APPG for Young Disabeld People Latest News
Wednesday 24 October 2012
This afternoon, Trailblazers joined forces with MPs to question airlines, the Civil Aviation Authority and aircraft designers at a meeting held in Parliament. The meeting coincided with the launch of the Trailblazers report 'Up in the Air' which exposed the challenges to accessible air travel.
Tackling issues head on, campaigners sought to clarify accessibility issues and encouraged the panel to seriously consider the challenges when travelling as a disabled passenger.
The meeting, chaired by Paul Maynard MP was well received by members of the panel and Trailblazers, who will now develop a short term steering group, working together to improve accessibility to air travel.
Tanvi Vyas Trailblazers Campaigns Officer said:
We are glad the session on accessible airlines was productive and delighted that key stakeholders have agreed to form a working group with Trailblazers to tackle issues and come up with realistic recommendations to improve air travel for disabled people. Decisions about accessibility should involve people with real experience and this way, improving services will be beneficial for all concerned.
You can find out more about the Up in the Air campaign here.
..............................................................................................................................................................
Wednesday 4 July 2012
Trailblazers launched the housing report, Locked Out, at a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Young Disabled People yesterday.
The meeting was the seventh evidence session in the Group's Inquiry into the issues that affect young disabled people in the UK today. Paul Maynard MP, who chairs the Group, was joined by Trailblazers campaigners who put the findings of the Locked Out report to professionals from the property and housing industry.
The Trailblazers at the event called for improvements to the practice of estate agents, letting agents and local authorities after our investigation revealed a ‘complete obliviousness' within the property industry of the needs for accessible accommodation.
Trailblazers Project Manager Bobby Ancil said:
It's been a very productive meeting with estate agents, letting agents, landlords and the Local Government Association all recognising that disabled people deserve a much better service. I am confident that if we can continue to hold these groups to account we will see improved practices and better options for young disabeld people who want to live independently.
The launch of the report and the event were both featured on Channel 4 News and in yesterday's Guardian newspaper.
..............................................................................................................................................................
Wednesday 13 June 2012
The meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Young Disabled People followed the publication of Trailblazers Under Investigation report into disability hate crime. The Group heard that young disabled people are failing to report threatening behaviour and verbal and physical abuse in public due to the fear that these crimes will not be taken seriously.
Trailblazer Krishna Talsania from London spoke at the event and told the panelists how she had been verbally abused, spat and sworn at, after using a disabled parking space. Consequently, she no longer goes out in her car alone.
Krishna, along with fellow Trailblazers such as Tmara Senior who also faced intimidation from both students and teachers whilst in further education, shared their experiences with senior Metropolitan Police officers, Minister for Disabled People, Maria Miller MP, Minister for Equalities and Criminal Information, Lynne Featherstone MP and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.
Krishna said:
This cannot continue and we are calling on the government, the police and all relevant authorities to take decisive measures to ensure that this behaviour is not tolerated. We also want to see the Government, local authorities, the police service and other relevant agencies working together to ensure disability hate crime is better recognised and more swift and stronger sentences are passed against perpetrators.
Trailblazers project manager Bobby Ancil said:
A nation-wide police initiative is vital to giving disabled people the confidence to report intimidation and to address inconsistencies in recording disability hate crime. I'm delighted that the Trailblazers have had a chance to share their ideas with the police and the Ministers today.
.............................................................................................................................................................
Wednesday 14 March 2012
Chairman Paul Maynard MP, was joined by Trailblazers from across the UK in a discussion on accessibility in hotels, air travel, airports and disability awareness in the tourism industry. The Group received evidence on airport accessibility from BAA Flight Connections and Omni-Serv as well as hearing from Visit England, Tourism for All and the Greater London Authority's Principal Access Advisor.
Since we launched our Tourism Report and guide in 2010, Trailblazers have consistently faced numerous barriers when going on holiday either abroad or when travelling domestically. Network members have highlighted concerns such as getting wheelchairs securely on and off planes, higher expenses when booking hotels and a lack of information on disability access in holiday brochures.
Trailblazer Laura Gosman said:
It was great to meeting lots of interesting people and raise awareness of the issues young disabled people face when travelling in the UK and abroad. It was good to hear the panel's opinion on a range of areas and how they think we can best tackle some of the problems that the Trailblazers have identified. I hope this meeting will lead us to a more inclusive and accessible tourist industry in the UK and overseas.
...............................................................................................................................................................
Wednesday 29 February 2012
The meeting was chaired by Paul Maynard MP who was joined by Trailblazers across the UK to address the issues that affect young people in higher education such as primarily finding universities, social care and socialisation. The Group received evidence from adult social services, universities, the National Union of Students, the Student Loans Company and Disability Rights UK.
Paul Maynard was supported at the session by MPs and Peers including Baroness Thomas of Winchester and Paul Goggins MP.
Since we launched our University Challenge report and guide in 2009 Trailblazers have consistently numerous barriers to a smooth and straightforward higher education experience. Network members have highlighted concerns with accommodation and it our report showed that one in ten disabled students will not have cooking and dining facilities that are fully integrated into mainstream university life.
Bobby Ancil, Trailblazers Project Manager said:
Today was an important opportunity for Trailblazers to share their knowledge on access at university with Parliamentarians and decision makers. Today's meeting identified ways that will improve disabled students experience at higher education.
..............................................................................................................................................................
Thursday 8 December 2011
Trailblazers from across the UK joined forces with MPs in Westminster to quiz cinema operators about making improvements to access for disabled cinema-goers. Young disabled people had the opportunity to share experiences and discuss recommendations in an attempt to make improvements and gain equal access to cinemas.
The Trailblazers short film Lights, Camera, Access was screened in front of Chief executives and managers from Vue, Odeon, Cineworld and Picturehouse and young disabled people and MPs had the opportunity to raise concerns with decision makers.
Trailblazers were delighted that the panel were actively considering some of their reccommendations including improvements to website booking and online access information. The panel also indicated that there could be a possibility of working more closely with Trailblazers.
Steve Knibbs, Chief Operating Officer at Vue said:
We have a section specifically about people with disabilities within our training pack, and we can certainly think about using teams like Trailblazers to help us in the future
Bobby Ancil Trailblazers Project Manager said:
It was encouraging to hear that the cinemas are keen to learn from our experiences and research, and to work with Trailblazers to ensure young disabled people get a good service at cinemas
The meeting was the fourth evidence session in the APPG's Inquiry into disability in the UK today and the findings will go towards a report that to be published in 2012.
Lights Camera Access is being screened at the London Short Film Festival on 9th January 2012 to find out more please get in touch.
Read the transcript from this session here
.............................................................................................................................................................
Thursday 10 November 2011
Trailblazers, MPs and employers came together in Parliament to discuss solutions to the barriers disabled job seekers face.
The campaigners and APPG for Young Disabled People chairman Paul Maynard MP were joined by the Minister for Disabled People, Maria Miller MP, who showed her support for Trailblazers and shared her thoughts and hopes for improving the employment prospects of disabled people.
The Minister said:
Around 50% of disabled people are currently in work, but we know that many more would like to be. That is why we have protected the budget for specialist disability employment programmes and set up the Sayce Review to see how we can support many thousands of extra disabled people into employment.
We know that attitudes of disabled people have changed over the years and young disabled people in particularly hold the same aspirations to work in mainstream employment and in every sector, the same as everyone else.
The Minister also indicated that many of the Trailblazers recommendations in our Right to Work report were under consideration as part of the recent Sayce Review. Recomendations form the review include extending Access to Work, often described as 'the government's best kept secret', to disabled volunteers and work experience placements abd improving the portability of care packages and Access to Work assesments.
The Group also heard from Trailblazer Gavin Dobson who provided an eloquent description of the challenges faced by many disbaled job seekers and quizzed employment experts from RADAR, the Employers' Forum on Disability, PricewaterhouseCoopers UK and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Trailblazers Project Manager Bobby Ancil said:
Finding and retaining a job is a priority for most young people and disabled people are no different. Disabled people do however face many more barriers into and within the workplace. I hope that by highlighting these barriers today and coming up with some solutions to the challenges we will see more opportunities for Trailblazers and other young disabled jobsekers soon.
The meeting was the third evidence session in the APPG's Inquiry into disability in the UK today and the findings will go towards a report that to be published in 2012.
Read the transcript from this session here
......................................................................................................................................................
Thursday 7 July 2011
Bus, taxi and community transport firms from across the UK were questioned at the second evidence session of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Young Disabled People in Parliament .
Trailblazers and MPs called on Transport Minister Norman Baker and an audience of MPs and transport leaders for urgent action to tackle problems faced by disabled bus and taxi passengers.
Private taxi firms were asked to explain the Trailblazers experiences of:
• being repeatedly ignored by apparently available taxis and buses;
• relying on non-disabled members of the public to hail cabs for them;
• being sworn at by drivers;
• being charged up to double the standard fare.
The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign's Trailblazers Project Manager Bobby Ancil said:
I think it was important that the Minister for Transport, MPs and transport providers heard our concerns. The meeting went well and we hope that bus and taxi companies will continue to work with us to improve things on an ongoing basis.
To read a transcript from the session find it here
..............................................................................................................................................................
Thursday 16 June 2011
The All Party Parliamentary Group for Young Disabled People held its first evidence meeting at Portcullis House, Westminster.
With a focus on Trains and the London Underground, MPs tabled questions to various Train Operators, Network Rail and Transport for London.
Trailblazers from across the UK attended the meeting and also had the opportunity to question the panel. Members of the network presented the findings from our End of the Line report.
Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Young Disabled People, Paul Maynard MP said.
The launch of the Group's Inquiry into the issues affecting young disabled people is a crucial step towards improving accessibility to services for disabled people. Today young people have highlighted their concerns and issues to public transport companies in Parliament. I believe that it is extremely important that young disabled people's voices are heard and that service providers listen to their views.
To read minutes from this meeting find them here