acp-kp.info COUNCIL OF DISA… · Web viewMunicipal council of disability – The good praxis ....

THE COUNCIL OF DISABILITY THE GOOD PRAXIS

2

Purpose and responsibility of the council of disability

Municipal council of disability – The good praxis

Municipal Council of Disability – The good praxis

©KL – Disabled People’s Organisations Denmark

1. version, 1. Edition 2018

Production: KL’s printing

Design: e-Types

Photo: Colour box

Danish Handicap Organizations

Blekinge Boulevard 2

2630 Taastrup

Phone +45 3675 1777

[email protected]

www.handicap.dk

KL

Weldekampsgade 10

2300 Copenhagen S

Phone +45 3370 3370

[email protected]

www.kl.dk

Production no. 830289

Content


3

Table of contents

1. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………..

5

2. THE COUNCIL OF DISABILITY’S PURPOSE AND RESPONSIBILITY ...

6

THE PURPOSE OF THE COUNCIL OF DISABILITY ……………………………….

6

MUNICIPAL DISABILITY POLICY ………………………………………………………..

6

WHAT CONCERNS THE COUNCIL OF DISABILITY? …………………………….

7

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY ARE DIFFERENT ……………………………………….

8

3. THE COUNCIL OF DISABILITY’S COMPOSITION …………………………..

9

THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL …………………………………………………….

9

ROLES IN THE COUNCIL ……………………………………………………………………

10

DEPUTY ……………………………………………………………………………………………

10

SECRETARIAT …………………………………………………………………………………..

11

4. COOPERATION SURFACES OF THE COUNCIL OF DISABILITY ……….

12

INTERNAL COOPERATION OF THE COUNCIL …………………………………….

12

DISAGREEMENT IN THE COUNCIL ……………………………………………………

12

COOPERATION WITH THE ADMINISTRATION

AND THE POLITICAL COMITEE …………………………………………………………

13

VISIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION IN OTHER

EVENTS ……………………………………………………………………………………………

13

INTER MUNICIPAL EXCHANGE OF EF EXPERIENCES

AND DIALOG ……………………………………………………………………………………

14

4

Content


5. THE COUNCIL OF DISABILITY’S TASKS……………………………………………….

15

THE COUNCIL OF DISABILITY’S TASKS…………………….…………………………………

15

MEETINGS…………………………………………………………….……………………………….…

16

AGENDAS……………………………………………………………….………………………………..

17

PREPARATION OF AGENDA MATERIAL…………………………………………………….

18

CONSULTATION IN THE COUNCIL……………………………………………………………

18

CONSULTATION OF USER AND DISABLED PEOPLE’S ORGANISATIONS ……

19

6. FORMAL FRAMES FOR THE COUNCIL OF DISABILITY’S WORK……………

20

STATUTE………………………………………………………………………………………………….

20

RULES OF PROCEDURE………………………………………………….…………………………

20

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS……………………………….…………………………………………

20

CONTACT………………………………………………………………………………..…………..

21

KL AND DPOD…………………………………………………..………………………………………

21

8. READ MORE…………………………………………………………………..………………..

22

Introduction


5

1. INTRODUCTION

All the country’s 98 municipalities have a duty to establish a council of disability. The municipal Council of Disability’s primary objective to contribute to several people with disability achieving equal opportunities and can live a life on equal terms with other citizens in the municipality.

Member of the council of disability are appointed every fourth year after a municipal vote. In most municipalities there is a good cooperation in the field of disability, and there are good cooperation relations between the council, the municipal board and the managements. With this booklet, the Municipalities’ National Association (KL) and Danish Handicap Organizations (DPOD) want to further support and strengthen the councils of disability’s work.

The booklet addresses both members of the councils of disability and to politicians and employees in the municipalities, who should cooperate with the councils of disability. The booklet puts focus on several subjects, which are relevant for the council of disability’s work including the council’s purpose and areas of responsibility, the council’s composition, cooperation, specific tasks and the formal frames around the council.

The booklet also gives inspiration to handle some of these challenges, which may arise in connection with council of disability’s work and specific proposals for how the council can contribute positively to municipal initiatives and decisions, which concerns citizens with disability.

The booklet has been prepared in cooperation between KL and DPOD and with involvement of members from chosen municipal council and The Central council of disability.

We hope that the booklet will give both guidance and inspiration to the daily work in the council of disability!

Have fun reading!

6

The council of disability’s purpose and responsibility


2. THE COUNCIL OF DISABILITY’S

PURPOSE AND RESPONSIBILITY

The purpose of the council of disability

The 98-municipal council of disability work locally and in all policy fields to create equal opportunities and term for citizens with disability.

The council of disability should advice the municipal board in disability political questions and convey views between citizens and the municipal board about local political conditions, which concerns people with disability. The council has no independent power to make decisions on approaches, which the municipality must implement, and the municipal board is not required to follow the comments and opinions that come from the council. The council has thus exclusively an advisor function in relation to the municipal board.

The council of disability should deal with general and overall cases, which concerns disability policy issues across of all task- and policy fields in the municipality. This means that the municipality board must consult the council about all initiatives and circumstances, which has importance for citizens with disability.

For the municipalities there are many advantages by actively using and involving the local council of disability. In the council of disability, the municipal board has for example a good forum for dialog and sparring with representatives for the municipality’s citizens with disability. The representatives have a broad support base, and they can contribute with big knowledge about and experience with which initiatives that can promote equal opportunities for citizens with disability in the municipality. The council can also become a good strategic player in the solution of municipal development tasks.

By incorporating the council of disability, the municipal board can in many cases also avoid inappropriate solutions in relation to for example construction, traffic, communication, general service solutions etc., which must then be adapted or changed, so the solutions become available for citizens with disability. It is appropriate to secure from the start of the council’s work that all council’s members know to and agree on purpose of the council.

Municipal disability policy

Several municipalities have adopted a disability policy. An adopted disability policy can be a good work tool with the council of disability. In addition to be a document, which the council may receive support in consultations, the council can use the policy as inspiration to take subjects up, which is in focus in the policy. The council can also actively contribute to following on the plans of actions, which is adopted for the implementation of the disability policy, also implemented.

Prior to the municipalities’ adoption or revision of a disability policy, it is a good idea to implement a process, where different stakeholders are involved in policy preparation. It is not the council of disability, which has responsibility to prepare the municipal disability policy, but it recommends that the council of disability plays a central role in

development, implementation and evaluation of the disability policy, and that the council is regularly and consulted in the process.

It is the municipal board that overall has the responsibility to develop and implement the municipality’s disability policy, including the responsibility of the necessary resources for implementation to be set aside. The council of disability can contribute that the disability policy is translated into active action in all parts of the municipality.

What concerns the council of disability?

With the municipal reform in 2007 the municipalities became bigger and more sustainable and gained a solid fundament to lift more tasks. At the same time the municipalities got with the reform a bigger or more coherent responsibility for the citizen-focused public tasks. The municipalities have thus also gotten a great responsibility in the disability area.

One of the basic disability political principles is the sector responsibility principle. The sector responsibility principle means that all parts of the public sector is responsible that their services are or made available for people with disability. The effort in relation to citizens with disability are thus not only a task for the social administration. It is a task, which goes across all the municipality’s areas of operation, such as housing construction, traffic solutions, the labour market, education, culture, leisure activities, health etc.

Thus, the council of disability must be heard in cases from all sectors and policy areas in the municipality that have importance for people with disability. Some areas will naturally fill more than others, but the council of disability’s perspective and voice can be relevant in relation to all municipal areas of task. The council must however not go into individual cases, including personal cases, or case handling.



7

The sectoral responsibility principle is closely linked to the principle of mainstreaming. The disability policy mainstreaming means that the aspect of disability is incorporated from the beginning and in all cases of initiatives, cases, activities etc., which is initiated in various sectors of the municipality.

The municipalities’ overall task portfolio comprises the following areas:1

· The social field: The overall financing, supply and authority responsibility

· Childcare

· The public school includes special education and special pedagogue assistance for young children.

· Special education for adults

· Elderly care

· Health (prevention, care and retraining that does not happen during hospitalization, treatment of alcohol and drug abuse, nursing at home, dental care and social psychiatry)

· Activation and employment projects for insured and non-insured unemployed

· Integration effort and language education of the immigrants

· Citizenship on the tax and the recovery field in cooperation with the State tax centers

· Supply enterprise and rescue service

· Natur, environment and planning

· Local business services and tourist promotion

· Participation in regional transport companies

· The local road networks

· Libraries, music schools, local sport facilities and other cultural areas

1) Source: Ministry of Finance: Task for municipalities and regions

8



People with disability are different

It is not known exactly, where many people with disability, who are in Denmark. No registrations of persons are mad after disability, and different studies come to different results according to which collection method and definition of disability, which is used.

People with disability include persons, who has a long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory functional impairment, which in cooperation with different barriers can prevent them in full and effective to participate in the life of community on equal footing with others.

Article 1 in UN’s convention about rights for people with disability

VIVE – The National Research and Analysis center for Welfare estimates that approx. 31 percent of the Danish population in the age-group 16-64-years-old live with a physical or mental self-assessed disability in 2016.2 This number covers people wide different types and degrees of functional impairments – and the council of disability represents them all.

People with disability are just as different as everyone else, and do not have same interests, challenges or need. When the council of disability discusses a subject, issue consultation response, speak publicly etc., it is therefore an important basis for the council’s members to maintain a holistic view and remember that the council handles all issues of importance for people with disability across the municipality’s sectors.

Representatives in the council

The main part of the disability representatives in the council set by Disabled People’s Organisations Denmark (DPOD). DPOD strives for that the nominated member as far as possible represent the four overall disability types:

· Movement disability; sclerosis, arthritis, muscular dystrophy, spasticity, Parkinson etc.

· Mental disability; learning disabilities, mental disorder, ADHD etc.

· Communication disability; vision disability, hearing disability, dyslexia, brain damage etc.

· Lasting medical treatment; asthma/allergy, ostomy medical treatment, diabetes etc.

It is a good idea that the council consultation response and similar describes and nuances the different disability policy interests, which a case can contain – for example different disability groups’ needs in relation to availability, types of information material, organization of social services and so on. This you avoid by emphasizing the one group’s need rather than the others, or that a smaller group’s interests are “overturned” by the majority.

There may be a big difference on how you best involve different disability groups in a dialog or consultation process. When the municipality involves disability or user organizations directly, for example in connection with specific projects, the council of disability therefore has a central role in relation to conveying the various interests and needs, which citizens with disability has, and how the different groupings are most appropriately involved.

2) Source: Report “People with disability – Everyday life and living conditions 2016”. VIVE, November 2017

The council of disability’s composition


9


COMPOSITION

Members of the council

The Council of disability consists of 3-7 members from Disabled people’s organisations in the municipality, who are appointed by DPOD, and 3-7 municipal members, who are appointed upon recommendation from the municipal board, where a number of them are members of municipal boards. There must be an equal number of representatives from respectively Disabled people’s organisations and municipality.

The municipality can decide that other disability groupings in the municipality than DPOD should represent in the council. It should be a grouping, which consists of citizens with disability and possibly their relatives. It can for example be local disability sports associations, parent associations or similar. It cannot be associations, which widely represents vulnerable groups (e.g. homeless, voluntary fora, early retirees).

Member appointed on recommendation from the municipal board can both be politicians from the municipal board, civil servants or employees in independent institutions, which has an operating agreement or similar with the municipality. The municipal board cannot appoint local politicians, who are not elected to the municipal board. Most municipalities choose to both appoint civil servants and members of municipal board to the council.

All members of the council of disability are appointed for a four year period. The members operate, until there are recommended or appointed new members. This means that the members as a starting point participates in the council in the whole four year period. It is however possible for DPOD to change an option during the period, so that another is set and appointed. This can for example be considered, if a member leaves the municipality or the local composition of organizations under DPOD is changed, because a significant organization either leaver or become admitted into DPOD. DPOD cannot change an appointment to the council of disability solely because of dissatisfaction with a member’s participation in the council.

It may occur that a member of the council of disability wishes to resign from the council before time. In this event the designated deputy steps in (see page 10). Then a new deputy shall be appointed with appointment from respectively the municipal board or DPOD.

Gender equality

From the Equal opportunities act it appears that the organizations, in this case DPOD or other disability groups should nominate members to the municipal board, must suggest both a woman and a man. If there is proposed for more members, there must be suggested equal amount of women and men. There is in the legislation no requirement that the members that the municipal board appoints should achieve the equality requirement. However, most municipalities have a Gender equality policy, which means that the municipalities also in own ranks tries to meet an equal gender distribution.

10



Roles in the council

Members of the council have different basis for sitting in the council, depending on whether they are disability representatives or appointed by the municipal board. It is a natural part of the council’s work, which the parties must respect and find a way to handle constructively – knowing that it at the same time can be the council’s greatest challenge!

It is therefore recommended that the council of disability prepares a set of game rules for how the council cooperates, and how the different roles in the council should play together. When expectations are in tune and respected, there is a better basis for the further cooperation.

Disability representatives

Members who are disability representatives often know, where “the shoe presses” with the citizens that the municipality’s disability political initiatives affect – e.g. when it comes to traffic reorganised, establishment of new services for children and youth with disability etc. In addition they have a special knowledge about those disability groups, the members each belong to/represent.

At the same time the disability representatives must be aware, that they do not sit in the council as an individual, but represents all citizens with different disability and diverse needs.

Politicians

Representatives from the municipal board often have a more general focus on the municipality’s total task solution and economy. It is important that there are politicians represented in the council, because they can promote the political ownership to the council’s tasks and decisions. It can also strengthen the council’s contact to the political decision makers, which in the end are those, who decide on councils’ proposals and consultation response and take the final decisions.

Members in the council, who are representatives from the municipal board, can however experience to get into a loyalty conflict between the council and the municipal board, for example in relation to the municipality’s need for economic and political priority.

Civil Servants

In some municipalities have the municipal board also chosen to appoint civil servants or other municipal employees to sit in the council of disability. There are both advantages and disadvantages of appointing civil servants to sit in the council.

When there are civil servants from different administrations in the council, it can strengthen exchange of knowledge and cooperation across administrations of municipalities in relation to disability political issues and questions. This can mean that there are developed professionally sustainable solutions, which the administration is responsible for and has ownership of.

It can however be difficult for the appointed civil servants to define, which role they should play in the council. The civil servants do not represent specific interests and own opinions, but they nonetheless sit at the table and contribute to the debate.



11

It is a good idea, if the municipal board appoints civil servants to the council of disability that there is decided, which role the/those appointed civil servants should act in the council, and how their position should be in relation to municipal politicians and disability representatives. This in order to avoid that uncertainty and ambiguity about, which task the civil servants have in the council arises.

Deputies

There should be appointed personal deputies for all of the council’s members. It is not possible to appoint a sufficient number of personal deputies of members appointed by the Disabled people’s organisations, can a deputy be deputy for several members.

In the municipalities there are different praxis for how you involve the deputies in the council’s work. In some municipalities the deputies receive all meeting agendas and other material, while other municipalities only send the agenda material to the deputy, if the deputy is called to council meeting, because the ordinary member cannot meet up. It is a good idea, if the council from the beginning discuss and obtain a common position to, which role deputies should have in the council, including when and how they should be involved in the council’s work.

It can be a difficult task for a deputy to meet up to a single or to a few council meetings. The participant participates maybe only in quite a few meetings during an election period, but should nevertheless be well prepared. It is therefore recommended to create frames; it supports the competences of the deputies. It can for example happen by the deputies continuously have access to the council’s materials on equal footing with the rest of the council.

Secretariat

It is crucial for the council of disability work and opportunity to exert influence that the municipality prioritise to provide qualified secretarial assistance to the council of disability and as minimum appoints a person in the administration, which is responsible to provide secretarial assistance to the council.

The secretariat is an important link between the municipality’s different administrations and the council of disability. The secretariat can help to detect, what is happening in the municipality – across of sectors – and which subjects, which can be relevant to set the council’s agenda. It is therefore a good idea, if the secretariat for the council is placed centrally in the municipality’s administration.

It is important for the cooperation between the secretariat and council that an expectation vote is taken initially between the parties. The secretariat should service the council members, but is should also be clarified between the secretariat and the council, where many and which tasks that the secretariat can undertake to help council members with, and that there maybe are tasks, which the secretariat has no resources to lift.

A council member’s functional impairments can cause that there is a need for reasonable adjustment in connection with the performance of the duty in the council. This the secretariat should be aware of, so that both preparation as meeting settlement are made available for all members, then everyone can participate and contribute on equal conditions.

The disability representatives are often not seasoned politicians and some of the municipal stuff can be very accessible. There are several ways, which the



12

secretariat can support the disability representatives in becoming better dressed for the task for example:

Recommendations to secretariat assistance to the council of disability

· The disability representatives are introduced to the municipal political and administrative organisation in common courses, theme days or similar, which the secretariat is helpful in arranging.

· The secretariat can prepare draft meeting agendas and process annex material for agendas. For example mark sections in annex, which are central to focus on. It will be a big and necessary help, when it is for examples about budgets, local plans and other bigger materials, which also contains areas, which are not relevant for the council of disability.

· The secretariat can prepare a short summary or a specific case preparation of, what and which issues the council of disability must consider.

· The secretariat should be aware that all agenda material is emitted in an accessible manner. It is not only about available formats for people with vision disability and dyslexics, but also that the material is sent out in good time, when some functional impairments means that you can have need for more time to preparation than others.

· It should be avoided that there at meetings are distributed booklets, written materials and similar, which not all council members are able to read/relate to during a meeting.

13

The Council of Disability’s Cooperation Surfaces



COOPERATION SURFACES

The Council’s internal cooperation

It is important that the council of disability from the start establishes a good collaborative environment between all members of the council, so there is good basis for constructive dialog across different representative. It can for example happen by arranging a common theme day, an intro course or similar in the council’s start-up period, where the new members of the council get to know each other and expectation of the future work of the council is expected.

The culture for debate in the municipality generally means a lot for the discussions. Some places there is a lively debate and dialog in the council, while there in other councils is a more formal exchange of viewpoints between the municipality’s appointed members and the disability representatives. There must be room for that you in the individual municipality find a local form of cooperation that works and gives impact.

All members of the council should however in debates and in meetings have opportunity to get on field on equal footing, and everyone should take common responsibility that the council has a nuanced and objective dialog about the disability political issues, which the council takes up and for consultation. It is not appropriate, if it for example only is the disability representatives, who engage in the debate, or that it only is the municipal representatives, who lead the word.

‘The three clover’

An important focal point in the council of disability is “the three clover” in shape of chairman, vice chairman and secretariat. Most often the Presidency consists of respectively a politician from the municipal board and a disability representative. The three clover’s cooperation around preparation of and follow-up at meetings, preparation of agenda as well as coordination between and during the meetings is crucial of a good interaction in the council in general

It is important to establish trust among members of the council. That there is trust among the members does not however necessarily mean that the members always have to agree, what is the right answer to a given disability political question. The dialog and the exchange of views between members of the council are also a goal in itself.

Disagreement in the council

Members of the council should as far as possible try to achieve agreement about the cases, which the council has for opinion or consultation. The members should therefore seek consultation, statements, reader letters etc., which the council gives, is discussed through and is an expression of the council’s overall position. It gives the council’s statements credibility and strength.

If there is disagreement between members of the council, one opportunity is that the council sets out separately for the different views, which members of the council have. In special cases, a member can choose to stand outside of a

14



consultation response, statement and similar. This however should not develop to be the norm for the work of the council.

It is for example not appropriate, if a culture develops in the council, where it is the norm that it is only the Disabled people’s organisations’ opinions, which refers in for example consultation response, regardless if it is, because the municipal board members are reluctant, or the Disabled people’s organisations’ members are dominated in the council’s discussions.

If the disability representatives experience not being able to agree with the other members in a case, one possibility can be that the disability representatives let their background – the DPOD-department – provide own consultation response. The council of disability can then only choose to comment about it, you can reach agreement.

It can be a good idea that the council at the forefront discussed internally, which procedures for issuing consultation responses etc., which the council will follow, if there is disagreement in the council. The procedures can with advantage be incorporated as a part of the council’s Rules of Procedure. In case of conflicts in the council it is important that members of the council try to get along and put the disputes behind him. Here the council’s secretariat and the municipality’s administration also have an important role. The council’s secretariat can function as impartial advisors and try to establish mediation and conflict solution in the council, so the council is not burdened in the future by conflicts, which has been. There are also councils of disability that have gotten help from external consultancy services.

Cooperation with the administration and political committees

It is crucial for the council of disability’s opportunity for real influence that there is a good cooperation between the council and the administration. This applies both in the ongoing cooperation around the secretarial service of the council and in the dialog around specific initiative and projects in the municipality.

The council may benefit from involving relevant civil servants ad hoc, when the council has to discuss special professional cases or answer consultations. The municipal civil servants can contribute by explaining a case and answer on questions for elaboration. Conversely, it also benefits the civil servants’ work process subsequently, if they have opportunity to sit at the council meetings and hears the debate, which happens in the council. It is advantageous to appoint a responsible contact person in the individual administrations, who is continuously in dialog with the council of disability.

The council of disability should also continuously cooperate with the different political committees in the municipality. To promote the council’s cooperation with the political committees, several municipalities have good experiences with preparing cooperation agreements between the council of disability and the political committee. It can also be a good idea that the council meets with all political committees once a year to

15



discuss general and specific question on the relevant political area.

Yearly meeting with the administration chiefs

Some municipalities hold a yearly meeting between the council of disability and the individual administration chiefs, where the council and the administrations can discuss current professional and economic issues with each other and mutual orientation.

Visibility and participation in events

The council of disability can participate in events in the municipality to promote that the disability aspect incorporated into municipal broadly speaking, and in order to broaden knowledge and visibility around disability to different administrative units, political committees and to the citizens in general. It can for example be in work groups, participation in meetings and debates, arrangements and events in the municipality, where the council of disability can contribute with the knowledge, thus visualizing the work of the council of disability.

Create visibility of the council’s work

To visualize the council of disability’s work, there can after meetings in the council be sent a press release to the local news media about current subjects or municipal initiatives, which the council has discussed. In this way, local visibility and attention is created around the work of the council. The council of disability can also advantageously define a common strategy and approach for the council’s communication through social media.

Cross municipal exchange of experience and dialogue

It is a good idea that the councils of disability exchange experiences with the council of disability in other municipalities and in this way learn from other’s good experiences. To promote the knowledge sharing and exchange of experience between the councils of disability, some councils of disability have chosen to establish network across of municipalities. In the networks you have among other things opportunity to discuss cross municipal and regional issues. Regular courses and conferences for the councils of disability are arranged under auspices of the networks, where both upskilling and exchange of experience across of municipal council of disability is an important part of the program.

To promote the dialog between KL and the Disabled people’s organisations the parties have established regional dialogue forum with focus on the specialized area. The regional dialogue forum consist of KKR’s chairman and vice chairman, relevant municipal professionals, three representatives from DPOD and a representative from School and Parents. It is the individual regional forum of dialogue itself that determines how the dialogue about the regional and cross municipal conditions is best organized and developed.

The regional dialogue for and the framework and cooperation agreements between municipalities and regions are organised in connection to KKR. KKR is a political meeting-, debate- and coordination forum, where the municipalities in each of the country’s five regions discuss and provides common lines in questions of regional political character.

The tasks of the council of disability


16

5. THE TASKS OF THE COUNCIL OF DISABILITY

The tasks of council of disability

The municipal board has the responsibility that all initiatives that has or could be of importance for citizens with disability, it is sent for consultation in the council of disability. It is the municipal board, which determines if the council of disability should be heard on a specific question.

The tasks of council of disability according to the legislation

As stated in the legislation for the councils of disability, the councils have both “must” and “may” tasks.

The council of disability must:

· Advice the municipal board on disability policy questions.

· Be heard on all initiatives that are important for people with disability.

· Deal with all issues of importance for people with disability across of sectors.

The municipal board is thus obligated to listen to the council of disability on all initiatives, which concerns people with disabilities. The council must thus have influence in the municipality’s disability policy in broad sense and on questions of overall character that in this case are important for the everyday life of people with disabilities.

The council of disability may:

· Treat all local political questions, which concerns citizens with disabilities.

· Take questions of more general character up for discussions and come with suggestions for both political and administrative initiatives.

· Take contact to other council of disability or organizations etc. and to the Central Council of Disability in order to highlight specific themes.

· Determine to orient the municipal board about the council’s work and proposals e.g. by submitting an annual report.

The council of disability must not handle personal cases. However, the council can raise general questions, which arises from a specific case.



17

Ideas to initiatives and discussions in the council of disability

· The council can award a municipal disability award on UN’s international disability day – the day for equal opportunities – the 3rd December.

· Discuss how the municipality handles if necessary cuts in the disability area.

· Discuss how the municipality increases the quality of services to people with disability.

· Discuss how the municipality handles user involvement e.g. about purchasing agreements.

· Discuss the reasonableness of procedural deadlines and times, waiting times at rehab and similar.

Meetings

There is a huge difference on, how many meetings the different councils of disability hold in a year. Some councils meet each month, while others only meet once each quarter – or less. When there are held few meetings, it however means that more cases should be dealt with both between and at the meetings.

So as standard it is therefore recommended that the council continuously holds meetings and that there is held at least six meetings, so the ongoing dialogue can be maintained. In that way one also secures that most cases are current, and the council of disability has time to comment at an appropriate time.

Hold council meetings ‘outside’

Several Disability councils have had a great pleasure to visit – and possibly hold their council meeting – the municipality’s offer for citizens with disabilities. It is a good way to get new knowledge and meet the municipality’s users of services locally.

If there are not held meetings often, it is even more important to get tuned, which cases has to be considered by the council – and how. Getting meetings require exceedingly good meeting structure and of expectations among parties of the council between each other and with the municipality as a whole.

One must also ensure that the council meetings are placed, so you have time for important consultations.

For a number of the municipal tasks there are ongoing, and in some areas statutory, deadlines which should be upheld, in which the municipality naturally organizes its own administrative and political workflows after. A part of these tasks will also have relevance for the disability area, and will therefore be in consultation with the Disability Council. These tasks are typically both voluminous, complicated and involves several of the municipality’s administrations. Therefore, it is here particularly important to determine procedures that in time give the council of disability the opportunity to advice the municipal board in the best possible way.

It is recommended that the council of disability in their Rules of Procedures establishes procedures for the council’s meeting frequency and submission for consultation from the council – both in and between the meetings.

In connection with the establishment of the council’s meetings it is important to be aware that the meetings are placed appropriately in relation to that the municipality’s “annual cycle”.

18



Listed below some of the important milestones during the year, which constitutes the municipality’s annual cycle (The list is not exhaustive). In connection with each milestone it is a good idea that a clear agreement between the council is incorporated, the municipal board and the administration, when and how the council of disability is involved.

The municipality’s “annual wheel”

· Municipalities and regions should every 4. Year prepare new healthcare agreements. The healthcare agreement must be concluded no later than January the 1st, and the municipality’s initiative should have been consulted in the council of disability before that. There is however opportunity for that the municipalities and the region continuously adjust the agreements concurrently with them making experiences.

· The municipality’s administration begins the budgeting for the upcoming year early in the year. It is important that the council of disability monitors and comes into this process as early as possible.

· The Municipal board should adopt the action plans before March 31, which are necessary as result of the quality report for the public school.

· Proposals to the municipalities’ yearly budget prepared by the economy committee to the municipal board no later than September 15 prior to the financial year in question.

· The municipal board’s 2 treatment and approval of the proposal of future annual budget happen no later than October 15.

· Before December 31: The municipal board must consider the quality report for the public school.

Agendas

Municipalities use different systems for agendas, annex, journaling etc. These are all frames for the work of council of disability and should ensure and reflect that the dialogue in the council is further extended to the municipal system.

A central framework for the councils of disability is agendas for meetings. The type of the agenda has huge importance for, how the council of disability is going to work – and what comes from the work. In several municipalities meeting day agendas is prepared by the secretariat in cooperation with the presidency in the council (chairman and vice chairman), which also approves the final agenda.

One must in the individual council try to find the golden middle road in relation to extent and content of the agenda. There will of course be a correlation between the number of meetings and scope of the agenda. Many councils of disability therefore experience to be burdened with cases, consultations and piles of documents. But there are different ways in which can reduce the scale of papers, which should be read through to the meetings.

A possibility is to delegate cases to council members that have a special interest in – or knowledge about – different political areas. It could for example be an accessibility committee, which some councils of disability have set up. These members are then tasked with preparing for agenda tasks that concern the area in question. They can also have the responsibility to present the cases for the other members to common discussion. In this way one avoids that everyone should familiarize themselves with everything, which can be almost impossible. It is however important that the council’s

19



broad discussions of overall disability political questions happen in the overall council of disability and not delegated to individual members or subcommittees.

Another opportunity is that the council of disability plans their work over a longer period and for example prepares an annual plan with the focus points or themes, which one wishes to prioritize in the upcoming year. The prioritization can for example take basis in the municipality’s disability policy and if necessary corresponding plan of action, if the municipality has prepared such. Thus, there may be cases, one chooses to postpone or lower priority – thus the workload for the members of the council become less and at the same time more focused.

It is an advantage, if the municipality and the council have a common approach and attitude towards which cases should be prioritised in the council’s agenda, it is ultimately the municipal board’s decision, if a case should be on the council’s agenda or not. The municipality should however as far as possible to avoid that conflicts with the council arise about which cases the council should have on the agenda.

It is recommended that the municipality puts agendas and minutes on the website of the municipality. In this way work of the council of disability is visualised, and all citizens have the opportunity of providing input. It can also be a way to ensure that materials of the council of disability are published in an available format.

Preparation of agenda material

Some subjects will be new for representatives of the municipal board in the council, while others will be new for the disability representatives. It is therefore important that the council’s secretariat function understands the two groups’ various needs by preparation of the agenda material.

For representatives of the municipal board it applies that they generally have many cases divided on many policy areas, which they should familiarize themselves with. Therefore, they have need for a specification of agenda and annexes, so they can easily prepare for the meeting, At the same time they also have need for knowledge about various disability. Here the representatives from the Disabled people’s organisations can contribute with their knowledge. It can for example happen on theme days or on the council meetings, if there is time for this.

Consultation in the council

In all sectors of the municipality and political committees you should be aware that cases and initiatives, which has meaning for citizens with disability must be sent to consultation in the council of disability. It is an advantage, if the cases come into consultation as early as possible in the process, so the disability aspect can be considered already in the planning phase. An early consultation process ensures real influence along the way, and before the final decisions are made.

Disability representatives do represent themselves, but a wide group of citizens with disability. When the council must provide consultation answer, the municipality therefore must be aware that it takes time to get the support involved and the people, which has a special knowledge about the individual case area. At consultation procedure it is therefore necessary to plan a reasonable

19



consultation deadline for the council of disability.

If there are urgent consultation cases between the meetings in the council, the council of disability can implement “chairman treatment” which means that it only is the council of disability’s chairman and vice chairman, who get the cases for consultation. It can be an advantage to have such a scheme written down into the rules. It is however important to minimize the number of the presidency consultations – and only in cases, where the is no need for an actual broad dialog in the council.

It can however at the same time become unmanageable task, if the council of disability should give consultation answer in all cases, where a disability aspect can be thought in. The council can therefore in some consultation answers choose to just refer to the objectives that is described in the municipality’s disability policy, if the municipality has such.

Decisions regarding following areas is recommended to be sent for consultation in the council of disability

· Decisions regarding the municipality’s social services for people with disability.

· Decisions regarding special education for children, youths and adults

· The municipalities’ cooperative and/or framework agreements regarding specialised social offers and special education

· The healthcare agreements

· Quality standards

· Municipal budgets

· Local levels and bigger building projects – for securing of the availability aspect from start up

· General municipal policies, such as child policy, volunteer policy, integration policy, availability policy, etc.

Consultation of user and Disabled people’s organisations

It is important to point out that the council of disability is a municipal council and not a user council. User involvement is therefore not ensured by the municipal board sending cases for consultation in the council of disability.

When the municipal board sends cases to consultation, it is therefore important to be aware if there in addition to consultation in the council of disability, there also should be a consultation with relevant disability or user organizations. There can also in the legislation be specific requirements that disability or user organizations should be heard on special political questions.

Examples of legislation fields, where the municipalities are obligated to hear or involve disability or user organizations

Supply of aids: From the Service Act §112, paragraph 2 it states that the representatives for the users should be involved at preparation of requirement specifications in connection with the municipalities’ entering into supplier agreements. In a guide hereof, it is recommended to include people from relevant Disabled people’s organisations as representatives of the citizens. The municipal board are also obliged to listen to the council of disability.

The disability transport: The traffic agencies are established in accordance to the traffic agency Act. The Disabled people’s organisations should in accordance with the act be included in this work. How this inclusion should be interpreted is an assessment case, but it would be obvious to include local Disabled people’s organisations in the municipal decisions of both the public traffic as well as the individual driving.

In the legislation texts there sometimes is writer ‘consultation’ and other times ‘inclusion’, and it is always an interpretation question, what obligations this implies for the municipality. When there is written ‘consultation’, there will however generally be talk about a consultation of more formal character.

Consultation of disability or user organizations will often be aimed towards DPOD, which then collects responses from relevant organizations to a shared consultation, but there are also examples of consultations that are sent directly to relevant local disability and user organizations.

Formal Framework for the council of disability’s work


22

6.

Formal Framework

for the council of disability’s work

Statute

Some municipal boards prepared a statute for the council of disability. The statute should follow the legal basis for the council of disability and can contain the locally decided overall framework for the council of disability, for example number of members. It is not legally binding to have a statute for the council of disability.

Rules of procedure

It is not possible to rule out all challenges, but a certain rule-basis for the council of disability’s work is still recommended. It is the council of disability, which sets its own rules of procedure. A rule of procedure is not a document, you relate to at every meeting, but one you can rely through it, if disagreement arises between the council’s members, or you are uncertain of how a specific issue to be approached.

Economic conditions

It is very different, if the municipalities give the council of disability own budget, or if the council is continuously provided funds for their work. If the council has own budget, it is appropriate that the council discusses, which activities the council should prioritise, including for example conferences, courses or similar. The council’s member should achieve agreement about how the budget of the council is used.

The municipalities are responsible for covering expenses for diets, compensation for documented lost earnings and reimbursement of expenses, including transport expenses etc. to the council’s members, who are appointed by a disability organisation. In the cases where the municipal board has approved statutes for the council of disability, which states that the council of disability is organised in specific subcommittee, work groups etc., the members of disability should also have diets etc. in connection with meetings in these.

Council of disability members are not eligible to receive diets etc. for volunteer participation in other work groups, pre-meetings, conferences, courses etc. However, the municipality may decide to grant members from the Disabled people’s organisations diets etc.

Diets are included in the individual member’s income basis. This may for example be an early retiree mean that he/she ultimately loses money. Therefore, there is a possibility to denounce diets.

The municipality should be aware if there are members of the council, who has need of getting expenses for necessary disability compensation covered. The disability compensation is dependant of which disabilities that the individual has. It can for example be expenses for accompanying a person, who is blind, interpreter assistance to a person with hearing impairment, additional expenses for assistant participation or individual secretary assist for preparation of council meetings.

23

Contact


7. Contact

KL and DPOD

The Local Government Denmark (KL) and Disabled People’s Organisation Denmark (DPOD) cooperates about and with the municipal council of disability. The organisations have close contact with the councils of disability and continuously follow-up on if the councils work as intended and really contribute to strengthening the municipalities’ disability policy measures.

The councils of disability are always welcome to make contact with the two organisations with questions, ideas or challenges, which they meet in the work.

The Local Government Denmark (KL)

Contakt: Weidekampsgade 10 Post box 3370 2300 Copenhagen S

Phone. 33 70 33 70

www.kl.dk

Disabled People’s Organisation Denmark (DPOD)

Contakt: Blekinge Boulevard 2, 2630 Taastrup

Phone. 36 75 17 77

www.handicap.dk

24

Read more


8. Read more

KL - The Local Government Denmark: www.kl.dk

Disabled People’s Organisation Denmark: www.handicap.dk

The central council of disability: www.dch.dk

Relevant legislation

Statement of the Act on legal certainty and administration, § 37 a: https://www.retsinformation.dk

The statement of legal certainty and administration in the social field, chap. 10:

https://www.retsinformation.dk

Guide about legal certainty and administration, paragraphs 324 – 333: https://www.retsinformation.dk

Statement about Act about equality of women and men:

https://www.retsinformation.dk

07/ Fact and knowledge

Good on the way – towards education and job

25

Municipal Council of Disability – The good praxis

©KL – Disabled People’s Organisations Denmark

1. version, 1. Edition 2018

Production: KL’s printing

Design: e-Types

Photo: Colour box

Danish Handicap Organizations

Blekinge Boulevard 2

2630 Taastrup

Phone +45 3675 1777

[email protected]

www.handicap.dk

KL

Weldekampsgade 10

2300 Copenhagen S

Phone +45 3370 3370

[email protected]

www.kl.dk

acp-kp.info COUNCIL OF DISA… · Web viewMunicipal council of disability – The good praxis ....

Documents

Transcript of acp-kp.info COUNCIL OF DISA… · Web viewMunicipal council of disability – The good praxis ....