Annual Report 2004-2005

E: Our Members

This information about our Members, Main Committee, Observers and Secretariat was correct as at 1 April 2005.

Chair:
Neil Betteridge

Members:
Pravinkant Amin
Sian Baldwin (until 31 December 2004)
Peter Barker (until 31 December 2004)
Ann Bates
Sean Bolton (from 1 January 2005)
Josephine Clairmont
Vidur Dindayal
Jean Dunlop
David Finnegan
Julie Giles (until 26 January 2005)
Roy Hayter (until 31 December 2004)
Roger Hewitt
Grahame Lawson
Jenny Meadows
Alan Norton (from 1 January 2005)
Tom Pey
Katherine Phipps (from 1 January 2005)
David Pugh
Keith Richards
Laura Smales (until 7 February 2005)
Kate Smyth
Carol Thomas
Richard West

Observers:
Kyle Crutchley - Department for Regional Development (Northern Ireland)
Julie Guilar - Department for Regional Development,(Northern Ireland)
Ann Frye - Department for Transport, Mobility and Inclusion Unit
Sue Sharp - Department for Transport, Mobility and Inclusion Unit
Barbara Vincent - Department for Work and Pensions
Will Bee - Disability Rights Commission
Greg Dempster - Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland
Jean Wilson - Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland
Paul Everall - Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
David Petherick - Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Ann Lyon - Scottish Executive
Mike Spearing - Welsh Assembly Government

Secretariat:
Andy Kirby, Secretary
Sandra Duncan
Ffion Grant
Gary Kemp
Harriet Samuels
Verona Wiltshire

Membership as at 01 April 2005

Neil Betteridge - Chairman
Neil is Chief Executive at Arthritis Care and is Vice Chair of ARMA (the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance), the umbrella body for the arthritis community in the UK. He is also Vice President of (EULAR) European League against Rheumatism. Neil previously worked at RADAR (Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation). Neil has been a Member of DPTAC since 2003.

Pravinkant Amin
Pravin is the Special Projects Manager in the Engineering and Transportation Department at the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and is a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He is the Past President and Trustee of National Congress of Gujarati Organisations and Trustee of ASHRAM (Lambeth Asian Elderly Centre) and has been a DPTAC Member since 2003.

Ann Bates
Anne has been a member of the Rail Passengers Committee working closely with train companies and the Strategic Rail Authority. She is also a non-executive member of a National Health Trust and has professional involvement with both the National Association of Teachers and Lecturers in Further and Higher Education and the Trade Union Disability Alliance. A member since 2002, Ann is a wheelchair user who has arthritis. She chairs the Rail Working Group.

Sean Bolton
Sean has extensive committee involvement with Scope (the charity representing people with cerebral palsy) at both national and regional level. He has been North Bristol's Disability Equalities Adviser to Bristol City Council and a DPTAC Member since January 2005.

Josephine Clairmont
Josephine is a town councillor, and former mayor of Market Rasen. She is a Trustee of RADAR and the Lincolnshire Rural Housing Association. Josephine has held various posts with the Disabled Drivers Motor Club since 1989, and is a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists. Josephine is a wheelchair user, and has been a DPTAC Member since 2003.

Vidur Dindayal
Vidur is an architect who has worked on access design for over 30 years. Appointed to DPTAC in 2002, he is a member of the Disability Appeals Tribunal, and former member of the London Regional Passenger Committee and London Transport Users' Committee.

Jean Dunlop
Jean has been a Member of DPTAC since 1997. Jean is the Vice-Chair of the Scottish Accessible Information Forum, Chairperson of FABB Scotland (Facilitating Access Breaking Barriers) and a member of the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland. She is a wheelchair user, and also a disability equality trainer.

David Finnegan
David has spent fifteen years working in the access field with Merseytravel Passenger Transport Executive with responsibility for designing inclusive infrastructure and implementing the DDA throughout the organisation. He has undertaken other disability work through WIRED (Wirral Information Resource Equality and Disability), the Spinal Injuries Association and is also a member of the Access Association. David has an interest in environmental issues and is an inventor. He is a wheelchair user and has been a DPTAC Member since 2002.

Roger Hewitt
Roger is Opportunities for Volunteering Co-ordinator for the United Kingdom Council on Deafness, Treasurer and Trustee of the Deaf Broadcasting Council and a committee member of the Telecommunications Action Group and the Royal Shakespeare Access Advisory Group. He is himself deaf and this is his first term as a Member of DPTAC. Roger is also a trainer, researcher and consultant for Deaf Issue. Roger has been a DPTAC Member since 2003.

Grahame Lawson
A Member since 1996, Grahame has been involved in transportation for over 36 years and has had a particular interest in disability issues for 15 years. He undertook a lead role in the review by DPTAC of the Blue Badge Scheme. Grahame has just retired as Head of Planning and Transportation with North Lanarkshire Council where he was a key officer on disability issues. He was also an adviser to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on disability matters. He chairs the Personal Mobility and Local Authority Working Group.

Jenny Meadows
First appointed to DPTAC in 1995, Jenny has just stepped down as the Executive Director of the Community Transport Association and has a long professional and voluntary involvement in community and voluntary transport services. Initially qualified in social work residential childcare, she began her career in the transport sector at Readibus, the first door to door, many to many dial a ride in the UK, which pioneered the development of this sector. She chairs the Bus, Coach and Community Transport Working Group.

Alan Norton
Alan is Director of the Disabled Living Centres Council, board member for the Disabled Living Centre in Manchester, and Chairman of Bury Shopmobility. He is a member of the North West Committee for Community Legal Services and involved in the greater Manchester Police Respect Programme. He is also involved in many voluntary sector activities providing services and inclusion for disabled people in the North West. Alan has been a DPTAC Member since January 2005.

Tom Pey
Tom is Director of Policy for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, a Trustee of the Royal London Society for the Blind, and sits on the Pets Passport Advisory Committee. He is currently Chair of the Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Working Group. Tom is blind, and has been a DPTAC Member since 2002.

Katherine Phipps
Katherine is Head of the Joint Mobility Unit Access Partnership, the pan-disability access consultancy. She has been disability consultant for the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, and research assistant at Institute of Hearing Research. She is a member of the Built Environment Reference Group covering Scotland and has been a DPTAC Member since January 2005. She chairs the Built Environment Group.

David Pugh
David was appointed to the Committee in 2002. A former bus driver, he was a regional industrial organiser for the Transport and General Workers Union specialising in passenger transport. He is a lay member of the Employment Tribunal Service and a member of the Disability Rights Commission Mental Health Action Group. David is the Convenor of the Mental Health and Transport Group, a trustee of the Manic Depression Fellowship and a member of MIND. David was the first DPTAC member appointed with mental health interests.

Keith Richards
Keith is Head of Consumer Affairs at ABTA with special responsibility for access issues. Appointed in 2002, he was a member of the Department for Transport's Air Access group responsible for producing the Code of Practice- Access to Air Travel for Disabled People. Keith is also a member of the European Civil Aviation Conference' Facilitation Working Group on People with Reduced Mobility. He is Chair of the Aviation Working Group.

Kate Smyth
Kate is a freelance regeneration, economic development, housing and disability advisor. She works with a wide range of clients including: the North West Regional Assembly (NWRA), Rochdale MBC, Warrington Disability Partnership, Learning and Skills Council Lancashire, Cumbria Local Education Authority and the North West Training and Development Team - an organisation that works with people with learning disabilities. She wrote the report, 'Committed to Inclusion, Accepting the Challenge, the North West and Disability' for the NWRA, in 2000 and is currently developing a Disability Strategy for Rochdale MBC and a Housing and Support Needs Strategy for Young Physically Disabled People. She is a board member of Burnley and Padiham Community Housing and is a wheelchair user. Kate has been a DPTAC Members since 2003.

Carol Thomas
Carol has been involved in the access field for many years, initially working for Disability Wales, and more recently as part of Joint Mobility Unit Access Partnership, the pandisability access consultancy. She has been a Member since 1999, and chairs the Education and Training Working Group. Carol is also a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, and sits on the management panel of the National Register of Access Consultants. She provides the secretariat for the Joint Committee on Mobility of Blind and Partially Sighted People. Carol also serves on the Access Committee for Wales and the Access Association for Wales.

Richard West
Richard is a member of the Greater London Association of Disabled People (GLAD) and works with CHANGE where he deals with transport issues. Richard has a particular interest in making transport information more accessible for people with learning disabilities and has worked with Transport for London in that area. Richard has been a Member since 1999 and is the first member of the Committee with a learning disability. Richard is also deaf.

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