Newsletter
SAIF sends out an email based newsletter when there is new information to report, highlighting our work and publications. The newsletter is produced in plain text, adhering to standards for e-newsletters. It is reproduced here in HTML format. If you would like it in any other format please contact SAIF and we can send out your preferred version.
If you would like to subscribe to it, please send your contact information including e-mail address to SAIF and we will add you to our contact database. We adhere to the Data Protection Act and will not disclose your information.
Email Newsletter from the Scottish Accessible Information Forum, (SAIF), August 2006.
Contents list.
- Section One: Evidence to Equal Opportunities Committee .
- Section Two: Seminars and training events .
- Section Three: Scottish Formats Resource now published .
- Section Four: Working group on user-led service reviews .
Section One : Evidence to Equal Opportunities Committee.
SAIF was recently asked to give evidence before the Equal Opportunities Committee at the Scottish Parliament. Steve Harvey represented SAIF and answered questions on the barriers disabled people face, particularly around education and employment. A copy of the written submission provided can be downloaded from our consultations page.
Section one ends.
Section Two : Seminars and training events.
SAIF and UPDATE co-hosted their first seminar Beyond the Ramp, on 1 st March 2006. This seminar was aimed at senior policy staff in local authorities, health boards and other large public sector organisations responsible for developing an accessible information strategy. Due to the demand for this course it ran again on 15th June. Alongside Beyond the Ramp, we are running 4 training days for practitioners, entitled Information Explosion! Information Inclusion which are all fully booked. You can see an evaluation of all the days on our website. Contact us if you would be interested in attending future training events run by SAIF.
Section two ends.
Section Three : Scottish Formats Resource now published.
The second edition of the Scottish Formats Resource has just been published on CD. This valuable resource provides contact details of transcription, translation and interpretation services available in Scotland and is available free by contacting UPDATE, 27 Beaverhall Road, Edinburgh, EH7 4JE, telephone 0131 558 5200, minicom 0131 558 5202, fax 0131 558 5201, email or check it out online at www.update.org.uk
Section three ends.
Section Four : Working group on user-led service reviews.
Our publication, a guide to user-led service reviews
https://saifscotland.org.uk/publications/userled/userled1.html
is downloaded regularly from our website. Have you been involved in a user-led review and if so would you like to tell us about it and be featured on our website? We are setting up a short-life working group looking into the success of these reviews. If you have any experience of this please get in touch with either Susan or Steve
or at the contact details at the end of this newsletter.
Section four ends.
Disclaimer.
This newsletter has only been sent to recipients who have requested it. If you are not the intended recipient please discard this email and inform us so we can correct your contact details.
If you have been forwarded this email newsletter and would like to get information from SAIF simply email Susan or Steve
If you wish to unsubscribe from this email newsletter list please email Susan or Steve:
with the message ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line.
Disclaimer ends.
Note.
This newsletter has been designed to try to meet TEN Standard Version 1.2 to ease navigation of plain text email newsletters by all readers, including those using special access technologies. Its web site is
www.headstar.com/ten
Note ends.
Newsletter ends.
Email Newsletter from the Scottish Accessible Information Forum, (SAIF), April 2006.
Contents list.
- Section One: New chairperson for SAIF .
- Section Two: Seminars and training events .
- Section Three: Scottish Formats Resource .
- Section Four: PAS guidelines now published .
- Section Five: Working group on user-led service reviews .
- Section Six: Scottish Executive consultations and accessibility .
- Section Seven: Change of name for vulnerable adults unit .
Section One : New chairperson for SAIF.
Mike McCarron resigned as chairperson of SAIF in April. Mike had been chair for 9 years and we would like to thank him for his hard work. Mike will continue as a member of the forum. We now welcome our new Chairperson, Ben Forsyth, to the job. Ben has been a member of SAIF since its creation 10 years ago and is a welfare rights advisor for Midlothian Council. Ben's first role as Chairperson is to respond to the green paper on welfare reform and he looks forward to continuing to be involved in SAIF's work to promote the provision of information which is accessible to all.
Ben said: “It is a particularly exciting time for SAIF at rpesent, with the language of rights very much to the fore, whether it be in the field of human rights or consumer rights. In order to excerise their rights, individuals need to be able to access good quality information. SAIF's work to date, under Mike McCarron's most able chairmanship, has been pivotal in establishing standards for information provision and providing guidance to organisations and public authorities on the development of accessible information strategies. I look forward to being involved with SAIF as it continues to develop its important work.”
Section one ends.
Section Two : Seminars and training events.
SAIF and UPDATE co-hosted their first seminar Beyond the Ramp, on 1 st March 2006. This seminar was for senior policy makers in local authorities and looked at embedding accessible information strategies into your organisation. To see a summary and evaluation of the day visit our website
Due to the success of the day we are running Beyond the Ramp 2 on 15 th June, again at the River House Conference Centre in Stirling. Closing date for bookings is 26 th May and there are currently still a few places left.
Our first training days for practitioners, entitled Information Explosion! Information Inclusion will run on 8 th May and 5 th June at UPDATE in Edinburgh. Places for these courses are filling up fast and the closing date for booking is 21 st April.
To find out more about any of these events or to download a programme and booking form visit our website
or contact Steve Harvey or Susan Burn at the numbers given at the end of this newsletter.
Section two ends.
Section Three : Scottish Formats Resource.
The Scottish Formats Resource has just been published on CD. This valuable resource provides contact details of transcription, translation and interpretation services available in Scotland and is available free by contacting UPDATE, 27 Beaverhall Road, Edinburgh, EH7 4JE, telephone 0131 558 5200, minicom 0131 558 5202, fax 0131 558 5201, email or check it out online at www.update.org.uk
Section three ends.
Section Four : PAS guidelines now published.
The PAS (publicly available specification) 78 guidelines on commissioning accessible websites have now been published. Our ecommunication working group will be reviewing this document for the next enewsletter. In the meantime, you can read a summary and comments on the
Guild of Accessible Webdesigners website
Our own document Making Websites Accessible is currently being updated and will be available free of charge later in the year.
Section four ends.
Section Five : Working group on user-led service reviews.
Our publication, a guide to user-led service reviews
https://saifscotland.org.uk/publications/userled/userled1.html
is downloaded regularly from our website. Have you been involved in a user-led review and if so would you like to tell us about it and be featured on our website? We are setting up a short-life working group looking into the success of these reviews. If you have any experience of this please get in touch with either Susan or Steve
or at the contact details at the end of this newsletter.
Section five ends.
Section Six : Scottish Executive consultations and accessibility.
In the past 3 months we have responded to consultations on the definition of disability, digital inclusion and improving disabled people's experiences of the NHS. We are now looking at the accessibility of the consultation process itself. If you have any views on this please contact either Susan or Steve
Section six ends.
Section Seven : Change of name for vulnerable adults unit.
We are happy to report that the Scottish Executive has changed the name of the Vulnerable Adults Unit to the Adult Support and Protection Unit. Our vice-chair, Jean Dunlop, said: “As an organisation working with disabled people and policy makers, how refreshing it is to see a campaign by disabled people to remove such a negative and demeaning title, be directly responsible for a very positive and acceptable name change.”
Section seven ends.
Disclaimer.
This newsletter has only been sent to recipients who have requested it. If you are not the intended recipient please discard this email and inform us so we can correct your contact details.
If you have been forwarded this email newsletter and would like to get information from SAIF simply email Susan or Steve
If you wish to unsubscribe from this email newsletter list please email Susan or Steve:
with the message ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line.
Disclaimer ends.
Note.
This newsletter has been designed to try to meet TEN Standard Version 1.2 to ease navigation of plain text email newsletters by all readers, including those using special access technologies. Its web site is
www.headstar.com/ten
Note ends.
Newsletter ends.
|top|
Email Newsletter from the Scottish Accessible Information Forum, (SAIF), December 2005.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year from SAIF.
Contents list.
- Section One: Staff changes .
- Section Two: Beyond the ramp seminar .
- Section Three: Spotlight .
- Section Four: Website .
- Section Five: User-led service reviews .
- Section Six: Free bus travel for older and disabled people .
Section One : Staff changes.
Susan Burn started work for SAIF during September. She job shares the position of Project Officer with Steve Harvey. Susan will work all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and Steve will continue to work Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
You can contact either Steve or Susan by email: , , or by telephone on 0141 226 5261, fax on 0141 221 0731 or minicom on 0141 226 8459.
Write to SAIF at SAIF, Scottish Consumer Council, Royal Exchange House, 100 Queen St, Glasgow G1 3DN.
Section one ends.
Section Two : Beyond the ramp seminar.
SAIF and UPDATE are co-hosting a seminar on embedding accessible information standards in your organisation by creating local accessible information strategies for local authorities, health boards and other large public bodies on Wednesday 1st March 2006, 10am – 2pm at the River House Conference Centre, Stirling. For more information and to download the programme and booking form please visit our website at
You can also request a copy from either Susan or Steve at the contact details listed in section one.
Section two ends.
Section Three : Spotlight.
An addition to our website means that we will be spotlighting relevant issues and publications regularly. Currently the spotlight is on the RNIB’s See it Right pack. Download it at: http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/
publicWebsite/ public_seeitright.hcsp
and the Scottish Disability Equality Forum’s Guidelines for producing accessible information which can be downloaded at
http://www.sdef.org.uk/Information/
Guidelinesforproducingmaterialinaccessibleformats.htm .
If you have any subject you would like us to put a spotlight on please contact Susan or Steve at the contact details listed in section one.
Section three ends.
Section Four : Website.
Minutes from all our forum and working group meetings and information on current consultations to which we are responding are now available on our website at saifscotland.org.uk
Section four ends.
Section Five : User-led service reviews.
Our publication, a guide to user-led service reviews https://saifscotland.org.uk/publications/userled/
userled1.html is downloaded regularly from our website. Have you been involved in a user-led review and if so would you like to tell us about it and be featured on our website? If so, please get in touch with Susan or Steve at the contact details listed in section one.
Section five ends.
Section Six : Free bus travel for older and disabled people
Free Scotland-wide bus travel for the over 60s and disabled people living in Scotland is being introduced on 1 April 2006.
Although the new initiative does not start until April, existing concessionary travel card holders wanting to travel free on buses – either locally or Scotland-wide - from 1 April 2006 should apply now for a new national entitlement card.
Older and disabled people who already have a valid card for their local transport scheme should already have received an application form for the new Entitlement Card through the post.
Application forms must be completed and taken in to the post office during working hours. Anyone who has not received a form or has not had a card before and thinks that they are eligible, should contact their local scheme immediately. The later people apply, the more likely it is that they will not have their new card in time.
The new Entitlement Cards will be issued in February 2006, ready for the 1 April start date, so existing local concessionary travel cards will be in use until then. From 1 April, the new national card will replace local travel cards for all local and Scotland-wide bus travel.
The Entitlement Card is electronic and in future will be used to access other local council services and concessions.
Anyone with any questions about how to fill in the application form should contact their local transport scheme immediately or visit www.infoscotland/seemore.
Section six ends.
Disclaimer.
This newsletter has only been sent to recipients who have requested it. If you are not the intended recipient please discard this email and inform us so we can correct your contact details.
If you have been forwarded this email newsletter and would like to get information from SAIF simply email Susan or Steve
If you wish to unsubscribe from this email newsletter list please email Susan or Steve:
with the message ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line.
Disclaimer ends.
Note.
This newsletter has been designed to try to meet TEN Standard Version 1.2 to ease navigation of plain text email newsletters by all readers, including those using special access technologies. Its web site is
www.headstar.com/ten
Note ends.
Newsletter ends.
|top|