Disability Access News

Romford Recorder 04 April 2008

CHEAPER gym access for the disabled could become a reality if leisure bosses and Havering Council cave-in to pressure.

A special meeting was called yesterday at the office of Havering Association for the Disabled (HAD) to thrash out ideas on what could be done to help get members into the leisure centres at lower cost during the day - when footfall is at its lowest.
Romford Recorder

Chief Executive of HAD, Mary Capon, said: "Just because someone is disabled doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to maximise their health.

"We would like to see some sort of concession for disabled people, as most are on state benefits.

"I have heard repeatedly that pools and leisure centres are not operating at full capacity during the day, and at least 10 per cent of people in Havering can be qualified as disabled."

Havering Council Leader Michael White has previously hinted cheaper prices may be in the pipeline.

He wrote in an e-mail: "It may be that we can agree some reduced pricing during the day to encourage increased usage by community groups across the borough.

Just a matter of weeks after nationwide condemnation of England captain John Terry for parking his Bentley in a disabled spot while he enjoyed a long lunch, Rochdale Online has been sent photos by a reader of a police van parked in the disabled parking bays at ASDA supermarket on Dane Street last Sunday (30 March).

The photos have caused controversy, especially after the police backed ASDA’s stance over the selfish abuse of disabled parking spaces.

In a move that was welcomed by disability groups ASDA recently started fining drivers who park in disabled and parent and child spaces when they shouldn't £60.

Helen Smith, director of policy and campaigns of National disabled charity, Mobilise said: "We fully support ASDA's decision to fine people abusing parking bays. Since 2002, our organisation has been putting pressure on supermarkets to tackle this problem, so I am glad they have decided to deal with it head-on. Not being able to park in a disabled bay means some disabled people will not be able to do their shopping. We sincerely hope other supermarkets follow ASDA's lead."

Local MP Paul Rowen also praised the ASDA initiative at the time of its announcement saying: "Selfish drivers who park in these spaces do not realise the misery they can cause. Some of our most vulnerable simply rely on them to do their shopping.

"I hope that other major supermarkets can look at the example of ASDA and take firm action against those who can’t be bothered to tow the line.

Asked by Rochdale Online for his response to the poor example being set by the driver of the police van, Mr Rowen unequivocally condemned Greater Manchester Police.

Mr Rowen, who recently wrote an Early Day Motion supporting disabled people, said: “I have long campaigned against the misuse of disabled parking spaces and I am stunned at these photos. The police should be setting an example and I hope that the police carry out an investigation into the officer responsible and give him a firm warning. I would further hope that ASDA look to fine Greater Manchester Police the £60 fixed penalty.”

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "All GMP officers are advised with regard to their responsibilities when parking their vehicle and they should keep this in mind at all times.

"GMP is currently examining the circumstances surrounding the photographs, in order to establish whether the police van that was parked at Asda was responding to an emergency incident.

"It is not acceptable for police vehicles to park in disabled bays generally and if it is found that officers were not responding to an emergency call then appropriate action will be taken."

Mr Rowen's Early Day Motion

That this House recognises that parents of young children and disabled people gain tremendous benefit from more generously sized parking bays; disapproves of the selfish use of these special parking bays by people who do not need them; congratulates ASDA on its plans to charge drivers parking at its stores if they wrongly park in a space reserved for parents with young children or disabled people; welcomes the fact that all profits generated from the charges will go to baby charity Tommy's and Motability, the national disability charity providing the leading car scheme for disabled people; further notes that the trial in North West England saw the number of available parking spots in the disabled and parent section rise by up to 60 per cent.; encourages other supermarkets to follow suit; and suggests that supermarkets consider making parking bays in future developments larger to benefit all their customers.

By RUTH EGLASH
The Jerusalem Post

Thousands of people with physical, mental or emotional disabilities not officially classified as such feel a high level of isolation within Israeli society, according to a first-of-its-kind study published this week.

Some 16.7 percent of disabled Israelis, or roughly 50,000 people, are significantly disabled but either do not meet government criteria or simply chose not to apply for state benefits, according to the study, conducted by the University of Haifa's Prof. Arie Rimmerman, an expert in disability research and civil and social participation.

He holds the Richard Crossman Chair for Social Welfare and Planning at the university.

The researchers interviewed a representative sample of some 600 people with disabilities and 600 without,

"This was a big surprise for us," Rimmerman told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, adding that in the US the rate of non-recognized disabled was 12%.

"This group has a higher participation in society than those who are recognized as disabled but they are much less involved socially than the general public," he said.

The study also found that almost one-third of Israel's non-recognized disabled said they had not had any social visits in the last month and a large proportion felt like outsiders in society. Sixty percent are single and 40% do not work.

"We always knew that compared to the rest of the Western world, Israel was less tolerant of the disabled, but this study really draws that out," Rimmerman said. "Not only are they not considered disabled and not entitled to any benefits, but they are also isolated by the rest of society."

Part of the problem was that the "threshold for [determining] disabilities is quite high," he said.

More than 250,000 people collected disability benefits either from the National Insurance Institute, the IDF or another official body last year. Together with the unrecognized disabled, the number of Israelis with disabilities could total more than 300,000.

Asked why some people chose not to claim benefits even if they might fit the criteria, Rimmerman said this might be because the amounts were "so low."

"Some of these people who do not claim benefits probably do fulfill the criteria but to apply and go through such a tortuous system to determine their disability levels for [roughly] NIS 2,000 a month is not worth it for them," he said.

The study, which initially questioned 13,000 Israelis, was funded by the National Insurance Institute (70%) and the Richard Crossman Chair (30%). It will be officially released next week at the second annual Haifa University Conference on Social Responsibility.