Contents

Enabling Information: A report on improving access and raising standards in information services for disabled people and their carers in Scotland.

4 National Structure

The Working Group agrees that in the interests of:

• improving the quality of local information services;
• improving the consistency of provision across Scotland;
• increasing the reliability of Scottish information;
• avoiding duplication of collection and processing of information;
• improving communications between national information providers, and between national and local groups; and
• maximising the use of existing resources, and ensuring value in the use of public money;

there is a need for the creation of new structures or processes at national level.

In terms of the functions which are needed, the Working Group has identified the following:

• responsibility for taking forward the improvement of information services at both national and local level;
• the development of appropriate national standards;
• a means of monitoring those standards; and
• responsibility for the development and functioning of a Scottish disability information service.

4.1 Advisory body

An advisory body should be set up and given the responsibility for framing policy, overseeing the development and monitoring of national standards, and for the development and functioning of a Scottish disability information service.

The advisory body should be made up of disabled people and their carers, particularly those who represent organisations of and for disabled people and their carers, as well as other people with appropriate expertise. Members should as far as possible represent the range of types of impairment, as well as rural and more isolated parts of Scotland, and ethnic minority groups. The group should be large enough to be a genuinely representative body, but also of a size to be able to conduct its business efficiently. The Working Group recommends around 15 members.

It will be important that such a body is seen as being authoritative, both in terms of having the support of existing organisations, and in terms of recognition by the Scottish Office. The Working Group considers that the chairman of the advisory body should be appointed by the Secretary of State.

The advisory body should have secure funding for at least three years, and should be sufficiently funded to allow it to commission research, for instance in relation to standards, or to audit the quality of provision.

The advisory body should report annually to the Secretary of State, and account for its use of public money.

4.1.1 The way in which this body is established will be determined by the nature of the functions which it is required to perform, and the number of staff it requires. At one end of the scale it could be a purely advisory body with no executive functions, while at the other it could be more actively involved in overseeing the development of information services.

The Working Group sees the main responsibility of the advisory body as being in the development and approval of national standards, the monitoring of the use of those standards, and in overseeing and being responsible for the functioning of the national disability information service.

In terms of these functions, it is envisaged that the advisory body might need to meet between five and eight times a year, have a secretariat to service these meetings, and staff to prepare papers and oversee the work to be done in the development of standards and in their monitoring. It is envisaged that the work on standards and in monitoring would be contracted out to an outside agency, under the supervision of a member of staff responsible to the advisory body.

The alternative ways of establishing the body would be:

• as a self-contained independent body, with its own premises and staff; or
• as an independent body with its own staff but functioning under the auspices of an existing organisation and so drawing on that organisation for its office facilities and secretarial back up.

Existing organisations might be considered as appropriate "homes" for such a body, provided that they had suitable facilities, in terms of fully accessible premises, a meeting room, and the office capacity to accommodate the necessary staff. The types of organisation which might be appropriate would include:

disability organisations;

This type of organisation would have high levels of accessibility and awareness of the needs of disabled people. Some organisations in this area would not have large enough premises to accommodate such a body.

general organisations with experience in and facilities for hosting such organisations.

Accessibility cannot be assumed, but other facilities are likely to exist.

4.2 Scottish disability information service

The Working Group considers that, on the basis of responses to the Working Group's statement and the views of members of the sub groups, there is a demand for some form of clearing house for the supply of national information to local services. This service should be funded by the Scottish Office, but function under the auspices of the advisory body. The Working Group considers that as local authorities stand to benefit from such a service, there is the possibility of the information service generating revenue from local authorities, possibly through COSLA.

The functions of the service would be:

• to provide a central source for a wide range of disability information provided by national organisations;
• to act as a channel for the distribution of information to local service providers and information services;
• to provide a screening service to ensure that all national information is applicable in Scotland;
• to act as a channel for government information;
• to provide training and support for local information services in relevant areas; especially where this cannot be provided at local level;
• to provide a current awareness service about legislation, government policy and research and articles;
• to refer enquirers to sources of expert advice, or to local advice services;
• to provide and develop databases using user-friendly software;
• to provide information in a flexible form which allows for output in a range of formats and languages, including ethnic minority languages;
• to fill gaps in existing provision, for example by providing signposting guides or directories of local providers; and
• to provide feedback to central government and to local strategy groups, through the advisory body, about the effects of government policy.

The service should be a secondary information service, that is, it should supply information to information and advice agencies and to service providers, and should not be funded to provide information directly to members of the public.

The Working Group has considered alternative models for providing such a service: the National Information Federation in Wales, the Dutch Institute for the Provision of Information to the Disabled, and the developments in the realm of housing information and advice in Scotland Details of these 3 models, including assessments of their relative cost are contained in Appendix 6.

4.2.1 Making it happen

The Working Group recognises that the cost implications of creating a new body in Scotland may make it more likely that such a unit would be established within an existing organisation, in line with the Scottish Homes model, or that on the basis of a competitive tender, the work might be awarded to an existing organisation. It is not for the group to recommend the most appropriate organisation, but organisations with relevant skills and experience could be considered. These would probably be either organisations already operating at national level in the disability information area (such as DIAL Scotland, Disability Scotland, or Enable) or organisations operating in the general advice area (such as Citizens Advice Scotland).

There are advantages and disadvantages of using either of these types of organisation.

• Disability information organisations have an advantage in being familiar with the field and the main national information providers, and aware of the issues, problem areas and ethos of the national providers. However they may already be identified with a particular aspect of disability, or a particular style of operation and may be perceived by other national providers as rivals for funding. While it would be important to establish the independence of the new service, it would be difficult to avoid the new service being perceived as part of the parent body.
• A generalist provider, while aware in general terms of the issues and other organisations in the area, would have to establish its credibility in the eyes of the main players in the field. Advantages of this type of organisation becoming involved would be that:
  • the information needs of disabled people would be recognised as being very often the same as other people's;
  • disability information services would stand to benefit from the huge range of general information held by the parent body; and
  • generalist providers would be encouraged to increase their expertise in disability areas.

There are, of course, other types of organisations which might tender to do this work, including commercial organisations. The Working Group has not considered this possibility in any detail, and it would appear likely that a commercial organisation would be unable to match the experience and contacts of some of the existing players in the field. The Working Group is concerned that the advisory body should not be bound to accept the lowest tender, but should be able to take into consideration other factors relevant to the likely success of the organisation in providing the service.

A change in the way information is produced or co-ordinated at national level will only be successful if the organisation providing the Scottish disability information service is seen to be independent of existing information providers, and if it has the wide support of all the main players in the field. This means that if the service is provided by an organisation which already exists, it must be provided by a distinct independent unit within that organisation. Existing national information providers must support the unit and be willing to use the unit as a channel for the dissemination of material which they produce, and to cooperate in ways in which information can be improved. The main players should be brought together at an early stage to create a network of organisations which want to be actively involved in taking proposals further.

4.3 Forum of national organisations

Irrespective of the structural changes suggested above, there is a need for regular meetings between national information providers for informal discussions and sharing of experience. Such meetings could be convened by the advisory body or information service, or by a neutral body such as the Scottish Libraries Association.

NDIP in England has shown the value of a regular newsletter and conference, which would be equally valuable in Scotland. This could be the responsibility of the advisory body, or the Scottish disability information service.