Involvement

Have Your Say (HYS) is a speaking-up group where people who are supported by TAG can come together and talk about what is important to them.

This way they can check how TAG is working and offer an expert opinion on

• what is going well

• what could be better

• changes they would like to see.

Examples include:

• Speaking with Danny Hayward, Deputy CEO about working with agency staff.

• Talking about reviews and keyworkers with Dale Goodfellow, Quality Manager

• Sharing meeting minutes with the TAG board so views can be taken into account when decisions and plans are made about TAG

HYS also speak up and campaign for change in the wider community.  A great example is our work on accessible transport including:

• Speaking up in the local community: Inviting Olivia Sklenar, Accessibility & Inclusion Officer at Lothian Buses, to join HYS during Scottish Learning Disability Awareness Week. This year’s theme was "Lead to Change."

HYS learned more about how Lothian Buses work and shared views on what is working well, what could be better and changes people would like to see. Olivia then shared feedback with Lothian Buses' management and Transport Scotland.  This way we were able to drive change in the local Edinburgh area.

• Speaking up with key decision makers in Scotland: HYS Invited Include For Good and the Aberdeenshire Involvement Network to join us to talk about accessible transport. Include For Good were then able to raise views for change with key decision makers at the Scottish Parliament. Putting our voices together meant we could shout louder reach more people and drive change for people in Scotland.

• Speaking up with the UK Government: HYS views on accessible transport will also be shared with the UK Government as part of the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations Review. This will help drive positive change for everyone In the UK . 

The Charter For Involvement helps guide the work that HYS does and helps us make sure that the people we support are involved in decisions and plans about their lives.