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2019 will see the States of Guernsey do more to ensure all of its buildings which are publicly accessible are more easily accessible for everyone.
This is all part of the States' work to act on recommendations made in an audit of all of its practices.
The Business Disability Forum was commissioned to carry out these audits, and to assess the States' position when it comes to the future disability discrimination legislation which is still expected to come in.
Pictured: Edward T Wheadon House will be one of the States buildings to get some updates in 2019.
It made a number of recommendations, some of which have been achieved, and some of which are still in the works.
Key recommendations from the audit, titled ‘The States of Guernsey disability review: Meeting the needs of disabled islanders’, included:
Identify an overarching disability champion with responsibility for overseeing systematic improvement of the States’ performance as a disability-smart service provider.
Use information from the recent DisabledGo access audits to build a detailed picture of the accessibility of public service buildings and use this as the basis of a States- wide plan for improving access.
Develop a mechanism to enable the consistent engagement of a broad range of disabled islanders in order to help the States understand the impact if its activities on disabled customers.
Allocate funding for improving access for disabled customers from the Public Sector Reform budget when an action is likely to further the aims of both strategies. For example, where recommendations relate to accessible premises or technology.
Now, for 2019, a further internal audit on the 15 main States buildings will be a priority, but other improvements planned include investment in better lift facilites and access at Edward T. Wheadon House, relocating customer facilities for the Ports to the Albert Pier, improving signal and easier access to Beau Sejour and its facilities. Additionally, historic websites are being reviewed and updated over time with a view to bringing them up to standard. Any new technology (such as new online forms) will undergo accessibility reviews before go-live in the public domain.
Pictured: Deputy Sarah Hansmann-Rouxel is currently the States Disability Champion.
"A significant amount of work has been carried out in the last 18 months to increaseour collective focus on issues that impact disabled islanders visiting States of Guernsey buildings and using the services we provide. We remain focused on continuous improvement and have 20 colleagues spread throughout the States who have undertaken the Access Audit training to support that work," Jason Moriarty, States Chief Operating Officer, said.
"Due to the historic nature or age of some States-owned properties it is not always possible to conform to modern accessibility standards, but we are committed to making all reasonable adjust where possible."
Moves that have already been made to improve access to services include each committee area developed an action plan in response to recommendations in their individual report, but work was also completed on States-wide issues. For example, each committee area now has a disability champion/ambassador.
The overarching States of Guernsey disability review: Meeting the needs of disabled islanders report, and all individual committee audits, are published at gov.gg/disabilityreview. Feedback and further ideas can be provided by emailing DisabilityOfficer@gov.gg.
Pictured top: Sir Charles Frossard House.
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