Welcome to new Affiliate Organisations joining this month:

· London Borough of Havering Sensory Team
· Stoke-on-Trent Social Services Disability and Sensory Team
· East Durham Deafened & Hard of Hearing Support (EDDHIS)
· Wiltshire Department of Adult and Community Services - The Hearing and Vision Team

Conferences for autumn 2005 include:

1 November: 2nd Annual Deafness Conference

22 November: Promoting Achievement for Deaf Young People

Sponsored by the National Association of Deafened People.

Being held on 4th October 2005 at the Britannia Street Conference Centre, Kings Cross, London.

Professor Roger K Moore, University of Sheffield Speech and Hearing Research Group, on ‘Progress, Promises and Prospects for Automatic Speech Recognition’. This talk will review the progress and promises offered by ASR, and will speculate on the future prospects based on the collected view of the ASR research and development community. Martin Davies will be providing a talk on how BBC Broadcast is using Speech Recognition Technology to provide subtitles
on realtime television programmes. Frances Dobson on professional realtime voicewriting, voicewriter's standards, products and services. Tabitha Allum and Phil Nicolaou from STAGETEXT, will be talking about recent advances in captioning technology to make arts and entertainment venues more accessible. Also, the possibilities of being able to more readily satisfy the needs of a wider group of both venues and audiences. Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq from Deafax will be providing a general overview on new technologies in communication including information about their latest projects. Professor Jim Kyle from the Deaf Studies Trust on the use of video technology to provide information, and for direct person-to-person communication for elderly deaf people. Sgt Glen Barham, Police Link Officer for Deaf People (PLOD) Hampshire and PC Kerry Bone talking about the speed-text non-registration emergency SMS service for deaf people, plus the development of one free national number for all services. Alan Brooker, BT Age and Disability Action Team on their strategies, including the development of innovative technology to achieve effortless inclusion for all. Christopher Jones, Teletec International on their Remote Communications Support Service including captioned telephony - CapTel. Jeff McWhinney of Significan't on videophone technology offering deaf people communication over long distances.

The Department for Work and Pensions would like to hear your views on two proposals coming out of the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit’s report ‘Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People’.

The first is the creation of a new Office for Disability Issues (ODI) which would support improved arrangements for securing collaboration between ministers and officials, and for involvement of disabled people themselves. The ODI will have a coordinating role, providing direct support through its chief officer to the Minister for Disabled People, and provide a focus within government for disability as a discrete subject and be the means by which departments collectively drive forward the strategy. The ODI will be “owned” by the leading departments (DH, DWP, DfES, ODPM and DfT) who would between them plan and steer its work programme and ensure that this fits well with the Government’s wider equality agenda.

The second is the establishment of a National Forum for Organisations of Disabled People, chaired by the Minister, through which disabled people can meet and contribute to policy development. This would provide a direct signal to disabled people that their contribution is essential to delivering the new strategy, would overcome a degree of current uncertainty about inclusion of disabled people in policy development, and would provide an example for similar arrangements associated with delivery of services.

DWP would like responses as early as possible, preferably by 16 September 2005; Please send your responses to: Anju Thind, Department for Work and Pensions, FREEPOST PHQ5, London WC2N 6BR

The Universal Service Obligation (USO) ensures that basic fixed line services are available at an affordable price to all citizens and customers across the UK. Ofcom published a consultation document in January 2005 examining the current operation of USO and making a series of proposals for change. A key service for deaf people is the text relay, which needs to evolve as demand and technology changes. It is proposed that a Stakeholder Advisory Panel for the relay service will be established and an annual plan and report on the operation of the service will be published. These changes will improve transparency and accountability. A study into a video relay and captioned telephony service will be carried out.

The Department of Health Towards Equity and Access Implementation Panel held its first meeting on 27 June. The remit of the panel is to:

Engage with PCT's to help implement the recommendations in the Towards Access and Equity Report; Monitor and evaluate PCT expenditure of the money they receive to implement the TEA report recommendations; Work with PCT's and Strategic Health Authorities (SHA's) on the commissioning of specialist mental health services for Deaf people using the DH Guidance issued in March 2003; Ensure the Deaf community are aware of the TEA report and its recommendations and are able to act as a force in ensuring implementation.
Report back to Department of Health on progress made in implementing recommendations and propose further initiatives to develop equity and access for Deaf people; Engage with other government departments to ensure joined up approach providing equity and access.