I DON'T BELIEVE YOU: - LTNS exemption policy

Brian Leveson • May 15, 2022

2 days before the May 2022 election I was asked to take part in some way (not sure what) in the development of the Lower Traffic Neighbourhoods exemption policy. Not happy having my time wasted I asked some questions - I have had no reply.

3rd May 2022 (2 days before the election)

Dear Resident

As you are ware Haringey is in the process of developing an LTN exemption policy with neighbouring boroughs, Hackney, Islington and Enfield to allow residents who live within and on the boundary of the LTN’s exemption to the permeable filters, as part of the process in developing the policy our appointed consultant Systra would like to interview residents and parents of children with a disability. As you have contacted us in the past in respect to the development of the LTN, we would like to give you the opportunity to take part as a stakeholder in developing the policy. Please let me know if you are interested in taking part by responding to this e-mail.

Many thanks.

Transport Planning Team Manager

My reply - 3rd May 2022 (2 days before the election)

Dear Transport Planning Team Manager

Thank you for contacting me.

With reference to Haringey’s Community Engagement Framework - Full Version (Web link below)

https://www.haringey.gov.uk/local-democracy/have-your-say-haringey/haringeys-community-engagement-fr...

Firstly, I am unclear as to what it is you want me to do. Is it be interviewed by the consultant or read, review, comment and help develop the policy or both (Ref page 10 of the Framework, point 3 - "Be clear about what it is we are asking").

Secondly, am I going give up my time for nothing to come of it. We gave up a lot of time for the workshops, only for the outcome to be the appointment of consultants with no clear evidence as to how the feedback shared by attendees would be used to influence the policy (Ref page 10 of the Framework, point 2 - "Engage when it will make a difference"). Another example of where feedback and recommendations were not followed through is the 2020 Amaze Report and its recommendations for meetings around engagement with SEND parents.

Thirdly, what efforts will be made to garner the views of the wider SEND community. I represent me and only me as the parent of a very severely disabled paraplegic and brain damaged child. I do not want to be put in the invidious position of my view being taken as the view for all SEND parents (Ref page 10/11 of the Framework, point 4 - "Be inclusive and aim to engage with all communities"). This is what happened with regard to the Difficultparent.com blog being cited as "consultation" in the SEND Transport call in to Overview and Scrutiny Panel, December 2019.

Finally, I am concerned that this is invitation is being sent because there is a local election in 2 days time and LTNs are an issue that impact detrimentally on the lives of disabled people.

I have had offers of "engagement" before from officers of Haringey Council, only for those offers to be withdrawn without notice or even informing me, I refer to [The Assistant Director for SEND's] conduct as a clear example of this happening when I was informed verbally and in writing following the "Truth and Reconciliation" meeting that I would be asked to share future meetings information in the Difficultparent.com blog. Only for[The Assistant Director for SEND]to reflect that[The Assistant Director for SEND]would prefer to only engage through "official partners" that Haringey pay for and commission. It would be remiss of me not to raise concerns about the inclusivity and fairness of such an approach.

I look forward to your response.

Regards,

Bounce back - 3rd May 2022 (2 days before election)

Thank you for your email
I am out of office until Monday 9th May 2022 please consider forwarding your email ... ...

For us, shorter journeys are a matter of life and death. Uncontrolled distress can cause life threatening seizures. We need access now, not in a magical future when cars have evaporated.

How the Difficult Parent sees it - this is not coproduction

Environment change is terrifying, as is watching your child unable to breath - whether that be through asthma or seizure activity. Whatever the plans are, they must not discriminate against people on the basis of disabilities. They must not lead to children dying because plans have not thought through the impact on disabled people. And that needs to include all people - including the most severely disabled.

Surely, an exemption policy for the most exceptional cases is a great idea and completely falls into the Leader Peray Ahmet desire for coproduction.

Sadly, we are in a terrible place in terms of trusting the officers of the local authority to carry out that work and work with users as equals to design services that truly meet needs. I have given enough examples of time wasted when reports and recommendations from engagement is not followed through by the officers of Haringey Council: The Amaze Report, the February 2020 SEND Transport event, the previous workshops on an LTNs exemptions policy (4 one and a half hour meetings).

Thus far, with 4 one and a half hour workshops not delivering the exemptions policy we all believed we were working towards, alongside other behaviours you are just led to the conclusion we are all having our time wasted. And parents and carers of severely disabled people do not have the time to be wasted by the officers of the local authority so they they can tick a box.

Haringey's Equality Impact Assessments state that the LTNs will disproportionately impact disabled people who are wholly reliant on motorised transport. The Equality Impact Assessments recognise that disabled people already make less journeys then non-disabled people.

More barriers to journeys for people who already have barriers to journeys

Disabled people make less journeys than non-disabled people (as acknowledged in Haringey's Equality Impact Assessments) because they face barriers to making journeys. For us, those barriers include

lack of wheelchair accessible public transport (other than London Black Cab taxis - hurrah for our heros), see our blog https://www.difficultparent.com/please-listen-without-prejudice-low-traffic-neighbourhoods-and-the-i...
lack of accessible venue that are fully inclusive for our child's needs when we get there (e.g. Changing Places in Haringey), so we have to go far and wide to get to venues that are accessible for us; see our blog https://www.difficultparent.com/10-things-to-do-this-school-holiday-with-a-severely-disabled-wheelch...
the difficulty of manual handling our child in our hone which still does not have its adaptions . See our blog https://www.difficultparent.com/how-on-earth-did-that-happen

Peray's coproduction pledge

Hart's Ladder of Participation

Inequalities for disabled people

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