What's available for disabled people?

Travel and Transport

• Free bus travel throughout Herefordshire at any time of day
• Free bus travel for a companion if you cannot travel alone on the bus
• Low floor buses on many routes throughout the county
• Web based information on bus routes and timetables
• Dedicated disabled car parking spaces throughout the county, many oversized
• 3 hours free parking for Blue Badge holders in Council car parks (Herefordshire is one of very few authorities in the UK to offer this)
• Assessment for Blue Badge entitlement in your own home (or Info in Herefordshire office) from the Welfare Rights Team
• Approximately 30% of Council licensed taxis are wheelchair accessible
• Hereford Shopmobility - a free wheelchair/powered scooter loan scheme for people with mobility difficulties
• Provision of disabled parking spaces in residential streets where circumstances allow
• Free travel training for people with mobility impairments, learning disabilities, and older people

Property and Planning

• Free planning applications to alter an existing dwelling to improve the welfare of a disabled person
• Free planning applications to provide access for disabled people to or within a public building
• Free access audits for village halls
• Free advice to property owners and churches on compliance with DDA

Employment

• Guaranteed job interview for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria
• All vacancies are advertised on Disabled Workers Cooperative website
• Work placements for students from RNCB and young people through the MENCAP organisation
• The Occupational Health team offers advice on "reasonable adjustments" to the workplace

Leisure

• Concessionary prices at all Halo and other Council owned leisure facilities
• Mobility scooters available free of charge at Queenswood Country Park (to be used only on specified routes within the park)
• Currently looking into a number of easy access public rights of way routes around the county
• Adoption of least restrictive option in a number of Rights of Way policies

Accessible Information

• All council literature is available on request in alternative formats such as large print, Braille, easy-read, audio and other languages
• The Council website has earned the Plain English Internet Crystal Mark for providing clear information (December 2005)
• The Council website has been designed to meet the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) A-level standard
• The Council website is speech-enabled through Browsealoud software

Libraries and Museums

• Hearing loops at all libraries and museums
• New mobile libraries in service from October 2006 will have access for all ramps, with handrails, hearing loops, better lighting, heating and ventilation
• Dolphin Supernova software in 5 libraries, including Hereford
• Library membership forms in large print, Braille, on cassette and CD
• Free talking books, DVDs, CDs and videos for blind and partially sighted customers, and no charges for overdue items
• An Access ticket with free loans - no charges for customers who are not partially sighted but cannot access our core book stock
• A ScannaR machine and SmartView magnifier available in Hereford Library and Hereford Art Gallery and Museum
• Libraries at Ross, Leominster and Hereford have a " myReader", a device to capture, scan and enlarge entire pages of script
• All museum and art gallery exhibits are accompanied by tactile images, audio guides and Braille
• The Old House has extensive resources for blind and partially sighted visitors, and offers a virtual tour of its upper floors for those who can't climb the stairs

Housing

• Disabled Facilities Grant to enable people to adapt their home (means tested)
• "You@Home" home improvement service to help householders access small grants or the services of a Handyman Scheme to assist independent living (means tested)
• Your Council Tax may be reduced if your home has certain features which are essential to the well being of a disabled person living there

Community Resources

• The Council has contributed financially to ABLE's resource book for disabled people, to Hereford Access for All's directory of restaurants and cafés in Hereford City, and to the Accessible Venues Directory
• A programme of upgrades for public toilets, with many accessible toilets being fitted with RADAR locks

Benefits

• Herefordshire Council Welfare and Financial Assessment Team and local Pension Service will provide advice on benefit entitlements and assist with claims. Call them on 01432 363756 or welfarerights@herefordshire.gov.uk
• Council staff will visit people's homes and help to fill in forms if they need help or cannot get to the Benefits office
• The Benefits team can refer people to other local agencies (such as the Fire Service, Police, Health services) through the Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA)

Schools

• All schools have an Accessibility Strategy which demonstrates and records how they have considered disability access both in terms of physical and curricula issues