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What does the States Champion do?
The election for States Champion for Disabled People will take place on Friday 1st June 2012.
This is what the Champion does:
- Listens to the concerns of disabled islanders, their familes and the charities and professionals who support them.
- Guides people towards the help that is available.
- Looks at any changes the States plan to make from a disabled person’s point of view.
- Makes speeches about disabled people’s issues in States meetings.
- Encourages other States members to learn more about disabled people and their concerns.
- Raises awareness in the media of the barriers disabled people face.
- Helps develop and put into action the States’ Disability Strategy to improve support for disabled people.
If you are a disabled islander, a close family member or you work with or support disabled islanders in some way, find out how to vote here.
To hear a GDA interview on BBC Guernsey about the election, go to 25 mins in here.
Announcement of candidates for States Champion
The election of States Champion for Disabled People will take place by postal vote on Friday June 1st. Nominations for the role closed on Tuesday at 5pm.
The States’ Champion listens to disabled islanders and speaks on their behalf in the Assembly. It is an official States role, ratified by the Social Policy Group of the Policy Council. To find out more about what the Champion does, click here.
The three candidates are (in alphabetical order):
Deputy John Gollop, proposed by Jennifer Smith and Karen Garnham
Deputy Lester Queripel, proposed by John Buchanan and Richard Cochrane
Deputy Arrun Wilkie, proposed by Debbie Aldous and Barry Brehaut.
Voting is open to all disabled islanders, their close family members, staff and volunteers of disability charities, and health and social care professionals.
The term “disabled islanders” refers to a wide range of people including people with restricted mobility, sight or hearing impairment, mental health conditions, learning or communication difficulties or long-term illness.
To apply for a postal vote, potential voters are asked to send their name and address to info@disabilityalliance.org.gg or to call 07781 467316 or to register in person at the Health Information Exchange office in the foyer of the new block at the PEH. All details are on the Guernsey Disability Alliance website (www.disabilityalliance.org.gg or google “Guernsey Disability Alliance”) and the GDA phone number is in the phonebook.
The election is being organised by the Guernsey Disability Alliance, at the request of States Disability Strategy Steering Group. However, voting is open to everyone, not just people who are part of the GDA or one of its 34 member charities.
Shelaine Green, Chair of the GDA, said:
“Jane Stephens really proved the effectiveness of having a champion for disabled people in the last States. She set up monthly surgeries where disabled islanders and the people who support them could raise their concerns, led a successful amendment to ensure increases in benefits were applied fairly and was a driving force behind the Disability and Inclusion Strategy that will come to the States for debate later this year.
“From meeting deputies at our Speed Hustings and our AGM, we know that there is widespread support for improving life for disabled people within the new States, but it is still important to have a specific champion as the focal point for change. We are delighted that three deputies have stepped forward to be considered for the role and we look forward to reading their manifestos and questioning them at the hustings”.
The hustings will take place on Tuesday May 29th at 7pm at Les Cotils (note: revised date, was May 28th). Each candidate will be interviewed separately by the audience.
Your chance to elect Disability Champion
The search is on for a new States Champion for Disabled People. And your vote could make the difference. To find out the names of the candidates click here.
All disabled islanders, close family members, staff/volunteers from disability charities and health/social care/education professionals working with disabled people are encouraged to take part. People with all types of impairment are included – restricted mobility, visual and hearing impairment, learning difficulty, mental health problem or long term illness.
The States Champion is a deputy who agrees to be the focal point for disabled people’s issues within the States. He/she will be a central point of contact for disabled islanders who need help in dealing with States Departments. He/she will also speak in the States about disabled islanders’ issues.
You can register to vote by emailing your name and address to info@disabilityalliance.org.gg. You must register by the end of May 29th latest. We will send you a voting pack and you must return your vote by 1st June.
If you want to find out more about the deputies who are standing for the position, you will be sent a copy of their manifestos with your voting pack. If you’d like to meet them in person, there will be a Hustings at Les Cotils on Tuesday 29th May at 7pm (Note: new date, was 28th May).
For full details of the voting process, click here.
Please note that you do not have to be a member of the Guernsey Disability Alliance or any of its member charities. However you must be at least 16 years old on Weds 30th May 2012.
24 deputies, including new Chief Minister, at GDA AGM
The 4th AGM of the Guernsey Disability Alliance took place on Weds 2nd May.
Picture if you will…
- A packed Cambridge Room at Beau Sejour – about 100 people
- Familiar GDA faces, plus lots of new ones.
- 24 deputies in total (half the Assembly!)
- No air con (thanks Beau Sejour…)
- Storming round of applause for Jane Stephens.
- More applause as Jenny Hooper voted Vice-Chair and Simon De La Mare, Treasurer.
- Unanimous approval for Rob Platt’s proposal to move to Company Limited By Guarantee.
- Surprise guest speaker – Chief Minister, Deputy Peter Harwood, praises GDA as ‘model to follow’. (His first official appointment.)
- Emilie Yerby, Disability Officer, paints a truly inspirational picture of future for disabled islanders.
- Damp eyes around the room for Jenny’s poignant vote of thanks.
- A rush to sign-up to register to vote for new Champion.
- Huge buzz of conversation as everyone stays on to chat over a sandwich (despite the heat).
To give you a flavour…
- Page 2 lead in Thursday’s Guernsey Press (great pic)
- Page 4 in Friday’s Guernsey Press (not so great pic!)
- BBC Guernsey (Kay Langlois) at 1:06:40.
Here’s what the deputies had to say…
- Deputy Mike Hadley (South-East):
‘Last night was an amazing evening. It’s incredible what the GDA has achieved over the last four years’ - Deputy Rob Jones (Castel):
‘Congratulations to you all for a job well done, this is just the beginning’.
Visit the GDA on Facebook
The GDA now has a Facebook page. Search for Guernsey Disability Alliance and be part of our online interaction!
GDA member Richard Cochrane interviewed by BBC
In September Richard Cochrane gave BBC Guernsey reporter Fay Tabel a powerful, yet balanced insight into the difficulties disabled islanders face when getting around Town and into shops.
Even though it was radio, you could tell just by Richard’s voice how much effort he was having to put in to getting his wheelchair over various barriers – mostly by hanging on to railings and lampposts!
Unfortunately you can only “Listen Again” to BBC Guernsey for seven days after the original broadcast, so Richard’s interview isn’t available any more. But if you join the GDA, you’ll be alerted by email as soon as interesting stuff like this happens so you can tune in straight away.
Just go to the Contact Us page on this website and send a mail saying you would like to join the GDA. Or call Orla on 07781 467316.
2020 Vision gets unanimous support in the States
Deputies today voted unanimously in favour of HSSD’s 2020 Vision.
Deputy Jane Stephens emphasised that it would require a change of attitude for the vision to become a reality and several other members, including the Health Minister, picked up on this point in their speeches. The Chief Minister said that taxes would have to rise to cope with the rising number of older people.
Whilst there was some picking at the details, all of the deputies who spoke agreed it was a well written report about a very important issue.
Now that the States have voted it through, the next stage is the consultation process later in the year. Everyone will be encouraged to contribute their views in order to help build a Health and Social Care system for Guernsey fit for the 21st Century.
Write to Shelaine using our Contact Us page if you want to be kept updated about the consultation process.
A glimpse of the future with 2020 Vision
As Peter Porter said of HSSD’s 2020 Vision in Business Brief magazine this month “Once in a while, something comes along that almost restores your faith in government”.
GDA members were inclined to agree and, having been critical of HSSD actions in the past, we felt that it was important that we showed our support for this big step forward.
As a result of our media release below, we were quoted in the Guernsey Press and interviewed on BBC Guernsey. Here’s what we said:
“Members of the Guernsey Disability Alliance welcome the Future 2020 Vision published in the May Billet and congratulate HSSD on the depth of thought and work that has gone into it.
“The 2020 Vision has the needs of disabled islanders at its core. Issues that are directly relevant to our members make up at least seven of the eighteen ‘key factors’ listed in the report. Currently, disabled islanders and their families can feel like outsiders, forced to expend much-needed energy fighting for the support they need. They feel on the periphery of a system that was built without them, a system that was, until now, seemingly set in stone. Sometimes a service simply doesn’t exist, like short respite breaks for people with a severe mental illness. Sometimes there is a service, but it is heavily oversubscribed, as is the case with speech and language therapy or help to gain employment.
“Yet supporting disabled islanders to have a reasonable quality of life needn’t cost more money. As the report says, it’s a matter of the efficient use of the various forms of existing funding. Importantly for us, HSSD’s Vision includes prioritising resources by a careful assessment of actual need, rather than historical precedent. We are realists, however, and appreciate that there is a big difference between writing down a vision and actually achieving it.
“To build a new health and social care system for Guernsey in the 21st Century, States members will need to make tough decisions and civil servants will have to manage complex changes. Guernsey Disability Alliance members are keen to give our full support to the process, starting with the public consultation”.
Guernsey fails to make the top 75
There was a interesting interview on Jenny Kendall Tobias’s show on Radio Guernsey this morning (April 20th) with a lady from Motability in the UK in response to the fact that Guernsey has NOT been included in their recent guide to the 75 top family accessible days out.
After the interview, Jenny read out a statement from the Policy Council saying that they are considering creating a broader guide to access, including “places of employment and retail outlets”, to sit alongside the Visit Guernsey Access Guide currently provided by the Tourist Information Office.
There was also mention of the access information provided by Beau Sejour.
New ramp proposed for Town Square
Yesterday (April 4th 2011) the St Peter Port Douzaine announced that they were awaiting Environment approval for a revised scheme to create a ramp instead on steps at the corner of the Town Church by the Albion pub.
Headway member and wheelchair user Sarah Whitchurch was interviewed on both Radio Guernsey and BBC Channel Islands News, explaining the difference a ramp would make to her ability to get around St Peter Port. She said that if she is on her own she cannot get up the steep hill to the Fountain St side of the church so she has to go all the way along the front to the Thomas de la Rue to access the High St. She can’t use the lane alongside Le Lievres because the pavements are too narrow.
Thanks and congratulations to Sarah – doing a live broadcast at 7.30 in the morning would be a challenge for the most seasoned media professional but she had no trouble getting her message across!
You can follow the progress of the ramp application through the planning process here.