Agenda and minutes

To consider any apologies for absence

No apologies were received.

No declarations were made.

There were no announcements.

There was no such business.

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 27^th February 2019 and 24^th July 2019.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meetings held on 27th February 2019 and 24th July 2019 be approved and signed as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Place Management.

This report provides a summary of how the Council’s accessibility strategy has been developed using the insight from engaging with the Disability Oversight Panel.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Place Management. In her introduction of the report, the Senior Policy and Projects Officer gave the following information:

·       After the public engagement workshop led by the Disability Oversight Panel around issues of accessibility in November 2018, officers used the feedback that was provided in their work with services.

·       Accessibility of the public realm and buildings was a key focus of the strategy.

·       Accessibility was a key theme across the whole Council.

·       An easy read action plan had been developed that would be published online and shared with those who attended the workshop in November 2018.

·       The report was a live document and the Panel were asked to provide feedback so that it could be continually improved.

The Panel then discussed the report and gave the following comments:

·       Would it be possible to have representatives from Transport for London (TfL) attend the Disability Oversight Panel engagement workshop in February? This would allow residents an opportunity to interact with TfL and also allow TfL to outline how they were going to improve accessibility of public transport for people with disabilities.

ACTION BY: Policy Officer

·       Could more be done by Camden to improve accessibility of restaurants and cafes within the Borough, in particular for wheelchair users and people with impaired mobility?

·       There was a need to support those who had disabilities but were not profoundly disabled. People with this level of disability could also be constrained by accessibility and the Panel suggested:

-       Making all public signage as clear as possible.

-       Increasing the length of time pedestrians had to cross at road crossings.

-       Training council staff to speak more clearly and slowly on the phone.

·       Introducing a Camden disability accessibility certificate for businesses that fulfilled the accessibility needs of people with disabilities was suggested.

RESOLVED -

THAT the report be noted.

Report of the Director of Adult Social Care.

This paper updates DOP on the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019, which replaces Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS) with Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS). It highlights key issues and provides an overview of the LBC LPS project brief, in preparation for implementation in October 2020.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Adult Social Care. The report was introduced by the Operations Manager – Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS) and Mental Capacity Act (MCA).

In response to questions from the Panel, the Operations Manager gave the following information:

·       The cost for Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) assessments would fall on the Council.

·       Under LPS care givers and families would have the right to legally challenge the Council’s decision. There was a chance that this would happen as the area of the assessments was now being expanded into domestic settings.

·       The process of appealing the Council’s decision on cases would initially involve the case being investigated and reviewed by the service. If the appellant was unhappy with the decision after this stage, they reserved the right to take legal challenge.

·       Under the current system there were around 900 assessments carried out annually. Of these 900, around 500-600 were DOLS cases. With the implementation of the new system there was expected to be an increase in these figures as the new system would flag up previously unidentified cases.

·       The organisation that was paying for the care package would be the responsible authority for the person in care.

The Panel asked that the Operations Manager return to a future meeting, after the new system had been implemented, to provide an update.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted.

Report of Strategy and Change.

This report provides:

1)    Updates from Commissioners in relation to:

·       Learning Disabilities

·       Children and young people

·       Mental Health

·       Special Educational and Inclusive Intervention Service

·       Carers

2)    Updates, in the form of an action tracker, from previous Disability Oversight Panel meetings.

Consideration was given to the report of Strategy and Change. In their discussion, the Panel made the following comments:

·       As part of the Action Tracker It would be useful for there to be a column showing the outcomes and achievements of Panel meetings.

·       A member of the Panel felt it was important to include all faith groups in discussions on the experience of intersectional minority disabled people.

·       The Panel wanted to look at the experience of LGBT+ disabled people in the Borough, with the involvement of Councillor Rishi Madlani.

·       They felt that further work with the Leisure team would be beneficial.

A member of the Panel wanted confirmation from the Landlord Review team about whether, as agreed, staff were being given sign language training.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report and feedback from the Disability Oversight Panel be noted.