Face covering exemption cards launched The Scottish Government has produced a face covering exemption card, to support those who are unable to wear one to feel more confident and safe when accessing public spaces and using public services. Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People Shirley Anne Somerville said: “Everyone who can do so is legally obliged to wear a face covering where it is mandated by law. But there are some people who cannot, due to health conditions, disabilities or other special circumstances where a face covering may cause difficulty or distress. “Discrimination against people in this situation
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 Sensory Guidance for COVID-19 Lockdown New cross-sector guidance to support people living with sensory loss during the COVID-19 lockdown has been published. The ALLIANCE is working closely with Scottish Government and partner organisations from across the Third Sector to produce guidance and information to support people living with sensory loss and their communication partners as COVID-19 lockdown restrictions vary across the country. Measures to reduce spread of the infection present challenges which may affect groups of people in different ways, including people’s ability to communicate, gather information and move around their environment safely. This guidance outlines key advice on how
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V&A Dundee – Upcoming Accessible Events V&A Dundee reopened on 27 August 2020 and while our previous programme of accessible tours and events has had to be put on hold until current restrictions allow, we are still really keen to make our content as accessible as possible to as many people as possible. Mary Quant– our latest major exhibition – is proving a huge hit and we hope that as many people as possible can visit it before it closes on the 17 January 2021. A number of our public events linked to this exhibition are to be broadcast digitally
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Missing Out – a short film made through community collaboration In just 4 minutes 40 seconds, Missing Out brings alive the theme of hearing access. Through the viewpoints of three service providers and their respective service users, Missing Out gives a snapshot illustration as to why commonplace issues that hurt or restrict people with hearing loss are not being recognised and tackled as you might assume they would be.  It is not a judgement of anyone, it is an observation of the natural and human ways that people think and behave when there is a lack of awareness or knowledge,
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DWP enters legal agreement with EHRC to improve services for deaf claimants The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has entered a legally binding agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to improve support for deaf customers accessing its services by telephone. Two advisers raised a complaint with the EHRC on behalf of four hearing-impaired people who needed to use the telephone service with a British Sign Language interpreter to help them decide whether or not to apply for a home loan. All four disabled people faced difficulties in dealing with staff from DWP and Serco who didn’t
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Making Zoom Videos Accessible for Deaf People   deafscotland is the user led, membership organisation for the deaf sector in Scotland.  deafscotland use the term the ‘four pillars of deafness’ to describe Deaf, Deafblind, Deafened and Hard of Hearing as people with different levels of deafness who have different barriers to overcome and have different language and communication support needs. There are several steps to consider and available features that maymake Zoom meetings more accessible for deaf people.  Zoom for people who are Hard of Hearing: PDF WORD Zoom for people who are Deafened: PDF WORD Zoom for people who are Deafblind:  PDF  WORD Zoom for
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Dementia and Deafness Report A new deafscotland study highlights parallels between the social isolation of lockdown and the social isolation experienced by people living with hearing loss and dementia. The link between dementia and hearing loss has been well established and it has been found that mid-life hearing loss is a modifiable risk factor for dementia.  There have, however, been few regional studies exploring the topic until now.  A joint research collaboration between deafscotland and Queen Margaret University has looked more closely at prevalence rates in Scotland in order to better inform service planning at local and national level. The
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Physical Distancing Easy Read Summary Report “I was spat at yesterday for asking someone to clear my space.” This is just one of many comments received by Disability Equality Scotland in their recent poll of disabled people on the topic of physical distancing.  In collaboration with the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) Disability Equality Scotland posed the question ‘During your daily exercise or when undertaking essential journeys, have you experienced any issues with physical distancing?”  The poll generated over 900 responses with the vast majority (99%) stating they had experienced difficulties. Key concerns related to infrastructure, with pavements
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Disability Equality Scotland praises new app function that allows wheelchair users to track accessible spaces on First Buses Disability Equality Scotland has praised national bus operator First Bus for fast-tracking technology which will enable wheelchair users to track accessible spaces on their local bus services in ‘real-time’. The mobile app update, available now, enables customers across the UK to view available wheelchair spaces across its fleet. This important innovation makes bus travel easier by tracking wheelchair capacity through an icon that moves across a virtual map. The update forms part of a fast-tracked investment in the app which has seen First become
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