[access-uk] Re: Charity for blind hits out at Bromley council
- From: <Clive.Lever@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:37:49 -0000
Yes...but remember that Kent Association for the Blind operates
differently from most other local societies. They have the local
society roles, but are also the contractors who carry out the functions
that in most other parts of the country are provided by your Social
Services department. Kent County Council funds Kent Association for the
Blind to do all the rehab work, the mobility training, and so on. The
penfriend and colour detector probably came out of that budget, as would
the funding of long canes, and so on. So, we're probably not comparing
apples with apples here.
Best,
Clive
Clive Lever
Diversity Advisor
01622 221163 (extension 7000 1163) Room 1.15, Sessions House, County
Hall, Maidstone, ME14 1XQ.
Diversity is a strength and we will value and harness difference for the
benefit of all service users, the individual and KCC.
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Tom
Sent: 11 January 2011 15:35
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Charity for blind hits out at Bromley council
Hi Clive,
Are you telling me that you got both a Pen Friend and a Colour Detector
free from your local Blind Society? Sheesh mine doesn't even have the
decency to reply to my emails.
It all went to hell when they went private, so if you get a whiff of
your local society wanting to go the same way, fight it.
Tom.
----- Original Message -----
From: <Clive.Lever@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 2:15 PM
Subject: [access-uk] tRE: Re: Charity for blind hits out at Bromley
council (From News Shopper)
> ...or tune in to BBC1 on Saturday nights to see if people in your area
> have won the post code lottery. It could be you!
>
> The serious point there is that in December Kent Association for the
> Blind (see news article) provided me with both a penfriend labeller
> and a talking colour detector. Had I been living in Bromley, I'd have
> had to fund it myself. Fine for me, but it could mean a lot of V I
> people on low incomes not being able to afford to get equipment we are
> lucky enough to own and discuss on this list.
>
> Best,
> Clive
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Clive Lever
> Diversity Advisor
> 01622 221163 (extension 7000 1163) Room 1.15, Sessions House, County
> Hall, Maidstone, ME14 1XQ.
> Diversity is a strength and we will value and harness difference for
> the benefit of all service users, the individual and KCC.
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf Of Ankers, Dave (UK)
> Sent: 11 January 2011 14:02
> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Charity for blind hits out at Bromley council
> (From News Shopper)
>
> Clive,
>
> We will have to order our equipment through Robin Hood and his
> feckless band of men.
>
> Cheers
>
> Dave
>
> The implication is that if others tackle spending the way Bromley do,
> we could all find it harder to get access to equipment that we
> regularly discuss on here.
>
> Best,
> Clive
>
>
>
>
>
> Clive Lever
> Diversity Advisor
> 01622 221163 (extension 7000 1163) Room 1.15, Sessions House, County
> Hall, Maidstone, ME14 1XQ.
> Diversity is a strength and we will value and harness difference for
> the benefit of all service users, the individual and KCC.
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf Of Ankers, Dave (UK)
> Sent: 11 January 2011 12:00
> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Charity for blind hits out at Bromley council
> (From News Shopper)
>
> Clive,
>
> Is this really the forum for a political debate?
>
> As much as I like politics, and as someone who is being directly
> affected by current decision making, this isn't the place to discuss
it.
>
> Cheers
>
> Dave
>
> Hi all,
>
> I was at a conference on digital inclusion in December for B C A B.
> The Cabinet office were bigging up the Big Society. The charities were
> dubbing it: "Big society, little money!" For those of you who know
> the term, the approach of sloping the responsibility off onto the
> charities could put progress on adopting the principles of the social
model of
> disability back a decade or two. This is the model where we get away
> from the idea of disabled people as passive recipients of care and
> charity, and move towards empowerment of disabled people to control
> their own lives and to be viewed as independent citizens.
>
> Best,
> Clive
>
>
>
>
>
> Clive Lever
> Diversity Advisor
> 01622 221163 (extension 7000 1163) Room 1.15, Sessions House, County
> Hall, Maidstone, ME14 1XQ.
> Diversity is a strength and we will value and harness difference for
> the benefit of all service users, the individual and KCC.
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf Of John G
> Sent: 11 January 2011 10:37
> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Charity for blind hits out at Bromley council
> (From News Shopper)
>
> the idea being that government funding is replaced by donations from
> fellow citizens, probably the same people who can't afford to pay off
> their utility bills.
> big society, big con more like.
> At 10:21 11/01/2011, you wrote:
>>What's this got to do with the "Big Society"?
>>
>>Regards
>>
>>Dave Ankers
>>
>>Here we go then, the big society - my arse!
>>
>>
>> Site Logo<http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/resources/images/1000734/>
>>
>>
>>Charity for blind hits out at Bromley council
>>
>>
>>1:18pm Monday 10th January 2011
>>
>>By David Mills
>>
>>A CHARITY which represents the blind and visually impaired has hit out
>>at Bromley Council <http://www.bromley.gov.uk/Default.bromley> for
>>temporarily suspending equipment provision.
>>
>>Services which include the talking books, as well as equipment such as
>>walking canes and liquid level indicators, are all under review by the
>>council.
>>
>>Kent Association for the Blind (KAB), which has a sight centre in
>>Blyth
>
>>Road, Bromley, will be pressuring the council to continue providing
>>funding.
>>
>>Dick Groves, aged 65, of South View, Bromley, said: "Visual impairment
>>is the most feared of all sensory impairments. Provision in Bromley is
>>extremely patchy."
>>
>>Mr Groves, who is blind, said: "This is a classic example of the way
>>in
>
>>which action has been taken without consultation and without
> information
>>being given to one of the weakest sections of society and least able
>>to
>
>>respond."
>>
>> Kent Association for the Blind's Bromley
>>branch<http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/resources/images/1536532/>
>>
>>A KAB spokesman said: "We are currently in contact with our service
>>users to explain the service has been temporarily suspended by the
>>London borough of Bromley.
>>
>>"We are sharing other providers of these services such as the Calibre
>>audio library, a completely free service, to ensure users are not
>>going
>
>>to go without talking books.
>>
>>"We at KAB are going to be making representations to the council to
>>press the case that it would be more cost effective to continue to
>>fund
>
>>provision because we believe withdrawing that service represents a
>>real
>
>>risk to people's safety and their ability to get out and about.
>>
>>"The costs that could be generated by injury would far outweigh the
> cost
>>to the council of providing equipment."
>>
>>A council spokesman said: "We have a strong commitment to providing
>>talking books in our libraries with no plans to cut the service and we
>>will continue to make special concessions to waive charges to people
>>with a registered visual impairment.
>>
>>"We have however moved from cassettes to CDs and downloadable material
>>over the years but we still keep a large collection of older cassettes
>>in our Home Library Service, which supports customers who are
> physically
>>unable to get into a branch.
>>
>>"There are also free national talking book service and as well as our
>>library service we will be assisting people to access the talking
>>books
>
>>from the national Calibre service together with the equipment provided
>>by the British Wireless for the Blind Fund.
>>
>>"To make sure we make the best use of our resource we wanted to avoid
>>duplication and whilst we no longer fund the KAB talking books
>>service,
>
>>KAB is pointing people to our library and to these free services.
>>
>>"In terms of equipment supplied by the KAB on our behalf such as
>>portable lamps, talking clocks and mobility aids, again we want to
>>make
>
>>sure we use resources as efficiently as possible and have suspended
> this
>>KAB while we carry out a review.
>>
>>"However we do continue to fund KAB to provide assessment and
>>rehabilitation services for people with visual impairments."
>>
>>Back <javascript:history.go(-1);>
>>
>>(c) Copyright 2001-2011 Newsquest Media Group
>>
>>http://www.newsshopper.co.uk
>>
>>
>>
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