1. Introduction
1.1 We need to carry out actions, in line with Section 49A of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 (as amended by the Disability Discrimination (NI) Order 2006), to:
- promote positive attitudes towards disabled people; and
- encourage disabled people to take part in public life.
Under Section 49B of the DDA 1995, we need to submit a Disability Action Plan to the Equality Commission, showing how we are going to fulfil these duties relating to our functions.
1.2 We are committed to fulfilling these disability duties in all parts of our organisation and have set out how we intend to do this in our Disability Action Plan.
We will give all necessary resources (in terms of people, time and money) to effectively implement this plan and where suitable, build objectives and targets relating to the disability duties into corporate and annual operating plans.
We will also put the right internal arrangements in place to make sure the disability duties are complied with, and we implement this Disability Action Plan successfully. We will make sure our plan is communicated well to staff and provide all necessary training and guidance for staff on the disability duties and the implementation of the plan.
We confirm our commitment to submitting an annual report to the Equality Commission when we implement this plan, as well as carrying out a three-yearly review of this plan.
We are committed to consulting with people with disabilities when implementing and reviewing our disability plans.
1.3 We will undertake a planned programme of communication and training on the disability duties for all staff and councillors. This training will coincide with our induction training, refresher training and councillor training on disability. We have evidence of training timescales in the plan.
Our Equality and Diversity Unit are responsible for implementing, reviewing and evaluating the plan. You can contact them at:
Equality and Diversity Unit
Address: Room 117, City Hall, Belfast, BT1 5GS
Phone number: (028) 9032 0202
Email: [email protected]
SignVideo
1.4 We confirm our commitment to submitting an annual progress report on the implementation of this plan to the Equality Commission and carrying out a three-year review of this plan, or plans submitted to the Equality Commission over the three-year review period.
We will publish annual updates on our website.
