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Enabling Information: A report on improving access and raising standards in information services for disabled people and their carers in Scotland.
4.1 Coopers and Lybrand report.
As a result of the increasing awareness of the needs of disabled people for information and advice about services, the then Department of Health and Social Security commissioned Coopers and Lybrand:
Their report in 1988 recommended that the DHSS should take urgent action to initiate and facilitate developments by:
The report was accepted by the DHSS, but money was not allocated until detailed work had been done on the cost of the project. Meanwhile local projects began to adopt the principles spelt out in the Coopers and Lybrand report, eg the Oxford Disability Information Project, the Disability Information Service Surrey, and the Devon Disability Information and Advice Federation.
4.2 PE International report
In 1989 the Department of Health commissioned PE International to look at the practicalities of taking forward the proposals made by Coopers and Lybrand, and to calculate the cost of the work. In its report in 1990, PE International recommended using Oxford Disability Information Project as a model for the federations which had been proposed by Coopers and Lybrand, and which were little understood at that time. They recommended the setting up of 4-8 local federations to be funded for three years. They stated that a project team would be needed to manage the project at local level, and a steering group would be responsible for overall direction. PE International investigated the possibility of national information providers becoming Common Service Providers whose databases could be accessed by local information services. This showed that there were considerable problems in relation to compatibility and standardisation, and this was not taken any further in the ensuing National Disability Information Project.
4.3 The National Disability Information Project
In 1991 the National Disability Information Project (NDIP) was set up as a three year project with funding of £3 million from the Department of Health. The aims of NDIP were:
The perceived problems which NDIP sought to address were:
A steering group of people with an interest in information and disability issues was chosen by the Department of Health. Following a competitive tendering exercise a Project Team was appointed to support the 12 pilot federations which were selected in September 1991, to run training courses, and to advise on good practice. The successful bid was from the Information Policy Group at the Policy Studies Institute (PSI). The Project Team produced a quarterly newsletter throughout the 3 years of the project with information about what was happening within NDIP, and a monthly Current Awareness Bulletin which was sent to all pilot federations as well as to other interested organisations. Annual conferences were held which were particularly valued by information providers themselves. Computer support was provided by the Computer Development Unit of the London Advice Services Alliance.
4.3.1 Work with national information providers.
A report was published by PSI in 1992 which discussed the policy issues involved in the provision of nationally-relevant disability information. The second part of the report provided details of information services and products currently available from a number of national disability information providers. The issues identified in the first part formed the basis of the consultations which the NDIP project team have had with national providers and users. The interim report produced by RICA in 1993 suggested that the initial hopes of national providers had not been realised because of conflicting expectations and the problems of establishing a satisfactory forum, although the report stressed that in 1993 it was too early to reach definitive conclusions. In 1993 it was decided to establish working groups to address the following areas:
A report of these working groups was published in November 1994 which made the case for continued government funding of national information providers, and recommended a strategy for improving the quality of national information services. (14)
4.3.2 Work with local information providers.
Of the three recommendations originally proposed by Coopers and Lybrand, the second, enabling the creation of a federation of information providers at local level, has been a dominant strand in the project. Much of NDIP's work has been with the development and support of 12 pilot projects employing a federated approach to disability information provision. Coopers and Lybrand suggested that all information providers in a locality should come together to "provide a coordinated approach to information provision and to improve the accessibility and quality of services... and should include statutory and voluntary agencies as well as groups of people with disabilities".
The experience of the pilot federations has been mixed, but many lessons have undoubtedly been learned about the important elements in a successful federation. The final report on NDIP by PSI does suggest that federations do not in themselves lead to an improvement in local services in the absence of strong local services. It says that experience gained during NDIP has made it clear that there is a significant need for effective information and advice services to help disabled people to cope better with the problems with which society confronts them.
"Such services should be vigorous and partisan in favour of the users. They should be controlled by disabled people; they should be located in the voluntary sector and they should be funded adequately by local authorities, possibly with support from health authorities. These local services should be supported by efficient and high quality national information providers that are themselves responsive to the needs of users." (15)
In the Working Group's opinion, NDIP's greatest achievement has probably been in the boost it has given to the development of services at local level, and to the formation of links between the disability sector and the general advice sector, as well as placing disability information and advice on national and local agendas.
4.4 Scottish Office Survey.
The Scottish Office decided not to take part in NDIP, preferring to conduct a small survey in June 1992 to try to establish whether the provision of information in Scotland was adequate, whether there was duplication, whether the quality was reasonable and what improvements were necessary. Questionnaires were sent to 512 information providers and 2863 users. A report, Survey of Information Services for People with Disabilities, was published in 1993.
The survey suggested that overall most people who sought information had received it. Amongst the users surveyed, some of the points to emerge were that:
The most commonly used sources of information were social work and social security offices, and also health professionals, although it was felt that doctors were not providing enough information.
Among information providers, 61% of respondents believed there were gaps in provision either in relation to access eg minority languages, braille, video or tape, or in relation to subject areas eg transport, accommodation and employment. The problem of keeping local information up to date was mentioned and 70% of respondents were aware of some duplication. 80% of providers saw a need for a network of both national and local providers and felt that the primary role of a local network should be as a disseminator of information. They also commented on the need to educate GPs in information provision and on the need for one door provision.
The survey was designed to give a "snapshot" of provision in Scotland rather than a comprehensive picture of a scene which is in a state of fairly rapid development. However, the report itself acknowledged the patchy response level, and conceded that the "low number of responses from several of the regions has limited the extent to which regional comparisons can be made".
4.5 On 3 February 1994 the Social Work Services Group (SWSG) convened a meeting to discuss how to take forward the results of the survey. Those attending the meeting included members of various branches of the Scottish Office, representatives from the Benefits Agency and the Association of Directors of Social Work, as well as from the voluntary sector, and from organisations of disabled people. It was agreed that a short life working group should be set up and that SWSG would convene the first meeting, although its role was to be a facilitator rather than having any control over the group. It was agreed at this meeting that the needs of children, those with a sensory impairment, ethnic minorities, and people living in rural areas should be covered. The meeting agreed on the bodies which would be invited to send representatives to the group.
Scottish Accessible Information Forum c/o Scottish Consumer Council, Royal Exchange House, 100 Queen Street, Glasgow G1 3DN
Phone 0141 226 5261 ( voice), 0141 226 8459 ( text), fax: 0141 221 0731.
E-mail: Steve Harvey ( ) or Sarah Smith ()
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