Disability Access Officer Robert Ferguson Bsc Building Surveying - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Disability Access Officer

• Robert Ferguson
• Bsc Building Surveying Heriot Watt
• West Lothian DDA Project Officer 5 years
• Fife Council Access Officer 4.5 years

@ West Lothian:

Main Duties:

• Liaise with local Access Panels / Groups
• Provide advice on DDA Compliance matters
• Review project plans
• Develop Access standards & formats
• Carry out SPI Audits on all ‘public’ buildings
• Prepare SPI return to Audit Scotland
• Develop SPI Access Strategy for public buildings
• Increase SPI %age from 30.4 (2006) to 66.2 (2011)
• Carry out Access Audits on all schools
• Develop Education Access Strategy
• Carry out Access Audits as required
• Generally argue with Architects & Designers!

@ Fife Council

• Work with Disabilities Fife (FIDN)
• Ensure compliance with the Equalities Act 2010
• Develop networks and contacts with other

groups: e.g. Forth & Tay Disabled Ramblers, Hard of Hearing Forums, RNIB, PAMIS, Sense Scotland, Fife Council Social Work teams

• Sit on Council disability groups: e.g. Access

Awareness Group, Senior Equalities Group, Physical Disability and Sensory Impairment Strategic Improvement Group

@ Fife Council

• Prepare SPI return for Fife
• Draw up Access Strategies and Programme of

Works

• Implement Fife Council ‘Changing Places –

Changing Lives Strategy’: Fife now has 15 – target is 27

• Sit on ScotGov bodies as required: e.g. Keys to

Life Subgroup (100 Changing Places in Scotland by 2015); Scotland’s Town Partnership

• Generally argue with Architects and designers..

@ SDEF

• To support Access panels across Scotland by

promoting their wider involvement in Local Authority business: e.g planning and design development

• Work with the SDEF Board and Team
• Represent SDEF at Parliamentary Committees,

Working Groups, and other groups as required

• Increased Networking across Scottish interest

groups

• Support panels to engage in initiatives such as 3rd

Party Hate Crime reporting, Area Tourism Partnerships, and Equality Internships

Why are Access Panels important?

Note the ‘Sportingly placed’ tree….