Standards For Disability Information And Advice Provision In Scotland
Prepared by The Scottish Accessible Information Forum

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6. The Standards For Information & Advice Providers

This section of the Standards is designed as guidance for individual agencies on how they can meet the needs of disabled people for information and advice and ensure that they are involved in the planning and delivery of services. It is particularly designed for generalist agencies that do not specialise in meeting the needs of disabled people. It is designed to provide such bodies with a range of tools to assist with compliance.

These Standards relate only to the provision of information and advice. Where an organisation provides a range of other services it is reasonable only to apply these Standards to the section of the agency providing information and advice. However, there may be aspects of the Standards, particularly those involving disabled people in planning services, that could usefully be applied to other areas of work.

The model we have used for the development of these Standards is a dynamic one that should allow for constant improvement. This means that the Standards are a tool to ensure a process that will see providers of services engaging with disabled people in both the planning and delivery of information and advice.

In developing this section we are aware of the financial pressures upon many agencies. Depending upon the circumstances in individual agencies there may be some cost implications in implementing the Standards. These costs will need to be balanced against both an agency's other priorities and the potential cost of non-compliance with the new legislation.

Clarity in an organisation's objectives and a clear strategy for realising these objectives is more likely to release funding from other areas to support this work. In addition, involving service users in the planning of services is likely to ensure that resources are allocated in the most efficient and effective ways.

These Standards are not designed to replace other standards or quality systems within which your organisation is currently working, but to supplement these to ensure that disabled people can access information and advice in a way that is effective and meaningful to them.

The Standards are presented in four sections:

• Governing to Ensure Accessibility
• Developing Your Service to Ensure Accessibility
• Managing Your Service to Ensure Accessibility
• Involving Disabled People.

In each section the Standard is presented in boxed bold text followed by an explanation and good practice notes. The final section of the Standards for Information and Advice Providers is a self-assessment checklist to assist you in monitoring and reviewing your agency's compliance with the Standards.

Resources currently exist and others are being developed to assist agencies in meeting these Standards. For example, HomePoint have developed training modules on working with staff and volunteers for information and advice providers. The Telephone Helplines Association is currently updating its guidance on standards for telephone and other electronic information services. Similarly, much is available from FIAC and CAS and other advice networks. (See the contact list appended to these Standards.) SAIF is working with Update, Scotland's Disability Consultancy for Information Providers, to develop additional resources for agencies.

6.1 Governance To Ensure Accessibility

6.1.1 Defining Your Service
All information and advice providers should have a clear statement of the values that underpin their service and the role that their organisation hopes to undertake. This should include:

1. Why they are providing a service
2. Who the service is for
3. The type of service to be provided
4. What they hope to achieve from their interventions.

All staff, volunteers and managers should be aware of these objectives.

The effective delivery of a service and the ability of an agency to assess its work depends on that agency establishing clear objectives for itself. What you do and why you do it, who it is for and what you hope to achieve are the fundamental questions that any agency needs to answer.

Your statement does not need to be long, but it should incorporate your aims and objectives and it should be underpinned by the values of your service.

• WHY your service exists and, in broad terms, what its fundamental role is e.g. are you primarily an information or an advice provider, or do you undertake this work as part of other activities?
• WHO your service is for: Is it open to the general public or specific sections of the public? Is it open to everyone with a particular need or anyone from within a specific geographical area? Do you plan to target specific sections of the community and, if so, how will you reach them and how will you monitor your success? How does this meet the requirements of Section III of the Disability Discrimination Act, and other relevant regulations?
• WHAT type of service: Are you planning to offer a general service or will you focus on specific areas? What level of advice will you provide? Will you only offer information, or also provide a casework service? How far can you offer a follow-up service in terms of advocacy or legal representation? Are there areas of law that the service does not cover?
• WHAT you will achieve: What outcomes do you expect from your interventions, and why is your agency well placed to deliver these?

6.1.2 Equal Opportunities
All information and advice providers should have a clear statement of intent with regard to achieving equal opportunities in their employment practice, governing structures and in their service strategy. This should include a commitment to meeting the needs of all parts of the community including disadvantaged groups and those experiencing discrimination, unless their aims and objectives clearly define them as a specialist service for a defined sector of the population.

This policy should explain how they intend to implement it and how they intend to measure the effectiveness of their implementation.

In addition, agencies should endeavour to ensure that all other policies and practices are consistent with this policy. Agencies should ensure that all staff, volunteers and managers are aware of this policy.

A good equal opportunities policy will incorporate the following elements:

• A clear statement of policy which should include the provision of services, employment practice, and management and governance structures
• Compliance with the law in terms of disability, gender and race
• What responsibility the agency takes in respect of ensuring compliance with its statement
• The ways in which progress on equal opportunities will be monitored and reviewed by the agency
• Training and awareness development. This area needs to be covered in your policy, including a commitment to provide appropriate training. This should include involving disabled people in the design and delivery of disability equality training
• What the responsibility of the individual is within the agency - implementing the policy does not only require the agency to commit itself, but requires the active commitment of all staff and volunteers
• Complaints, grievance and disciplinary procedures in respect of breaches of the policy.

6.1.3 Service Planning
All information and advice providers should have a clear service plan for applying their current resources. This should outline the service provided in terms of:

• Levels of information or advice (e.g. signposting through to representation)
• Quantity of advice e.g. how many cases per advice worker
• Areas of information or advice in which it provides a service, e.g. welfare benefits, housing etc.
• How the service will be provided e.g. office based, telephone helpline, outreach services and/or home visits
• How often they will provide it including opening hours
• Level and nature of their co-operation with other agencies and how, and in what circumstances, cases may be passed on
• Any wider social policy goals and how these will be achieved.

The development of service plans should involve service users. The mechanisms for involving disabled people are discussed in subsequent sections of these Standards.

Careful planning means looking at the skills and the resources within an agency in order to employ these as effectively as possible. The priorities of an agency are demonstrated in the deployment of all of its resources, financial, physical, and human.

Effective planning also helps to identify the gaps in resources. Planning may also show that shifting resources from one area of the service to another can achieve more effective delivery to particular need areas. Planning helps agencies to set the objectives which can then be used in evaluating the service and it sets the outputs that can be monitored, that is, it sets the general agenda for systematic and effective review.

In this context, the service plan is part of the forward planning process, but specifically focuses on the current strategy for the agency. The service plan enables agencies to set individual work plans for staff and volunteers as appropriate. It is an opportunity to establish targets and where these are being set for individual staff they should be developed as part of the service plan.

6.1.4 Service Review
All information and advice providers should regularly review their work against the targets and indicators set in their service plan. The results of such reviews should be made available in a publicly accessible form at least once a year.

The process of reviewing a service should involve service users. The mechanisms for involving disabled people are discussed in subsequent sections of these Standards.

An annual review should look at the work of the past year and assess its effectiveness, to enable the work for the following year to be planned, building on the successes and remedying the failures of the past year.

The annual review should also inform the development of an agency's forward planning. Aspects of the forward plan can be assessed against the outcomes for the year, and longer-term assumptions can be adjusted as a result of this process. The annual review can also be used to adjust an individual adviser's work plan to identify where any gaps in meeting the current needs of the service are occurring.

It can also be useful to review the external environment regularly and this can form part of the annual review process. For instance, can you identify the impact of new legislation or of changes in the procedures or policies of your local authority on your service users over the past year? What changes do you expect over the next year, and should you be including the possible impact of these in your service plan?

The service review process is part of an agency's commitment to its stakeholders, including both service users and the wider community, to ensure that it is providing a value for money service and that it meets needs.

6.1.5 Forward Planning
All information and advice providers should have an outline strategy to provide a background against which the agency can both review its performance and take decisions about its future. The strategy should be sufficient to inform decisions about staffing levels, office locations, computer purchases etc.

The development of forward plans should involve service users. We look at mechanisms for involving disabled people in subsequent Standards.

The maintenance of a quality service that is able to apply its resources in response to local needs is dependent upon that agency planning for the future.

A Forward Plan helps set an overall framework, looking at future needs, opportunities and resources, within the context of an agency's overall aims and objectives. It can take the form of either a strategic plan or a more detailed business plan. It should also relate closely to your service plan.

The Strategic Plan focuses on longer-term questions, set in the framework of the agency's aims and objectives. It seeks to answer questions such as "Where do we want the agency to be in five years time?" and "How does our vision of where we want to be reflect on our aims and objectives?".

The Business Plan focuses on the activities, systems, skills and resources required to achieve the objectives set out in the strategic plan. It is often prepared for shorter periods of around three years, but contains more detail for the first year. It should be subject to continuous review and monitored closely.

The Service Plan is prepared each year, along with an annual budget, and will include the items noted in section 6.1.3 above.

This Standard does not aim to be prescriptive by stating that all agencies must have both a strategic and a business plan. Planning is a demanding activity in terms of resources, particularly for smaller agencies. However, the investment in planning should pay off, enabling an agency to avoid the stress of crisis management and enabling it to meet its defined aims and objectives in the most efficient and effective way.

6.1.6 Independent Information & Advice
All information and advice providers should comply with requirements for independent advice set down by an appropriate national agency. Where an agency does not meet this Standard it should ensure that service users are aware of any constraints to the advice provided.

Appropriate national agencies include: Citizens' Advice Scotland, DIALUK, the Federation of Independent Advice Centres, the Helplines Association, Shelter, the Law Society of Scotland etc.

An agency must be able to represent the interests of its service users without fear or favour. Users of a service must have confidence that the agency providing that service is acting in the users' best interests and not providing advice which is for the advantage of the agency itself, or for some other third party. Where this is not possible the service user must be advised of alternative sources of help. For example, an advice service based within a social work department may not be in a position to advise a disabled person that he/she could take action against the local authority for an act of negligence etc.

Agencies should also note that, particularly in areas of financial advice, membership of certain bodies is a legal requirement and agencies are not permitted to give advice in these areas without such membership.

In addition to ensuring agencies' freedom to act on behalf of the individual service user, agencies should ensure that their advice is not compromised by any conflict of interest.

A number of issues arise in respect of both staff and volunteers and agencies need to ensure that within the work such staff and volunteers undertake for a particular agency, they work in an impartial manner in accordance with the practices of that agency. Areas where conflicts have arisen include cases where staff or volunteers were elected representatives of an authority with which the agency was in conflict, or have for their own reasons given advice which does not refer a service user on to the appropriate department. Similarly, cases have arisen where staff or volunteers who have allied business interests have inappropriately referred service users to their own businesses or to those of their relatives.

6.2 Developing Your Service To Ensure Accessibility

The process of review should include the views of service users, including disabled people.

The quality and maintenance of premises play a crucial role in ensuring access to a service. Access in this context means not only physical access, but also people's willingness to use a service because of its location and its appearance. Visiting any publicly available service, particularly if you are in distress, can be very stressful and intimidating.

The availability of confidential interview space has been set as a minimum standard, to ensure that current service users receive a confidential and private service. Agencies may wish to note that office-based advice sessions are not the only way of delivering services. Agencies with inadequate office premises may wish to consider other means of confidential service delivery, such as home visits or telephone advice.

Physical barriers to access can be one of the most difficult factors in reducing overall access to information and advice. It is important that agencies develop disability awareness in all aspects of their work, and this is particularly critical in relation to premises. As well as wheelchair access, there are other things that should be considered. For example, directional notices in Braille can enable the visually impaired to find their way about your premises. Induction loop systems and minitel in interview rooms can help those with hearing impairment who wear hearing aids. For more information consult the Informability Manual, published by The Stationery Office (1996), also available in Braille and on audiotape from the RNIB.

Agencies should provide toilets that service users can access, and one of these should be adapted for people with mobility problems. Disability groups can provide more detailed specifications; however, such toilets should provide wheelchair access, a raised seat, handrails, wheelchair level washbasin and call system in case of emergencies. Doors with hinges that assist entry and ramps are also important for people with mobility problems.

Consideration of the needs of parents and children should be made in planning your premises. Distractions for children, such as the provision of toys and books, may assist the parent to access your service.

Similarly, the layout of your reception area is important to ensure that people feel welcome. A recurring theme in the focus groups undertaken in the development of these Standards was how the height of reception desks made wheelchair users feel unwelcome.

The involvement of disabled people can avoid these problems.

The adaptations that you make to improve access for your service users can be beneficial in terms of your staff and volunteers as well. Improving disabled access to premises means that agencies can recruit both disabled staff and disabled volunteers.

Finally, the general aspect of premises is important and very basic and cost-effective means of brightening premises up can make the centre a more welcoming place. Painting and decorating, using pictures and plants, the arrangement of the furniture can all make a difference between a depressing environment and one that feels friendly.

Traditional office-based information and advice is still a key means of delivering services. However, agencies should examine their methods of delivery to ensure that these meet current and potential service users' needs. The areas that need to be considered include:

• Telephone helplines and advice
• E-mail enquiries
• Internet information
• Surgeries and outreach in other agencies' premises
• Home visits.

All of these methods of delivery can improve access for groups of disabled people. However, such services need clear guidelines. As a minimum agencies must consider how:

• The service can be effectively publicised
• The safety and confidentiality of service users can be protected
• The safety of staff can be protected (with regard to services away from the office base).

The development of the "right mix" of methods of delivery will be greatly enhanced by consultation with other providers of services to your target client group and by direct consultation with current and potential service users.

A range of current Government initiatives are designed to encourage people who have for many years lived on benefits back into the workplace. Traditional office hours of opening may exclude many of these people from using your service.

Local events or the activities of other groups may influence when people choose to use your service. If an agency is based in a town with a large rural catchment, demand for information and advice services may be greater on "market days". Similarly, if another agency in the locality has regular events such as group meetings or drop-in days it may be useful for the information and advice provider to match its service to these hours.

Consultation both with other groups and with current and potential service users is essential if an agency is to ensure that its hours of opening do not inadvertently deny access to certain groups of people.

6.2.4 Promotion Of Services
All information and advice providers should produce a marketing plan or promotional summary as part of their service plans that is appropriate to the agencies' aims and values. There should be a separate budget head for all promotional work.

Agencies should ensure that their target service users are aware of the services available. To ensure that this is the case, regular publicity is essential. Communicating what an organisation does ensures that it can continue to reach those people who may have a need for the services. Even when a service is over-stretched, it is possible that some groups are excluded from services because they do not know about them, rather than because they do not need them.

For some agencies, the promotional strategy may need to describe how the agency will limit demand to an acceptable level in line with agency resources, rather than seek to encourage additional use. Agencies that experience heavy demand at certain times may wish to consider explaining that, for example, Mondays are very busy and that callers may receive a quicker response on Wednesday afternoons.

Promotional material needs to ensure that you are not only publicising what the service does, but when it is available and how it can be accessed. Specific parts of your service that may be relevant to particular groups should be publicised in different ways. For instance, if you open on one evening a week particularly for people who are in work, you should ensure your publicity reaches relevant places and is worded in such a way as to show that this is what this session intends to do. Similarly, if you offer a home-visiting service your promotional material should explain who it is for to avoid inappropriate demands for this part of your service.

In addition, publicity is about ensuring an agency's accountability to the wider community. This can be achieved through annual reports that should inform the wider community about casework and achievements during the year. It should also include details of any changes that have been made as a result of user involvement and how people may become involved in future planning of services.

New technology has considerably reduced the costs of producing information in alternative formats. However, there can still be costs attached to this Standard. Agencies should consider either making direct provision of information in a range of formats or establishing local networks where, for example, one agency has responsibility for producing information in Braille whilst another produces information on tape.

The companion volume to these Standards, The Scottish Directory of Alternative Formats, is a resource for all agencies to ensure that they can provide information in a range of alternative formats.

Increasing access to services includes being aware of the needs of people who may have difficulty with spoken and written English. This need applies to people whose first language is not English, and to people who are hearing and speech impaired or have other communication impairments. Interpretation should include all languages and sign language systems.

Agencies' planning and consultation processes should enable them to identify current and potential levels of need in the community for this type of service. Even where planning has not indicated an existing need, agencies should consider how they could provide such a service if it is required.

Any information which affects children directly - about their own health, education, welfare and legal rights - should be available to them, together with details of services that cater for children and young people.

Grapevine, the Lothian Disability Information Service, has produced guidance on providing information to children. They suggest that information can be made accessible to children in a number of ways:

• Wherever possible ask children what they think should be included in the leaflet, poster or tape. They will often give ideas on appropriate content, style and layout
• Younger children will need simple language, together with large bold print, short sentences and lots of pictures
• Older children and teenagers will probably prefer cartoons and comic strip style layouts with a more sophisticated approach
• When trying to explain technical or abstract things, use examples which children can understand
• Include colouring in, puzzles or quizzes in the leaflet. This will not only help children to remember the message, but will also make it fun - a key requirement for children of all ages
• Information for children should also be available in other formats and in appropriate languages
• Make sure information for children is displayed within their reach.

The provision of good quality information and advice is not the responsibility of any single agency. In any given locality there will be a range of providers meeting different needs. Liaison and regular contact are essential to ensure that all people within the community have access to good quality services.

Formal referral agreements should ensure that service users feel that they have received a consistent and seamless service. These should include:

• How the referral will be made, including that it is to a named individual, and the date of any appointment
• Grounds for acceptance or rejection
• The respective responsibilities of referrer and referee
• Any information the referring body can expect at the end of a particular case
• The right of the individual to return to the original agency if he/she is not satisfied with the referral.

Agencies should have clear selection criteria for referrals to other agencies and where possible the agency should consult with the service user, and in complex cases provide written instructions to the referral body.

6.3 Managing Your Service To Improve Access

Whilst many small agencies operate on the goodwill and enthusiasm of individuals, the long-term viability of a service and its sustainability as people move on is dependent upon the clear definition of roles and the assignment of responsibilities and expectations.

Procedures and practices vary greatly between agencies and are subject to constant modification and improvement within an agency. The smooth running of an agency depends upon all members being fully conversant with the practices and procedures in that agency.

Staff and volunteers need to know what is expected of them in relation to overall agency standards. The Office Manual ensures that not only policies but also these Standards are readily available to all, and staff cannot attribute poor performance to "not knowing what is expected". The Office Manual is a key resource in the induction of new staff, volunteers and committee members.

Whilst agencies may be able to provide a high quality of service at present, this may be due to the particular skills of individual staff. All agencies need to have clearly prepared policies and procedures that relate to the recruitment of staff, given that all agencies experience turnover in both paid and unpaid staff.

Because staff are the key point where the agency meets with its service users, the quality of an individual's work and his/her aptitude should be regularly assessed. Appraisal, linked to regular supervision, can be a positive tool, that does not only give you a regular overview of how someone is performing, but can also help you to look at future training needs and areas of personal development.

Disabled people highlighted negative staff attitudes as one of the key reasons why they chose not to use certain agencies. Dealing with these attitudes is a management issue that can be identified through appraisal.

To deliver a quality service the updating of the skills and knowledge of new and existing staff is a key responsibility of all agencies, to ensure an effective, quality service. Agencies need to consider their training policies and training needs as part of their planning processes. Overall training areas should be identified for planning purposes under a number of headings:

• Induction training
• "On the job" training
• Specialist skills training
• Core skills training
• Personal development training

The core training areas for information and advice providers should include:

• Agency awareness - the aims and values of their agency
• Interviewing skills
• Analytical skills
• Disability equality
• Cultural awareness
• Customer care

Disability Equality Training can most effectively be delivered by disabled people themselves. In the section The Standards & Localities we have suggested that the consultative forums of disabled people could usefully be resourced to provide this service. Your local authority should be able to suggest appropriate organisations to assist in this area.

It should also be noted that the type of staff recruited can transform the culture of an agency. The Scottish Office has commented that one route for agencies to "rid themselves of discriminatory practices" is for: "Staff [to be] recruited and trained from backgrounds of disadvantage similar to those in the communities ...they serve" (Care Management and Assessment Practitioners Guide, Dept. of Health, the Social Services Inspectorate and Scottish Office Social Work Services Group, 1991). In this context agencies should consider the recruitment of disabled people as information and advice providers.

Every service user has the right to expect that the service he/she receives is provided in confidence and that any records about him/her kept by the agency are fair and accurate. In relation to access to information, the business of the advice centre is the service user's business and therefore he/she should have access to any records kept about his/her case. (It should be noted that service users have a legal right to access information kept on file about them - this is detailed in the Introduction to the Standards.)

The right to be advised confidentially and privately should be seen as a central right. Agencies that do not currently have access to confidential interview space should consider how safe it is for the service user to disclose confidential information in a space to which other service users and staff have access.

Confidentiality policies should include what detail a service user may be asked to give in a public reception area, as well as interviewing procedures, case files and enquiry records. Many advice networks and agencies will have policies on confidentiality and service-user access to information held about them.

There is, however, often some confusion about confidentiality in agencies and it is possible for an agency to hide bad practice behind this mask. The need for confidentiality can be inappropriately used to preclude discussion of a case with anyone, even within the agency, and to prevent the implementation of casework audits. This view of confidentiality means that no assessment can be made as to whether standards of advice are being met. Agencies need to examine their policies and procedures in this respect and set clear boundaries which enable quality checking of casework and information to be undertaken and ensure that bad practice does not hide behind the mask of confidentiality. Agencies should be aware that there is a distinction between confidentiality and anonymity.

Inadequately devised confidentiality policies can be a barrier to effective referral, where an agency may decide that formal referrals cannot be made to another agency because this would breach confidentiality safeguards. Whilst the reasons for this can be understood, a client-centred service needs to balance respect for the personal details that a service user may provide with mechanisms to ensure that his/her needs are met effectively. Information is given in confidence to an agency to enable the agency to pursue a service user's needs in the most effective manner. Provided the service users are informed of the way in which information is being used, and give their consent, confidentiality should not be used to obstruct the advice process.

Consent forms are important in gaining permission from a service user to pass on information about his/her enquiry or case to a third party, wholly in pursuit of the advancement of his/her case. Agencies need to ensure that service users are fully aware of what they are signing when they are asked to sign a consent form.

Confidentiality may not be an absolute, even without the client's permission. If there is a clear danger to the client or to someone else, some agencies will breach confidentiality. Citizens' Advice Scotland state in their Conditions of Membership for Bureaux:

"Where information is supplied to the Bureau which suggests that the client is involved in, or about to become involved in, a criminal activity which threatens the life or physical well-being of a third party e.g. actual or physical abuse of a child, confidentiality may be broken after an attempt has been made to obtain agreement from the client to a course of action which will protect any third party."

Ensuring confidentiality in certain localities, particularly rural areas, raises broader issues in relation to access. Some agencies have found that if they establish a specialist service, such as a Debt Support Unit that identifies the problems of people visiting the service, the take-up of that service will be low. In some areas, the preservation of confidentiality may need to be accomplished through non-specified sessions or through specialist support and help being made available through other agencies.

Good information and advice is based upon the adviser's ability to access up-to-date and accurate information readily. Without adequate information resources, the quality of the information and advice that can be given to the service user is going to be reduced. In the focus groups with disabled people one of their central concerns was the lack of knowledge of generalist advice providers with regard to the rights and entitlements of disabled people.

An adviser's ability to access reference materials and other information is assisted by the systematic organisation and updating of these resources, together with appropriate training in their use.

For large advice agencies, a designated post of information officer is desirable, with responsibilities for the maintenance and updating of information.

For small agencies it may not be possible to appoint a full-time information officer. However, one person should be given key responsibility for this vital area of work and sufficient time should be given to him/her to maintain this task.

There are resource implications for agencies in providing a comprehensive information library for staff and volunteers. The resource implications will be even greater if the agency chooses to make some or all of these reference materials publicly accessible.

The Internet offers the opportunity to make information widely available, and for users to access it in their preferred format. However, it must be realised that there are resource implications in the maintenance and updating of this information.

All information and advice providers should consider subscribing to UPDATE, Scotland's Disability Consultancy for Information Providers. Established under the auspices of SAIF, and funded directly by the Scottish Executive, UPDATE provides accurate and relevant disability and impairment-related information to first-tier information providers throughout Scotland, in fully accessible formats.

It should be noted that using out-of-date information resources can be worse than having no information on a subject.

There are a range of Standards that have been developed in this area by advice-giving bodies such as the Federation of Independent Advice Centres and Citizens' Advice Scotland. This Standard is a summary of best practice.

Good and consistent case management is an essential prerequisite in the delivery of a quality advice service. An effective system ensures that each service user will receive a service that is in line with all other stated policies. Consistency in service delivery is also ensured, so that no user will receive a lesser service than an other and the risk of discrimination is minimised.

All advisers make mistakes from time to time and agencies should have procedures to ensure that such mistakes are spotted at the earliest opportunity and corrective action taken. Systematic file reviews also enable agencies to satisfy themselves, their funders and other stakeholders that the agency is making effective and appropriate interventions.

This is a difficult area for advice providers and one in which there is currently much debate. Some agencies, such as CABx, currently record the outcomes of their advice in terms of the additional income generated for service users as a result of their intervention. Other agencies have attempted to measure outcomes by tracking the experiences of service users over time.

It is likely that any system will need to reflect both the objectives and particular way any individual agency organises its work. In spite of the difficulties it is an area that all advice providers should consider.

It is expected that HomePoint will be developing guidance and other resources for advice providers to assist in this area during the course of 1999.

6.4 Strategies For Involving Disabled People And Their Representatives

Throughout these Standards we have stressed the need for agencies to engage with their current and potential service users and to develop their service as a result of such consultation. In the Standards and Localities we have suggested the development of forums for consultation. In addition, individual agencies can undertake work to improve their own consultation processes.

All agencies should publicise any changes to services arising from feedback from service users.

The service exists to meet the needs of current and potential service users. A service can only be effective if it has mechanisms by which it can both listen to and act upon the views of these service users. Disabled people should be seen as a distinct group of current and potential service users.

Disabled people's views should be regularly sought on a range of questions including:

• The type of service provided
• Where it is provided, and how they feel about the physical location(s)
• The quality of the information, advice and other services that are provided
• How safe the service feels, and whether it excludes anyone because it is not user friendly
• The quality of the reception service and the length of time service users must wait
• The level of advice that is provided e.g. the capacity to provide follow-up work such as advocacy and representation
• Referrals - whether there are adequate relationships with other agencies to which efficient and effective referrals can be made
• Whether there are changing levels of need which service users can inform the agency about.

There are many ways of listening to service users. Most agencies should consider using a variety of different methods, depending on the particular objectives they have set. Methods include:

• Customer feedback and survey forms, which are given to each service user. They are usually anonymous.
• Small surveys of users conducted face to face e.g. exit interviews. If this method is used, there is a need to ensure that people feel safe in answering questions honestly and that any information given will not prejudice them as service users.
• Involving service users in Users' Forums, which may be organised on a regular basis.
• Inviting service users to sit on committees or working groups - including possible membership of the Management Committee.
• Involving service users in review and evaluation processes.
• Through Annual General Meetings and any other forums open to the public. AGMs can be opened out to include discussion time, with views and questions being invited from the floor. All such events should be held in venues which are accessible to everyone.

Information and advice providers exist to provide appropriate information and advice to people in need. For this reason, when things go wrong, agencies must make every effort to ensure that the service users do not pay for the agency's mistakes. Service users should feel confident that if mistakes are made by an agency they can be dealt with promptly and that there is adequate provision for redress.

Complaints can also provide a valuable means of user feedback which can assist in planning and developing services so that they are responsive to need and accessible to all. Having a clear and effective complaints procedure that is easy to access, safe and responsive, ensures this process.

A procedure of ensuring redress or complaints procedure should contain a number of elements:

• What a service user can complain about - e.g. general level of service, the behaviour of a member of staff or volunteer, wrong advice etc.
• How they can complain - who to; if there are forms, how these can be obtained
• How their complaint will be dealt with - how quickly; by whom; how they will be involved
• What they can expect as a result of their complaint - apologies, compensation
• What general action to change the service is taken as a result of complaints.

In addition, agencies should have a strategy on how they will publicise changes made as a result of complaints, including information about how and why they have occurred.

Information for service users which informs them about the complaints procedure should be clear about how to complain about the attitude or behaviour of particular staff/volunteers. This can be a very difficult area for service users, and it should be recognised that it must be made safe for users to make a complaint directed at a specific individual rather than just the overall quality of the service, without feeling at risk of intimidation or loss of service. Disabled people reported staff attitudes as a major disincentive to using certain services.

In many cases adequate redress may be a simple oral or written apology. However, where the action or inaction of the agency has financially disadvantaged a service user, the agency may need to provide some financial compensation. This raises the question of professional indemnity insurance cover. Agencies should ensure that they are properly covered by professional indemnity insurance to meet any resultant claims. The main advice agency networks will provide this service as part of their membership fee or at additional cost. It should be noted, however, that many insurance policies of this type specifically exclude the agency advertising the fact that they have this insurance and the agency would risk not being covered if they did so. This point should be borne in mind when agencies are publicising their complaints procedures and the type of redress that service users can expect.

Some agencies will be covered by industry-wide schemes where their membership of a professional body will be designed to provide additional protection to service users. Other agencies will be covered by various Ombudsman schemes. These should be included in the complaints procedure if relevant.

The confidence of service users will be greatly enhanced by the publication of information on complaints received and remedial action taken. This can take the form of notices in public areas, items in the Annual Report and such other means as may be appropriate for the service.

There are four key stages and different organisations will be at different points in this continuum. The stages are:

Information -> consultation ->participation ->control

As a minimum, organisations need to ensure that disabled people receive information about services and are consulted about development. We suggest that most organisations should strive to secure the participation of disabled people in the planning and delivery of services. In addition, those organisations that seek to serve disabled people primarily may wish to look at how they can place disabled people in control of the service agenda.

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