No 2. October 2009
Newsletter of the Scottish Accessible Transport Alliance
Contents
SATA's new Management Committee
At our AGM on 17th September the following were elected to form the Management Committee. Office Bearers: Stanley Flett (Chair), Maggie Killin (Vice Chair), Alan Rees (Secretary), John Ballantine (Treasurer). Members: Paul Cross, Douglas Gilroy, John MacDonald, Pat McGuigan, Jim McKay, Jim Richie, Terry Robinson, Liz Rowlett. John, Jim and Liz replace Bob Edwards, Jackie Maceira and Muriel Williams who did not seek re-election. We warmly thank them for their support.MACS recuitment: new appointments
Anne MacLean OBE, the Convener of the Mobility & Access Committee for Scotland, was the principal speaker at our AGM and a summary of her talk is in the Minutes, now on our website. One of the things she spoke about was the recruitment of new members and the names have now been announced. They are Bob Benson, Clare Byrne, Heather Fiskin, Jane Horsburgh, Grahame Lawson, Muriel Masson, Annette Monahan, Jane Steven and Shonagh Terry.Besides Anne, the existing members, appointed last January are John Ballantine, Stephen Boyd, Andrew Holmes and James Glover. This now makes 14 out of a possible 15, at least half of whom are required to be disabled people, and they will each serve for three years in the first instance.
For further information visit the MACS website www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Transport/macs or contact the Secretariat by e-mail on macs@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or phone 0131 244 0869. Two motions were lodged in September in the Scottish Parliament by Des McNulty MSP (Clydebank & Milgarvie) (Scottish Labour). One, S3M-14798, was on the demise of the Thistle Travel Card after 6 years in use by some 280,000 people across Scotland. The other, S3M-4780, was on the Scottish Government's decision when reviewing the Scotland-wide Free Bus Travel Scheme not to extend eligibility to people on the lower rate of Disability Living Allowance despite having been included previously in some local schemes, notably in Strathclyde.SATA circulated a Briefing note linking the two issues as particularly severe on the ability of people with learning and communication difficulties to travel freely. Both motions recieved good support from MSPs and we await the outcome of the debates. Meanwhile First Group has prepared a First Safe Journey Card as its replacement for the Thistle Card. However this will only by recognised by drivers on its own buses and the opportunity for the transport industry to come behind the national scheme is being missed.
Equality Bill: Public Sector Equality Duty Specific Duties
The Scottish Government is consulting on what specific duties it might place on public authorities in Scotland to assist them in delivering on the general Equality duty in the UK Government's Equality Bill. The consultation document can be viewed online at www.scotland.gov.uk/consultation and responses are invited by 15th January 2010.The Equality and Human Rights Commission is holding a consultation event in Glasgow on 6th November and anyone interested in attending should contact Julia Evans at Julia.Evans@equalityhumanrights.com or on 0141 228 5914
Station Car Parking Policy for Scotland
SATA responded to the Transport Scotland consultation on Station Car Parking Policy in Scotland. We supported the idea of a nationally applied consistent policy on the provision of car parking and the level of charges at railway stations. But we said the policy must include an objective to provide all stations in Scotland with designated parking spaces for Blue Badge holders provided in accordance with the Department for Transport's Code of Practice, including the recommended location, number, monitoring and enforcement. We indicated that there was increasing demand with the number of Badge holders going up year by year and with improvements to station and train access. The text of our response is on our website www.scottishaccessibletransport.org.uk/publications.html The annual revision of First ScotRail's Disabled Person's Protection Policy (DPPP) has just been published. This policy is a condition of First ScotRail's passenger and station operator's licence and has been approved by the Department for Transport in consultation with Transport Scotland. The document includes an appendix giving information on facilities at all the 343 stations for which it is responsible.Copies are available on the website www.scotrail.co.uk under 'Disabled Assistance' or by phoning ScotRail Customer Relations on 0800 912 2901.
And talking of our website...if you haven't already done so, please notice that there is a new page on 'Fundraising'. A link to www.easyfundraising.org.uk has been set up by Tom Porter and allows you to shop on line to the benefit of SATA. How can you refuse!? We hope to get lots of hits and a much needed boost to our financial health - which is not exactly life-threatening at the moment but can always do with a shot in the arm.British Standards: SATA's November Open Meeting
At our next meting on 12th November Keith Roberston, Access Development Officer with SDEF, will talk on British Standards, and in particular the recently revised BS 8300 . This might seem a rather boring subject but is in fact crucial when accessing transport buildings and vehicles. Keith's title 'British Standards: Friend or Foe?' shows that he is intends to challenge our thinking about their acceptability.The meeting is being held at the Forth Valley Sensory Centre, Camelon, starting at 1.30 pm and is open to non-members
The dates for our meetings next year will follow the same pattern as this year and are as follows:
11th February at the Forth Valley Sensory Centre, Camelon, Falkirk (venue provisional)
13th May at SPT in Glasgow
16th September at Perth & Kinross Council, Perth
11th November at RNIB, Edinburgh (venue provisional)
Thank you and good wishes!