Resolution 4 : Adoption of the Strategic Framework on Disability Inclusion by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

Staff – 5%
Volunteers – 5%

• We have reviewed our recruitment statement and changed it from overtly welcoming diverse candidates to specifically mentioning disabled candidates
• We have confirmed our commitment to a national ‘disability confident’ scheme which guarantees interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum shortlisting criteria
• We have included information about our disability network on our recruitment literature as an incentive to disabled candidates to apply
• We have identified a ‘disability lead’ in the resourcing team to ensure an accessible and consistent approach
• We are working with a recruitment portal ‘equal approach’ to reach disabled candidates and other underrepresented groups
• We ask shortlisted candidates to disclose any access requirements and ensure we are able to meet them
• We ensure our role descriptions do not inadvertently exclude disabled people from applying
• We have a central point of contact with ‘Access to Work’, a government fund to support the provision of access requirements
• We are committed to meeting the standards in the Disability Action Alliance’s charter on accessible volunteering

We are active members of the Diversity and Inclusion Practioners’ Network where we collaborate on diversity related issues, including disability. These include the Alzheimers Society, RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind), Mencap, Scope and others.

We are just finishing a 3 year partnership with WhizzKidz, a national organisation which provides disabled children and young people with essential mobility equipment and life skills. The partnership, called Inspired Action, was a UK wide volunteering project delivered by the British Red Cross, providing 1000 volunteering opportunities to young people, with a focus on accessibility and removing barriers to disabled young people’s volunteering. The resulting resource pack can be found here: http://www.redcross.org.uk/~/media/BritishRedCross/Documents/Get involved/Volunteering/Inspired Action toolkit.pdf .

In the British Red Cross' international work we apply the Washington Group questions in programme baselines to understand the range of disability issues, and the proportion of the population affected with the intention of informing programme development. This has been mandated for programmes in the International Directorate.

Our community support services, based in Scotland, help adults with physical disabilities live in their own homes and play an active part in their local communities.

Community equipment service: in some parts of the UK, we hold contracts with local authorities to provide equipment for independent living through medical referral.

The British Red Cross International Directorate has supported a programme by the Mongolian Red Cross since 2004 covering social services for people with disabilities and the elderly living alone. This provides essential services (food, water, winter insulation, support in accessing services, etc...).

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We are asking all political parties to consider policies that support our vision for health and social care: everyone should get the support they need to live independently at home. This includes disabled people (and the elderly and sick).

In 2016 our Chief Executive spoke at the Rehabilitation International World Congress in Edinburgh, attended by representatives from government, business, NGOs and scientific organisations. The theme of the talk was the challenge of addressing the needs of people with disabilities in our International and UK work, and what progress we have made.