Equal opportunities

The Medway Disability Equality Scheme aims to promote equality and remove barriers for all disabled people.

The scheme is the council’s response to the duties on disability equality which came into force on 4 December 2006. The duty makes it clear that disabled people should have equality of opportunity and choices to improve the quality of their lives.

The council has a key part to play, as it fulfils many roles in society as:

• a service provider,
• an employer,
• a purchaser,
• a regulator,
• a community leader.

Medway’s vision for disability equality

The council wants disabled people to be able and empowered to live independently. To deliver this aim, it will:

• promote equality, so that disabled people who live or work in Medway can enjoy their human rights free from discrimination;
• identify and challenge discrimination against disabled people;
• provide accessible services for Medway residents;
• embrace diversity and work towards making its workforce reflect the diverse population of Medway;
• involve disabled people and their carers in planning, delivering, reviewing and monitoring their services;
• move beyond consultation to participation, involvement and full engagement with disabled people.

Medway Council is committed to using the social model of disability, which is explained in appendix three of the Scheme. It believes that the various barriers that people with impairments face are the real cause of disability - not impairment itself. Barriers may be caused by the physical environment, by inflexible or inappropriate services or by attitudes.

Services that are effective for disabled people are more likely to be effective for all users. However, equality of opportunity cannot be achieved simply by treating everyone alike. The council is committed to putting the customer at the heart of everything it does – one of its strategic priorities. The Disability Equality Scheme is consistent with that aim – the council will ensure it is sensitive to the access requirements of disabled people and designs its services and employment practices to respond to those needs. Delivering disability equality within Medway is central to the council and partner agencies achieving its vision of Medway – a city of learning, culture, tourism and enterprise.

The Disability Equality Scheme (pdf 1,145KB) sets out the legal context for the development of the scheme and describes what the council currently knows about the incidence of disability issues and impairments in Medway.

The Scheme gives an overview on how the council is working now to meet the needs of disabled people and carers and the important results of recent consultation work with disabled people to find out how it can improve their choices, quality of service and participation in society most effectively. It also outlines how the council will promote equality for disabled people.

The Annual Review of the Disability Equality Scheme 2007 (pdf 139KB) outlines what progress has been made against the targets set in the Disability Equality Scheme 2006.

To use these files, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have it on your computer, please use our advice page.

^ (back to top)