A Guide for Jewish Adults with Disabilities Compiled under the auspices of THE BOARD OF DEPUTIES OF BRITISH JEWS 6 Bloomsbury Square London WC1A 2LP Tel: 020 7543 5400 Fax: 020 7543 0010 [email protected] www.bod.org.uk Updated 13 August 2007 FOREWORD by Secretary of State for Health From the Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP Secretary of State for Health Richmond House 79 Whitehall London Disabled people and their carers tell us that SW1A 2NS one of the major challenges they face is Tel: 020 7210 3000 access to high quality reliable information. The Board of Deputies, Kisharon and Norwood are to be congratulated on this excellent guide which will make a practical difference to the lives of many people in the Jewish community. The guide illustrates the remarkable number of voluntary organisations offering culturally and religiously sensitive services to the British Jewish community. They are at the heart of a community which has always understood that community solidarity and individual aspiration must advance together in a civilised and successful society. My Department has recently established a social enterprise unit and issued guidance to commissioners in the NHS and social care on engaging with the third sector. I am determined that we should harness the motivation and experience of the sector to enhance the quality of services available in every community. Disability rights legislation, the establishment of the Office for Disability Issues, Valuing People, the Carers’ grant and our planned new deal for carers all represent significant advances in the Government’s commitment to disabled people and their carers. However, we recognise there is still a long way to go - 1 - before services are personalised to appropriately meet the needs of every individual. This guide will play an important part in our shared commitment to improving the life chances of disabled people. PATRICIA HEWITT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR HEALTH - 2 - FOREWORD by Chairman of Disability Rights Commission I greatly welcome publication of this Disability Booklet which has been produced by the Board of Deputies for British Jews. It is intended for people over the age of 16 and follows the Board’s initiative a few years ago in preparing a corresponding booklet relating to children of school age with special needs. I am confident that this new booklet will be of immense value to the Jewish community and in particular members of the community who are disabled people. I hope the booklet will be widely circulated and read and I pay tribute to its authors for initiating this important project with such a helpful outcome. Bert Massie CBE Chairman, Disability Rights Commission - 3 - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This guide has been a co-operative initiative between the Board of Deputies together with Kisharon. It was co-ordinated by Susan Pascoe and a team which included Ella Marks, Philippa Travis, Diane Webber, and Dianna Wolfson of the Board of Deputies and Jacalyn Sank of Kisharon. It was guided by Marlena Schmool, the immediate past Director of the Community Issues Division of the Board of Deputies and Dr Rona Hart, Head of Community Research Unit. Thanks are also due to Rhoda Fynn for her contributions and Gina Rubner, Divisional Administrator for her hard work in assembling this guide. We are grateful to Kisharon, Norwood and The Kessler Foundation for their generosity and support in making publication possible. - 4 - CONTENTS Preface .......................................................... 4 Your Rights ................................................... 5 Legal Considerations ................................. 8 Local Authority Services ....................... 11 Education and Training ............................. 12 Employment ................................................. 14 Financial Entitlements ................................ 19 Housing ......................................................... 24 Recreation, Leisure and Transport ......... 26 Religious Provision .................................... 29 Provision for Scottish Jewry ..................... 30 Classified Directory .................................... 33 The information contained in the booklet is as accurate as possible at the time of going to press (March 2007). Of course, provisions are changing, particularly as regards Disability Law, and readers are advised to check with organisations listed for the most up-to-date information. Equally, the Board of Deputies cannot be held responsible for information provided by the organisations listed. - 5 - PREFACE Following publication of the successful guide for parents and carers of Jewish children with Special Educational Needs in the year 2000, the need for a similar publication for people over the statutory school- leaving age soon became apparent. This guide aims to provide information to Jewish youth (age 16+) and adults with disabilities. We hope that the information offered here will be of use to disabled people, as well as their parents, families, carers and friends. The booklet is organised according to the following sections: Your Rights, Legal Considerations, Local Authority Services, Education and Training, Employment, Financial Entitlements, Housing, Recreation, Leisure and Transport, Religious Provision, and Provision for Scottish Jewry. Both Jewish and non-Jewish national organisations have been included. The guide is intended as a starting point only, and enables the reader to research further. - 6 - YOUR RIGHTS Disability is defined as:- “A physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities.” The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 states:- “It is unlawful to discriminate against disabled persons in connection with employment, education, the provisions of goods, facilities and services or the disposal or management of premises.” The Disability Equality Duty: which came into force on 4 December 2006, is a new legal duty which requires all public bodies to actively look at ways of ensuring that disabled people are treated equally. The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 states:- “It is unlawful to treat a disabled person less favourably, without justification, than a non disabled person for a reason relating to the disability.” Equality Regulations state:- The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 protect applicants, trainees and employees against discrimination, harassment and victimisation on grounds of religion or belief. These regulations also apply to people with disabilities who are employed or seeking employment and/or vocational training. Further information can be found on the DTI website: www.dti.gov.uk Individual advice may be obtained from a solicitor, Citizens Advice Bureau, or Disability Law Service. - 7 - INFORMATION POINT • Acas - See page 4 • Citizens Advice Bureau - See page 41 • Disability Law Service - See page 43 • Office for Disability Issues - See page 43 • The Law Society - See page 77 • UK Assocation for Jewish Lawyers and Jurists - See page 79 - 8 - YOUR RIGHTS in Education The law makes it unlawful to discriminate against disabled students. Institutions have to: • Allow extra time for disabled students in examinations • Provide an amanuensis, i.e. someone to write for a disabled student. • Allow disabled students more access to computers. • Allow disabled students to use computers in examinations. • Make sure that all electronic coursework is accessible to disabled students. • Install induction loops into classrooms. • Introduce specialist software on computers for visually impaired or dyslexic students. • Provide material in Braille or other formats. • Provide specialist technology for science students with mobility problems to enable them to work safely in laboratories. • Provide communication support for people with a hearing loss. Institutions are required to make physical adjustments. See Jewish Care’s Disability Access Guide - ‘How to Achieve Best Practice’. YOUR RIGHTS at Work The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 make it unlawful on the grounds of religion or belief to refuse to offer employment or dismiss employees, refuse to offer training or deny promotion to employees or harass or victimise employees. The European Employment Directive outlaws discrimination in the - 9 - workplace on grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation, age and disability. The regulations define the meaning of discrimination to cover less favourable treatment where the treatment is due to a person’s disability except where the treatment in question can be shown to be justified. It is unlawful for employers to discriminate on grounds of disability in the following ways: • In the arrangements that are made for deciding to whom employment should be offered. • In the terms on which employment is offered. • By refusing to offer or deliberately not offering employment. • In the opportunities for training, transfer or promotion. • By dismissing a disabled person. • By harassing a disabled person. • By failing to accommodate the employee’s needs. There are detailed rules about making reasonable adjustments and reasonable arrangements for disabled persons. The new regulations remove the exemption for employers employing less than 15 people. See Jewish Care’s Disability Access Guide - ‘How to Achieve Best Practice’. YOUR RIGHTS at the Police Station/Court The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 sets out special provisions for the benefit of disabled people called for questioning. It is