Imtac Annual Report 2008

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September 2008

1About Imtac

Imtac is a committee of disabled people and older people as well as others including key transport professionals. Our role is to advise Government and others in Northern Ireland on issues that affect the mobility of older people and disabled people.

Our aim is to ensure that older people and disabled people have the same opportunities as everyone else to travel when and where they want.

Imtac receives support from the Department for Regional Development.

2About this report

This year Imtac has decided to present our Annual Report in a straightforward format. Given the pressures on all Government finances we believe that a glossy report is an unnecessary extravagance.

The Accessible Transport Strategy (ATS) requires Imtac to produce an annual report with details of our achievements over the previous year. We are also required to identify key issues that we would advise the Department for Regional (DRD) to address in the coming year and submit these to the Minister.

3Chairs Message

Over recent years Government here has done many good things to make transport more accessible to disabled people and older people. There has been significant investment in services, not just new buses and trains but also other necessary services such as door-to-door and rural transport.

The DRD has also developed an excellent inclusive policy framework, through the Regional Transportation Strategy (RTS) and the Accessible Transport Strategy (ATS). This policy framework aims to ensure that when Government spends money on transport services this investment delivers maximum benefit to older people and disabled people.

Imtac welcomes the further planned investment in more accessible services set out by the Executive in the Programme for Government, Budget and Investment Strategy including the proposed extension to the Concessionary Fares Scheme here allowing free travel for people for people aged 60 and over.

Over the past year Imtac members have attended over 60 meetings with our partners in Government and the transport industry, helping to ensure that investment delivers real benefit to older people and disabled people. The Committee has responded to key consultations and delivered many of the actions in our Annual Work Programme. I would like to pay tribute to all our members for their hard work and commitment over the past year. All work carried out by Imtac members is done on a voluntary basis.

The coming years will present challenges for both Government and others here. More than ever it is important that Government policy as set out in the Accessible Transport Strategy is followed in order to maximise the benefits of investment. Meeting these high standards will be challenging and over the next year Imtac will continue to work with our partners to meet this challenge.

Frank Caddy

Chair

4Our achievements

The past year has been extremely busy for Imtac. The Committee has responded to a number of key consultations, working groups have implemented almost 90% of our Work Programme and members have attended many other meetings with key stakeholders. In this section of the report we have highlighted some of our key achievements this year.

Working with Translink

Imtac continues to work with Translink to ensure that disabled people and older people can benefit from an improving public transport system.

Achievements this year include:

  • Working with the Marketing Department to improve information for disabled people and older people about services
  • Securing agreement to replace faulty automated ramps on Metro buses with failsafe manual ramps
  • Agreeing with Translink an innovative design of bus for replacing older Ulsterbus vehicles
  • Working with Translink to develop clear policies setting out the standard of services disabled people and older people can expect when using buses and trains
  • Assisting Translink toreview current training standards for staff and developing a proposal to provide all staff with Disability Equality Training (DET)

Improving access for car users

The Blue Badge Scheme is essential to the mobility of many older people and disabled people. Imtac continues to work with Roads Service to ensure thatBadge holders benefit from the concessions the Scheme offers.

Achievements this year include:

  • Agreeing with Roads Service actions around tackling misuse of the Blue Badge by non-disabled people and taking part in media coverage
  • Working with Roads Service to address access difficulties for Blue Badge holders to pedestrian zones in town centres such as Coleraine and Carrickfergus

Hospital Parking

This year we paid particular attention to the difficulties encountered by older people and disabled people parking at hospitals. Previously Imtac developed a policy paper in partnership with Disability Action’s Regional Access Committee. This year we again worked with the Access Committee to highlight the issue.

Achievements this year include:

  • Meetings with Department of Health officials and officials from the Health Trust
  • A meeting with the Health Committee at the Assembly

Working for more accessible streets

Walking plays a part in almost every journey. For many disabled people and older people poor design of the pedestrian environment can be a major barrier to mobility. We continue to work with Roads Service and others to ensure that overall access to the pedestrian environment is improved.

Achievements this year include:

  • Working with the Department for Social Development (DSD) to ensure the Belfast Streets Ahead Project improves access around the city centre
  • Securing agreement with DSD, DRD and Roads Service to develop an Access and Mobility Strategy for Belfast City Centre
  • Working with the Guide Dogs Association we held an event to highlight the difficulties and dangers created by “shared space” concepts

Helping raise standards

Imtac continues to work with partners in Government and others to help ensure that policy commitments are met and standards are raised. As part of our work programme this year we developed a number of papers outlining how Government and others here can raise standards in key areas.

Achievements this year include:

  • The publication of guidelines for making information about transport accessible to disabled people
  • The publication of a paper outlining how taxis can be better utilised by Government here to deliver services
  • The publication of guidelines for Government here on how to consult effectively with older people and disabled people
  • The development of a paper setting out guidelines on effective training in meeting the needs of disabled people

Contributing to consultation

An important part of our work is responding to consultation from Government. This year the local Assembly gave an added dimension to this work.

Achievements this year include:

  • Providing evidence to the Environment Committee on the Taxis Bill
  • Providing evidence to the Regional Development Committee on the Draft Budget, Programme for Government and Investment Strategy

Developing as a Committee

Imtac remains committed to ensuring that we offer value for money to Government here. We also are committed to ensuring that recruitment to the committee is open and accessible.

Achievements this year include:

  • A review of our current operations resulting in a number of recommended changes including office relocation
  • An annual recruitment process during which we received seven times more applications than places available

The Baywatch Campaign

Imtac is the lead partner in the Baywatch Campaign (NI) that seeks to end the abuse of accessible parking provided for the use of Blue Badge Holders. Other partners include Shopmobility NI, Disability Action, Mobilise and Arthritis Care.

Achievements this year include:

  • The 2nd Baywatch Survey which highlighted that over one in five accessible parking bays continue to be misused here at any time
  • The launch of the Baywatch Good Practice Guide by Minister for Regional Development Conor Murphy.

5Building on progress – Issues for Government

Imtac will continue to work hard over the next year with all our partners to ensure that travel choice for disabled people and older people improves. We have agreed a Work Programme with the DRD for the coming year which is available on our website via the following link - . Alternatively hard copies and copies in other formats are available by contacting us at our new offices (see Section 8).

From Governments perspective the coming year is likely to be difficult with pressures on all budgets and the availability of further resources unlikely. In order to maximise the benefits of planned and previous investment in transport it is essential that DRD effectively implement policies contained in the Accessible Transport Strategy. Imtac acknowledges that this will be a challenge to the Department but the Committee want to help DRD meet this challenge.

Imtac believes there are a number of simple and cost-effective measures that the Department can take over the next year which will considerably improve the roll out of current and future services. These measures include:

  • Improving training for DRD staff
  • Improving DRD consultationwith older people and disabled people
  • Better communication of the ATS policies to all DRD staff
  • Setting clear vehicle standards for alternative services such as door-to-door
  • Requiring all organisations funded by the DRD to meet standards in relation to information provision, staff training and vehicles as a condition of receiving public money

The Committee would appreciate the opportunity to discuss these issues further with the Minister and DRD officials.

6Thanks

Imtac would like to thank all those who contributed to our work over the past year. Special thanks are reserved for Sinclair Duncan, Alan Sheeran, Michelle Bagnall and Karen Magill who all stepped down from the Committee during the year. Sadly one of our members, Colm Burns, died shortly after joining the Committee last year.

7Imtac Members 2007/8

Frank CaddyChair

William StewartVice-Chair

Michelle Bagnall

Elizabeth Black

Colm Burns

Terry Butler

Ann CollinsConvenor Personal Mobility Group

Sinclair Duncan

Barbara Fleming

Anita Gracey

Tom HoeyConvenor Public Transport Group

Karen Magill

Henry Mayne

Norma Moore

Joe McCusker

David McDonaldConvenor Information & Training Group

Geraldine Mulhern

Andrew Murdock

Bryan Myles

Ronnie Patterson

More information on our members is available on our website, visit

Observers

Olaf HvattumAge Sector Reference Group

Kevin DohertyDisability Action

Tony O’ReillyEquality Commission for Northern Ireland

Alan PrestonMobility and Inclusion Unit (DRD)

Janet WatsonMobility and Inclusion Unit (DRD)

Eddie LynchGeneral Consumer Council

8Contacting us

You can contact us about any aspect of this report at:

Imtac

Enterprise House

55-59 Adelaide Street

Belfast

BT2 8FE

Telephone:028 9072 6020

Textphone:028 9072 6016

Fax: 028 9024 5500

Email:

Website:

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