North Lanarkshire Council is inviting disabled people and others interested in disability issues to an involvement event. This is being held to promote ways of ensuring that disabled people in North Lanarkshire are treated in an equal, fair and non-discriminatory way.

The event will be held on Wednesday 27 September at The Tudor Hotel in Airdrie from 1.30pm to 4.00pm and is open to disabled people, carers, anyone who has a disabled friend or relative and organisations representing disability issues.

In line with the Disability Discrimination Act, the council is preparing a Disability Equality Scheme that will set out how the council is meeting its responsibilities in providing equal access to services for disabled people and what actions will be taken to improve equality.

During the event, people will have the opportunity to discuss the issues that matter to them and what improvements could be made. People unable to attend the event can still contribute using a short questionnaire.

The outcomes of the consultation event will be used to inform the Disability Equality Scheme of people’s priorities and these will be used to develop specific action promoting disability equality. The council has already involved a number of voluntary organisations and others that directly support disabled people in organising the event, and is working in partnership with them to develop the Disability Equality Scheme.

Councillor Harry McGuigan, Convener of the Social Work Committee, said:

"Our aim is to ensure that North Lanarkshire is a place where everyone can participate fully and equally, where everyone can use local services like schools, leisure facilities and libraries and not be excluded.

"We are already striving to ensure that the rights and wishes of disabled people are included in delivering local services, but we want to take this opportunity to obtain the views of people with expertise and experience in disability rights issues to help inform our work. So I would encourage local people for whom disability is an issue to come along to the consultation event on 27 September and gives their views, ideas and feedback on the services that we currently provide as well as how we can improve the way we do things in future.

"Our Disability Equality Scheme will address how disabled people and issues relating to disability are included in everything that the council does. It will not just be about making changes to certain facilities or services to make them accessible, its about including equality for disabled people into all our policies at the highest level, so that we prevent discrimination and promote positive opportunities for all."