The Standards are intended to help agencies in the voluntary, private and statutory sectors so that disabled people can access information and advice services easily.
The Standards recognise that disabled people access information and advice from a range of agencies:
specialists in disability issues, general advice services which offer their services to all members of the public, agencies where information and advice form only a small part of their work.
The Standards are designed to apply to all of these agencies. However, they are particularly aimed at those agencies which provide a service to all members of the public. This is so that these agencies can provide a good service for disabled people.
The Standards are a way of establishing the boundaries of a service. They do not detail procedures and systems and they do not contain targets. They are designed to identify a range of indicators. They can also be used to develop performance targets that can be monitored and reviewed. They should be seen as a framework for continual improvement and development. Disabled people should be able to influence future changes.
The Standards are written so that they are relevant to all agencies. These can be large or small, urban or rural. Agencies should not feel that they are ‘too small’ or ‘too under-resourced’ to meet the Standards. All agencies should aim for the highest possible standards while innovative practices can extend the scope of even small and poorly resourced agencies. Many of the Standards can be achieved by taking time to look at good practice and then following it.
Similarly, we would like to stress that the Standards are not just the responsibility of individual agencies. Agencies can greatly improve their ability to meet the needs of disabled people by working together. The section called Local Information Strategies looks at the role that local authorities can take in helping agencies to comply with the Standards.
The Standards are designed as a tool for disabled people, service providers and service commissioners to help them achieve services which are accessible to everyone. They provide organisations with a means of reviewing past and current activities and developing services for the future.
The Standards aim to be dynamic. They include guidance on how to involve disabled people and their representatives so that they can provide feedback which will ensure that the Standards continue to develop in such a way that the needs of all disabled people are met.
The Standards include three separate sections:
Information and Advice Providers
This section contains both the Standards and guidance for individual agencies on how they can meet the needs of disabled people. It includes advice on the ways in which disabled people should be involved in the planning and delivery of the services.
Local Information Strategies
This section recognises that strategic planning needs to be done within local areas. This will strengthen the development of individual services so that all can be easily accessed.
Disabled People and their Representatives
This section is for disabled people themselves. It outlines the minimum service that they should be able to expect and explains how they can complain and campaign if this level of service is not met.
Towards the end of the document we have included a useful self-assessment checklist.
Go to the next page: The role of information and advice
(c) Scottish Accessible Information Forum, 2007
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