCoD Annual Report 2015/16

9 Deaf Sector Partnership (DSP) SCoD is a member of the Deaf Sector Partnership and is working with four other organisations BDA Scotland, Deaf Action, Deafblind Scotland and NDCS Scotland and the Scottish Government Equality Unit and the Voluntary Action Fund (VAF) to support the work being done to take forward the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act The DSP will focus on two primary outcomes: 1. Engaging with people whose first or preferred language is BSL and who are Deaf or Deafblind; and 2. Supporting public bodies to better understand/meet the needs of people whose first or preferred language is BSL and who are Deaf or Deafblind. SCoD s role in the partnership has been to provide support to the Scottish Government Equality Unit. We have provided background information, models of advisory groups and support with the development of the processes for recruiting people whose first or preferred language is BSL to the BSL National Advisory Group. SCoD will be providing the administrative support to the NAG once it is established as well as supporting the Equality Unit which will provide the secretariat to the NAG. SCoD supports the partnership by keeping all the reporting mechanisms uptodate the learning log, risk register, EQIA, communications protocol and the work programme. SCoD also has responsibility for the website and the Twitter account. The Deaf Sector Partnership has funding until the end of June 2016 in the first instance. Its remit/work programme may change in the next funding period. For more information, go to Deaf Sector Partnership Effecting change, equality & access for BSL in Scotland Page 9

10 Connect & Communicate SCoD s second conference in pictures SCoD Annual Report 2015/16

11 Representations National Health Service: Cross Party Groups: Public Bodies: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Mental Health and Deaf People Working Group. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Equalities in Health. NHS 24 Public Partnership Forum. NHS Lanarkshire Deaf and Deafblind Community Event Working Group. Third Sector: BSL and Linguistic Access Working Group. Scottish Lipreading Strategy Group. Scottish Sensory Centre Advisory Committee. Scottish Accessible Transport Alliance (SATA). Signature s National Advisory Committee. UKCoD Common Purpose Awareness Mission Group. Scottish Independent Living Coalition. Human Rights Consortium Scotland. Scottish Universities Insight Institute (SUII) National Plan Working Group. Deaf Sector Partnership. Scottish Stroke Vision and Hearing Network. SDEF/SAIF Inclusive Communication Steering Group. Inclusive Communication Nation Advisory Group. The Alliance GIRFEC Working Group. All Party Parliamentary Group: On Deafness. On Deafness. On Mental Health. On Health Inequalities. On Visual Impairment. On Heart Disease and Stroke. Service Provision: Next Generation Text Service Steering Board. Heads of Service: Deaf Education. Scottish Government: Audiology Services Advisory Group. Older People s Development Group. National Sensory Impairment Group. contactscotland Collaborative Group. Disabled People s Ministerial Advisory Group. Criminal Justice Disability Advisory Group. UK Government: Department of Work and Pensions ScotRail Stakeholder. Equality Group. Sport Equality Forum. DWP PIP Implementation Stakeholder Forum (ISF). DWP PIP ISF Live Running Group. DWP PIP ISF Improvements Working Group. Page 11

12 Support SCoD Donate by text Donate through your bank Acc name: Scottish Council on Deafness Bank: RBS Acc number: Sort code: Donate online Leave a legacy in your will mydonate.bt.com/ and search for scod or link directly from our site: Donate by post Send a cheque or postal order, made payable to Scottish Council on Deafness, to the address below. Ask your employer about payroll giving Our postal address is: Central Chambers Suite 62 1st Floor, 93 Hope Street, Glasgow G2 6LD. Our main telephone number is: We also have textphone: ; mobile for SMS: and fax: Our main address is: admin@scod.org.uk and our website address is: We have a YouTube channel: where we post video clips. Scottish Coucil on Deafness (SCoD) is a registered Scottish Charity: SCo16957 Company Number: