Leonard Cheshire Scottish Disability and Business Awards 2006
An organisation aimed at promoting Scotland’s Highlands and Islands as a location for film and TV productions has won a major business award.
The Scottish Highlands & Islands Film Commission has become the fifth overall winner of the annual Leonard Cheshire Scottish Disability & Business Awards, presented in association with Edinburgh-based law firm, Gillespie Macandrew W.S.
The award is designed to recognise businesses in Scotland that are doing the most to promote inclusion and equality for disabled employees and customers. Previous winners have included Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Gas, West Lothian College and HBOS.
The judges were impressed by the organisation’s commitment to overcoming perceived challenges in employing disabled person in the position of database administrator, and thereafter their flexible approach to ensure he has been given maximum opportunity to fulfil his own potential and in doing so make a very positive contribution to the organisation’s work.
Film Commissioner Trish Shorthouse, of the organisation, said: “We worked closely throughout the process with Leonard Cheshire who were of enormous help. We are a small team representing a large consortium of public sector organisations and because we are a small group there were concerns about the time it might take to manage Lawrence (the post holder).
“However, it quickly became apparent that he had tremendous skills and knowledge that would be of huge benefit to us. Lawrence has a Masters degree in film history and archiving, but despite this had never had a permanent job in the industry. Once we understood his medical condition, and could ensure we had the right kind of flexible arrangements in place, it has proven to be a fantastic appointment and one year on he is a very valued member of our team.”
Latest estimates indicate that there are one million disabled people in Scotland alone, with an annual spending power of £5 billion.
Stephen Neale, Director of Leonard Cheshire Scotland, said: ”In the current climate of changing legislation, it is refreshing to see that more and more companies are seeing the business benefits of going above and beyond the letter of the law. This year, we were delighted to see that so many of the entrants were able to demonstrate a positive attitude towards both disabled customers and staff.”
Derek McCulloch, Partner and Head of Corporate & Business Law at Gillespie Macandrew, who helped judge the award, said: “With the award in its fifth year now, we have attracted numerous quality submissions making the judging process increasingly challenging. This year’s winners all showed significant commitment to meeting the needs of their disabled customers and staff and we hope that other such organisations will recognise the value in doing so and follow suit.”
The Award has three categories and SH&IFC also won the large business category.
The medium business category has been won by Crichton University Campus in Dumfries, with the small category going to Melfort Pier & Harbour self-catering holiday accommodation near Oban.
Dr Morven Easton, Director of Joint Operations at Crichton Campus, said: “I was delighted to learn that the campus has been selected as the winner, in the medium sized business category. This is a tremendous achievement for such a small campus, and much of this is down to the hard work and efforts of local staff and in particular, Vanessa Johnston, our local Special Needs Adviser.”
The judges felt that their commitment to meeting the needs of disabled students represented an outstanding example of good practice.
Melfort Pier & Harbour were winners in the small business category for their outstanding work in ensuring their self-catering holiday accommodation has excellent access and facilities for the disabled – with around half of the accommodation easily accessible and careful landscaping to allow ease of access around the site.
Michelle MacFadyen, Company Secretary, said: “Eight of our homes are designed for full disabled access, and the compound has been designed to allow those in wheelchairs ease of movement around it. We get a complete mix of people coming to Melfort, but it is proving increasingly popular with disabled people.”
Top former paralympic athlete Caroline Baird, Chair of the judging panel, said:”The award is very important in promoting inclusion and disability and the standard gets better each year. This year, for me, was the hardest to choose winners - but the companies we have chosen have all, in their own way, shown that they have gone the extra mile. The overall winner especially stood out as the company showed that ability, not disability shone through.”