London Borough of Croydon

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Social model of disability

It is widely accepted that disabled people have fewer opportunities and a lower quality of life than non-disabled people. The social model of disability worked out by disabled people, based on their own experiences, shows that most barriers to inclusion are because of the way society is organised, rather than disabled people's own impairments.

Croydon Council has adopted the social model of disability. We believe that negative attitudes and lack of awareness are the main barriers to disabled people achieving full equality.

We also recognise that disabled people can be excluded further due to their ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation or age. Our work towards achieving equality for disabled people will take into account any extra discrimination they experience on these grounds.

We are committed to working towards removing barriers which exclude disabled people through:

  • examining our own policies, practices and procedures to weed out potential discrimination
  • advising and supporting all departments on the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act
  • promoting greater awareness among council staff, contractors and partners of ways of overcoming these barriers to inclusion
  • working with organisations and individuals who share our values to achieve change.

In particular we will:

  • continue to support groups run by and for disabled people
  • work closely with the mobility forum to make Croydon a more accessible borough for people with disabilities and older people
  • implement the recommendations of the Best value review on access to services by people with a disability
  • ensure staff have appropriate guidance and training on providing equal access to information and services
  • continue to consult with disabled staff and service users to monitor progress on meeting our commitments

Contact Details

Contact name
John Osborne
Job title
Access Officer for Disabled People
Department
Planning and Transportation
Telephone
020 8760 5776
Fax
020 8407 1321
Email
john.osborne@croydon.gov.uk

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