Disability & Access Ambassador (Banking Sector) 'Year One' Update
Monday 4th July, 2022
As I move into my second year as Disability and Access Ambassador for the banking sector, I’d like to use this milestone as a chance to update on my activity so far.
It’s been a busy year speaking to my banking sector peers and our industry body (UK Finance), disability leaders and disabled people (or their representatives) - and of course my fellow ambassadors*, to identify the things that would most benefit from my focus. I firmly believe that whilst firms should use service excellence, innovation and marketing to compete for disabled consumers’ business (like any other consumer in their target market), it should not be a competitive issue to eradicate the legacy barriers facing disabled people. Many agree, and I’ve been heartened by the number of people keen to collaborate to tackle industry-wide issues.
*Image: Photograph of Kathryn and Hector Minto, Ambassador for Technology, at the Zero Project Conference at the UN, Vienna - Feb 2022
The priority issues I will be addressing are:
1.??????Access to banking for people with cognitive difference, in particular learning disabilities and difficulties
Next steps: Working with a small group of representatives from Nationwide Building Society, Barclays, Santander, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Capital One to document the thematic issues and identify responsible owners to present findings
2.??????Improved accessibility for d/Deaf consumers
Next steps: Continue engagement with Deaf advocacy groups and individuals to identify appropriate opportunity
3.??????Encouraging firms to advance their accessibility maturity and promote ways to drive a more consistent consumer experience
It’s on this last point that I’m delighted to share news about an exciting new development which launches today, 4th July. ‘The Support List’ is a new community driven, open-source website which aims to improve accessibility for people when dealing with businesses and other organisations.
It has been created in recognition of the challenges faced by those with additional support needs. It has been driven by leading disability and accessibility specialists, Dan Holloway and Chris Fitch, and informed by the lived experiences of more than 1,400 disabled people and those with additional support needs.
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The list, sponsored by Experian, will expand over time to cover more disabilities, vulnerabilities, and circumstances, informed by the lived experiences of contributors, and then tested by organisations to see how readily they can be put in place.
The ambition is that the Support List will be used to develop standardised approaches and responses to those with disabilities and support needs, which can be used across multiple industries and sectors, to benefit people with support needs anywhere in the UK. It will be iterated over time based on feedback from consumers and industry.
I provided the following official quote to support the launch of the Support List:
“Companies that provide services on an on-going basis, such as finance, energy and telecommunications, have a unique opportunity to deliver personal, accessible experiences for their customers – and yet many disabled people still face barriers. The financial services industry has been leading the way on accessibility, but there is more that can be done across all sectors. The Support List provides a welcome resource which puts disabled people’s voices at the heart of the solution and will hopefully help address some of the challenges that companies cite.”
Other activities since my last update in November:
·??????Dec 2021 – Int. Day of Disabled People – Social campaign with Barclays Bank
·??????Feb 2022 – Zero Project, UN, Vienna. Making financial services accessible panel
·??????April 2022 – I leave Barclays to join Nationwide Building Society
·??????June 2022 – Agree to lead the DAA sub-group on ‘data’
·??????July 2022 – Support List is launched – www.whatweneed.support
If you would like to support any of the activity above, or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me on LinkedIn (Kathryn Townsend | LinkedIn) - or on Twitter @KathrynTweeets
Social Impact & Inclusion Strategist w/a Disability Lens. Driven by Purpose, Anxiety, & Really Good Coffee.
1 年The work you are doing is tremendous and we are really proud to be a part of it with the the Valuable 500. Excited to dig into what's next with your team.
Senior DV Case Worker / DASH Train The Trainer. DASH BUNDLES.
2 年A vulnerable client- my partner partially blind , pensioner, had his account frozen over 10 days ago. Without prior notice. We are not able to pay bills he has no access due to barclays placing him in 500k debt to freeze the account! What are his rights ? Nobody will even speak to him about this despite the branch manager complaining to head office.
Senior Associate Consultant - vocational education and workforce development, apprenticeship and qualification design and implementation, quality assurance and performance development
2 年Hello Kathryn, I don't have your new email address at Nationwide. Congratulations Delighted to see the progress in the first year of your tenure. Even more delighted to see Improved accessibility for d/Deaf consumers as a priority area. I hope we can pick up again and discuss where our Signing Banks project can support this in any way. My ESquared email address is [email protected] I also may have a very useful link for you in a charity partner, Include.org which supports ?for people with cognitive difference. Let me know when we might be able to talk again and we can update you on Signing Banks. best wishes Breda
Senior Design Manager at OD Interiors
2 年Great article, and such interesting work you are doing. As you mention, it is so important to consider what will actually help people, rather than trying to come up with generic measures that might be good for PR. I will look forward to future updates!