Disability Forum

Terms of Reference

Purpose of group

To review and improve on the services provided by East Kent Housing Canterbury (formerly the Housing Service of Canterbury City Council), to disabled tenants.

Group objectives

• To offer a representative and objective assessment of the policies, procedures and service standards used to deliver the service, from the point of view of disabled people.
• To review how well the service meets users' needs and expectations.
• To recommend how the service can be improved.
• To monitor the implementation and impact of these changes from the user's viewpoint.

Membership of group

East Kent Housing (Canterbury) tenants and leaseholders who have volunteered via existing consultation arrangements.  The group will not be restricted to people who have a disability, but may also include others who have a particular interest in the subject matter - for example, those who care for a disabled person.

The group will also include East Kent Housing staff and staff from any other organisations, as appropriate.

Meetings

There will be three meetings a year on dates agreed at the outset.  All meetings will be held at the Canterbury City Council offices, Military Road, unless the group decides otherwise.

Meetings will be jointly chaired by a member of staff and a resident representative.

The group's findings will be reported to the wider tenant/leaseholder population via the tenant newsletter, tenant meetings, this website, and other feedback mechanisms.

Regular reports on the group's work will be given to those working within East Kent Housing, and to other working groups where appropriate.  Information and recommendations from other working groups and sections will also be brought to the group where appropriate.

East Kent Housing (Canterbury) will provide transport to and from meetings as appropriate.

Membership agreement

Members of the group are asked to sign a form agreeing to adhere to the following points.

As a member of the Disability Forum, I agree to:

• Work with the rest of the group as a team and be positive and fair in my involvement.
• Respect the rights of other group members to have their own views and input without any personal criticism, or offensive language or behaviour.
• Treat any information, comments and input as confidential and not to divulge this information outside of this group.
• Not bring any personal issues to the Forum unless they are pertinent to the issue under discussion.
• Adhere to the principles of equal opportunities in my comments and behaviour and ensure that no member suffers discrimination.

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