Are Council Services Accessible to people with long-term conditions and their carers?

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Consultation has concluded

Project Update July 2023

Background to the investigation

In June 2022, the Council's Scrutiny Committee launched an investigation to find out how accessible council services are to people with disabilities, long term conditions and carers. We contacted health groups, disability support groups, carer's support groups and other health services (including GPs and pharmacies) right across Hartlepool to invite them to contribute to the investigation and to promote it to their members and clients.

There were lots of different ways that people could give us their views about how easy it is to use our services. We ran a survey through this page for organisations and individuals to have their say. We also ran a series of focus group workshops with individual organisations so that we could discuss issues with their clients and staff in detail. There was also an open session for members of the public so those people who are not involved with a support organisation could also tell us about their experience. To make the survey more accessible we produced large-print and easy-read paper versions, whilst the online version is compliant with screen readers. Assistance with completing the survey was also provided in the Community Hubs.

As well as asking for your views, we also took a good look at ourselves. We carried out an internal review of our public facing services to find out what they thought they were doing well to make their services more accessible, where they felt improvements could be made and what they would need to make these improvements.

We also did a "mystery shopper" exercise to look at some of our services in more detail. Volunteers from Hartlepool Health Watch and Hartlepool Deaf Centre visited or contacted certain services to do tasks including:

  • Making an enquiry or finding out information
  • Requesting and undergoing an assessment
  • Making a booking
  • Making an application or renewal of documentation
  • Visiting a site, reception or location

We then carried out in-depth interviews with our mystery shopper volunteers to discuss their experience. We wanted to find out how easy they found the process right the way through from finding out the contact details for the service, through to making contact and attending an appointment.

This research phase took from the launch in June 2022 until December 2022. Since that time we have been working hard to develop a set of recommendations based on the findings of the investigation.

What did we find out?

You can read the full findings report which was submitted to the Audit and Governance Committee by clicking this link.

What are we recommending that we do to find a solution to the issues uncovered during the investigation?

During the investigation we came to a number of conclusions about how easy it is to access our services which you can read in the investigation findings report. Based on these conclusions we have drafted 9 recommendations of solutions we can try. These are:

Recommendation 1: Raise awareness of the facilities available for disabled customers and improve information

Recommendation 2: Reintroduce the text relay service and improve access for customers who are Deaf, have hearing loss or other communication / speech difficulties

Recommendation 3: Provide access to a video / telephone translation service (for BSL and other languages)

Recommendation 4: Improve staff training on disability and accessibility issues

Recommendation 5: Use the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer Group to identify improvements to services

Recommendation 6: Improve the Hartlepool.gov.uk website to make it more accessible and easier to use

Recommendation 7: Ensure that Council reports, documents and forms are accessible and easy to read / use

Recommendation 8: Do a consultation to find out if the creation of a passport / card / lanyard system could be useful for customers to show to staff so that their needs are quickly recognised and responded to any additional support needs.

Recommendation 9: Share the lessons learned from the development of the Highlight leisure centre across all services

What happens next?

Now we would like your views on these recommendations. There are a few different ways you can tell us what you think:

  • Complete this short survey to give us your views online
  • Download and print an easy-read version of the recommendations and survey
  • Send us a letter with your views. Letters should be addressed to Accessibility Investigation, FAO Joan Stevens, Hartlepool Borough Council, Civic Centre, Victoria Road, Hartlepool, TS24 8AY
  • Ask your local support group to formally respond to us on your behalf using either of these two methods

The closing date for comments on the recommendations is Sunday 27th August.

Project Update July 2023

Background to the investigation

In June 2022, the Council's Scrutiny Committee launched an investigation to find out how accessible council services are to people with disabilities, long term conditions and carers. We contacted health groups, disability support groups, carer's support groups and other health services (including GPs and pharmacies) right across Hartlepool to invite them to contribute to the investigation and to promote it to their members and clients.

There were lots of different ways that people could give us their views about how easy it is to use our services. We ran a survey through this page for organisations and individuals to have their say. We also ran a series of focus group workshops with individual organisations so that we could discuss issues with their clients and staff in detail. There was also an open session for members of the public so those people who are not involved with a support organisation could also tell us about their experience. To make the survey more accessible we produced large-print and easy-read paper versions, whilst the online version is compliant with screen readers. Assistance with completing the survey was also provided in the Community Hubs.

As well as asking for your views, we also took a good look at ourselves. We carried out an internal review of our public facing services to find out what they thought they were doing well to make their services more accessible, where they felt improvements could be made and what they would need to make these improvements.

We also did a "mystery shopper" exercise to look at some of our services in more detail. Volunteers from Hartlepool Health Watch and Hartlepool Deaf Centre visited or contacted certain services to do tasks including:

  • Making an enquiry or finding out information
  • Requesting and undergoing an assessment
  • Making a booking
  • Making an application or renewal of documentation
  • Visiting a site, reception or location

We then carried out in-depth interviews with our mystery shopper volunteers to discuss their experience. We wanted to find out how easy they found the process right the way through from finding out the contact details for the service, through to making contact and attending an appointment.

This research phase took from the launch in June 2022 until December 2022. Since that time we have been working hard to develop a set of recommendations based on the findings of the investigation.

What did we find out?

You can read the full findings report which was submitted to the Audit and Governance Committee by clicking this link.

What are we recommending that we do to find a solution to the issues uncovered during the investigation?

During the investigation we came to a number of conclusions about how easy it is to access our services which you can read in the investigation findings report. Based on these conclusions we have drafted 9 recommendations of solutions we can try. These are:

Recommendation 1: Raise awareness of the facilities available for disabled customers and improve information

Recommendation 2: Reintroduce the text relay service and improve access for customers who are Deaf, have hearing loss or other communication / speech difficulties

Recommendation 3: Provide access to a video / telephone translation service (for BSL and other languages)

Recommendation 4: Improve staff training on disability and accessibility issues

Recommendation 5: Use the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer Group to identify improvements to services

Recommendation 6: Improve the Hartlepool.gov.uk website to make it more accessible and easier to use

Recommendation 7: Ensure that Council reports, documents and forms are accessible and easy to read / use

Recommendation 8: Do a consultation to find out if the creation of a passport / card / lanyard system could be useful for customers to show to staff so that their needs are quickly recognised and responded to any additional support needs.

Recommendation 9: Share the lessons learned from the development of the Highlight leisure centre across all services

What happens next?

Now we would like your views on these recommendations. There are a few different ways you can tell us what you think:

  • Complete this short survey to give us your views online
  • Download and print an easy-read version of the recommendations and survey
  • Send us a letter with your views. Letters should be addressed to Accessibility Investigation, FAO Joan Stevens, Hartlepool Borough Council, Civic Centre, Victoria Road, Hartlepool, TS24 8AY
  • Ask your local support group to formally respond to us on your behalf using either of these two methods

The closing date for comments on the recommendations is Sunday 27th August.

  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    Accessibility recommendations

    During the investigation we came to a number of conclusions about how easy it is to access our services which you can read in the investigation findings report. Based on these conclusions we have drafted 9 recommendations of how we can fix the issues uncovered in the investigation. These are:

    Recommendation 1: Raise awareness of the facilities available for disabled customers and improve information

    Recommendation 2: Reintroduce the text relay service and improve access for customers who are Deaf, have hearing loss or other communication / speech difficulties

    Recommendation 3: Provide access to a video / telephone translation service (for BSL and other languages)

    Recommendation 4: Improve staff training on disability and accessibility issues

    Recommendation 5: Use the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer Group to identify improvements to services

    Recommendation 6: Improve the Hartlepool.gov.uk website to make it more accessible and easier to use

    Recommendation 7: Ensure that Council reports, documents and forms are accessible and easy to read / use

    Recommendation 8: Do a consultation to find out if the creation of a passport / card / lanyard system could be useful for customers to show to staff so that their needs are quickly recognised and responded to any additional support needs.

    Recommendation 9: Share the lessons learned from the development of the Highlight leisure centre across all services

    The closing date for comments on the recommendations is Sunday 27th August.

    Consultation has concluded
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  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    Are Council services accessible to people with long-term conditions? (Public Survey)

    We are looking at how people with long-term conditions and those who care for someone with a long-term condition access Council services. We want to know how easy it is for you to find out about and use Council services. We want to understand what's working well and also what we could do better.

    If you are completing the survey on behalf of someone else, you should ask them how they want to answer. If this is not possible then select the answer that you think they would choose.

    What kind of services are we asking about

    When answering the questions in the survey, we want to hear about your experience using any or all Council services not just those relating to your long-term condition (or the condition of someone you care for). You can tell us about services that you use:

    • In person (including in a Council building or at home)
    • Online
    • Over the telephone
    • Through the post (including when we send you letters or information, for example your council tax bill, your polling card to vote or Hartbeat magazine)

    Some examples of services that you may use which do not relate to a long-term condition might include:

    • Booking a bulky waste collection
    • Using a library service
    • Making an enquiry or a complaint about a service
    • Making or commenting on a planning application
    • Attending a public meeting

    Some examples of Council services that you might use which directly relate to a long-term condition could include:

    • Care providers (if the Council pays for some or all of your care)
    • Centre for Independent Living (Hartlepool CIL) day services
    • School transport
    • Blue badge parking scheme

    These examples are intended as suggestions rather than a complete list so feel free to talk about other Council services not on this list. 

    What services are we not asking about

    There are some services we don't need you to tell us about. Please do not tell us about services which are not provided or commissioned by the Council. Some examples might include:

    • GP surgeries
    • Hospital services
    • Private care providers (where you pay for all your care yourself)
    • Public transport (privately operated such as bus or train services)
    • Middleton Grange Shopping Centre


    If you need this survey in an alternative format


    If you need the survey in another format then please email yoursay@hartlepool.gov.uk or telephoning 01429 284142. Paper copies of this survey are also available from the reception at the Civic Centre, in the Community Hubs and libraries around the town.

    The closing date for the survey is Sunday 12th June 2022

    Consultation has concluded
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