Accessibility of Council services in the spotlight

Published Monday, 9th May 2022

A consultation has been launched to learn about the experiences of people with long-term conditions when accessing Hartlepool Borough Council services.

The authority’s Audit and Governance Scrutiny Committee is keen to hear from them as well as relatives and carers.

Committee Chair Councillor Rob Cook said: “This is about ensuring that we are not disadvantaging people who are, for example, disabled or suffering from a chronic illness.

“We want to know how easy it is for them to find out about and use Council services. We want to understand where we are doing well, and also where we could be doing better.

“It is important that we learn about people’s experiences of using any Council service, not just those relating to their long-term condition or the condition of someone they care for.

“We would be also grateful for ideas on improving access to services.”

The consultation is open until Sunday June 12th.

There are three ways of participating in the consultation with both online and offline options available – by completing a survey, adding an idea for improving access to services via the online “How can we do better?” ideas board or joining in with a consultation workshop.

The online consultation is running on the Council’s Your Say Our Future digital engagement platform at https://yoursay.hartlepool.gov.uk/services-accessibility and includes the “How can we do better?” ideas board, a quick poll and the online version of the survey.

Paper surveys are available in a range of Council buildings, including the Civic Centre, community hubs and libraries, or can be requested by calling (01429) 2849142 or emailing yoursay@hartlepool.gov.uk.

It is intended to organise a workshop to discuss issues raised in the survey. This will be held during June at a time and location to be confirmed. Anyone interested in attending should fill in the “add your details if you are willing to be contacted” box at the end of the survey. They can also click the “subscribe” button on the Stay Informed widget when completing the survey online. Follow the instructions to add your details and an email invitation to the workshop will be sent out in due course.