Agenda and minutes

To formally elect a Chair of the Task Group.

Resolved:  That Councillor Gunnell be appointed as Chair of the Disabled Access Scrutiny Task Group.

Following the recent passing of Councillor Jeffries, tribute was paid to the work that she had carried out to raise awareness of issues in respect of disabilities and equalities.

At this point, Members are asked to declare:

·        Any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        Any prejudicial interests or

·        Any disclosable pecuniary interests

Which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

Members were asked to declare any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, or any prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests they might have in the business on the agenda.  None were declared.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Task Group’s remit can do so. The deadline for registering is 5pm the working day before the meeting, in this case 5pm on Friday 22 August 2014.

To register to speak please contact the Democracy Officer’s for the meeting, on the details at the foot of the agenda.

Filming or Recording Meetings

Residents are welcome to photograph, film or record Councillors and Officers at all meetings open to the press and public. This includes the use of social media reporting, i.e. tweeting.  Anyone wishing to film, record or take photos at any public meeting should contact the Democracy Officer’s (whose contact details are at the foot of this agenda) in advance of the meeting.

The Council’s protocol on Webcasting, Filming & Recording of Meetings ensures that these practices are carried out in a manner both respectful to the conduct of the meeting and all those present.  It can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/downloads/download/3130/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings

It was reported that there were no registrations to speak at the meeting under the council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This report presents the agreed remit for this review together with information gathered in support of the objectives.

Members considered a report which presented the agreed remit for this review, together with information gathered in support of the objectives.

(i)           Members were asked to consider what additional information was required to support the review.

Members suggested that the following additional information should be included within the report:

·        Reference to the mechanisms that would be in place to evaluate the outcome of the review.

·        Ways of promoting the sharing of good practice, for example by highlighting those organisations that were providing good access to their facilities or through nominated pioneers.

·        Raising awareness of the training offered by English Heritage on how to make properties more accessible.   

·        A recommendation that the information provided by organisations should be presented in a more standardised format.

·        A recommendation that access to venues and attractions is considered as part of the city’s tourism strategy and that Visit York holds information on disabled access to venues and attractions in the area. 

·        Consideration as to whether the Council’s service level agreements with organisations such as York Museums Trust and the Theatre Royal should require a Community Impact Assessment.

·        Further information on the Cinema Exhibitors Association card (CEA), including statistics on its use and feedback from consultees as to whether they were aware of the card.

·        Additional information in respect of paragraph 42, including clarification as to whether these arrangements were in place in cinemas in York.  It was also important that this provision was offered at a variety of times to give customer choice.

·        Referring to the provision that was in place in respect of live music, it was suggested that contact be made with York Pride, as they held live music events.

·        Additional information as to which venues had already been inspected by DisabledGo and which venues were due to be inspected this year.

·        Information as to the position of other York attractions on the  Vitalise list of the best and worst UK tourist attractions for wheelchair access to disabled visitors.  It would also be useful to identify arrangements that could be put in place to improve an attraction’s position on the list.

·        Consideration of the information provided on the CHANGE website.

·        Further information about the Accessible York Card.

(ii)          Consideration was given to the arrangements for the proposed consultation sessions.  The following actions were agreed.

·        Prior to the consultation events with provider groups, a request would be made for an item about the review to be included on the agenda for a meeting of Visit York.

·        The consultation events would be held at West Offices.

·        The consultation event with users would be held on 15 October 2014 at 6.00pm. (Following the meeting it was agreed that the event would be held on 21 October 2014, as the preferred venue was not available on the 15 October) 

·        Further consideration would be given to a key note speaker for the consultation with provider groups.  As well as presenting the views identified at the consultation with users, questions could include identifying barriers to improving access, their views  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.