Enabling Information

A Report on improving access and raising standards in information services for disabled people and their carers in Scotland

Abridged version of final report of the scottish working group on information services for people with disabilities

March 1995

The Establishment Of The Working Group

In February 1994 the Social Work Services Group of the Scottish Office Home and Health Department convened a meeting to discuss how to take forward the results of the Scottish Office survey, Survey of Information Services for People with Disabilities, which was carried out in June 1992. It was agreed that a short life working group should be set up to address the issues revealed in the survey. It was agreed at this meeting that the needs of children, those with a sensory impairment, ethnic minority groups, 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.

The members of the group were:

1994)

Ann Foster	Scottish Consumer Council, chairman
Liz Beedie	Edinburgh Disability Benefits Centre

David Dunsmuir	Disability Scotland (from September 1994)
Gillian Fyfe	Scottish Consumer Council (until July 1994)
Alan Hyslop	Common Services Agency, Health Systems Division
Jackie Heaney	Strathclyde Forum on Disability (until September
Dougie Herd	Lothian Coalition of Disabled People
Mike McCarron	Association of Directors of Social Work
Andrew McNaughton	Scottish Office Home and Health Department, Social Work Services Group (from October 1994)
Bill Moore	Social Work Services Group, Scottish Office Home and Health Department (until October 1994)
Liz Nicholson	Citizens Advice Scotland
Lawrence Nugent	Strathclyde Forum on Disability (from September 1994)
Janet Thomas	Disability Scotland (until September 1994)
Shirley Young	Children in Scotland

The first meeting of the Working Group was held on 16 March 1994. At this meeting the remit of the group was agreed as follows:

to consider how the provision of information for people with disabilities and their carers at national and local levels might be improved in the light of the experience and initiatives of existing information services in Scotland, the findings of the Scottish Office survey, the experience of the National Disability Project (NDIP) in England and other initiatives and experience generally; and
to produce a report by March 1995 for the consideration of the Secretary of State with concrete proposals, including rough estimates of costs for implementing provision in Scotland.

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