Marcus Dickey Horley, Curator, Access Projects, Tate Modern

As one of Britain’s most popular visitor attractions, Tate Modern receives over five million visitors a year. Marcus Dickey Horley, Curator of Access Projects and Visitor Experience Manager, works to ensure that Tate’s building meets the access needs of all visitors and that Tate provides a programme of events and services for disabled people.

Marcus works with disability organisations to engage disabled people from all backgrounds and with a wide range of access requirements. He’s developed an extensive programme of innovative, cost-effective events for disabled visitors, their friends and families, enabling disabled visitors to actively participate in the UK’s cultural life.

Marcus chairs Tate’s Access Advisory Group, a group of disabled visitors who act as critical friends to Tate. He works closely with the members of the Access Advisory Group to understand the particular needs of disabled visitors and to ensure Tate constantly improves its provision for disabled audiences.

Marcus collaborates with a number of disability organisations, e.g. Mencap, Sense, to provide accessible services to disabled people with a wide range of conditions and impairments. He works with many other teams in Tate to ensure that all staff engage respectfully with disabled visitors. He also advises other museums and galleries on programming accessible events.

Marcus chairs the Access Advisory Group (AAG), a group of disabled visitors who meet regularly to act as critical friends to Tate. The AAG reviews upcoming projects to ensure that they meet the access requirements of disabled people. Recently, the AAG has successfully lobbied for changes to Tate’s new website, advised on the staging of an exhibition involving flashing lights, and made a substantial impact into the design for the Tate Britain Millbank Project.

Marcus takes an inclusive, collaborative and respectful approach to all his work and has been successful not only in providing high-quality services to Tate’s disabled visitors but in raising the profile of access and disability throughout the organisation.

Sadly, there are currently disproportionately few disabled visitors to arts institutions. Marcus’s pioneering work breaks down the barriers preventing disabled people from accessing museums and galleries to help make Tate open to all.

Mark Jeffery, Forester, Forestry Commission England

There is clear evidence that securing employment for ex-offenders is one of the most effective ways to reduce reoffending. Research has shown that this group is the most excluded by employers.

In 2004 the Forestry Commission (FC) formed a partnership with Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) Dartmoor to deliver Offender Rural Skills Training in a woodland environment, following the closure of the prison farm. Following a successful initial training provision, the FC developed a hugely successful project delivering a mentored work experience programme and industry-recognised training, with a final outcome of securing employment post-release.

Technical skills provided and work experience in the forest environment not only significantly increases individual confidence and self-esteem, it also opens potential careers in gardening, tree surgery, landscape work, horticulture, fencing and forestry. Participants in the project came from all ages, abilities and a range of ethnic backgrounds. Many joining the programme had not previously spent any time in a woodland environment.

To date, the Dartmoor Rehabilitation Project has seen 25 offenders taking part, of which 15 have secured full-time employment in the private sector following release. The 60 per cent success rate in securing employment for participants post-release is higher than many other programmes delivering in this field.

The project has been academically reviewed by the Centre for Mental Health as a national exemplar of best practice and the role of the FC’s work place mentor, Mark Jeffrey, was highlighted as a critical component to the successful outcomes.

Mark, an FC Forest Foreman, had no previous experience of working with offenders and has used his people-management and leadership skills to the full in the project. He has a natural ability to motivate those around him, whilst nurturing skills and ensuring that a high standard of work is achieved.

Participants join a small team led by Mark; this helps them to readjust from a prison regime to a working day pattern. With Mark’s guidance, the programme lets participants experience teamwork, while skills-development and training boost confidence and self-esteem.

The transformation in the individual participants’ confidence, communication skills and responsibility is truly impressive after only a short period. Mark has helped to shape and improve the programme, and he has continually demonstrated inclusive leadership, passion and professionalism.

Senior Citizen Liaison Team, Bishopsworth Police Station

The UK has an aging population. By 2030, one in four people in our communities will be over 60 years of age. Older adults are prey to unscrupulous criminals who use deception and artifice to trick and steal money from their senior victims. In 2008/09, Bristol (pop: 450,000) suffered more distraction burglaries than Wales (pop: three million).

The average victims of these offences are the most vulnerable people in society, typically female, aged 79 years and living alone. They suffer significant trauma to their lives following victimisation, which can often lead to social isolation, fear and loss of confidence.

The Senior Citizen Liaison Team (SCLT) was established in January 2010 by volunteer officers of the Bishopsworth Policing Team to specifically target the disproportionate number of offences in Bristol, and to reduce the impact of such offending on the senior population. All the services offered by the SCLT are complementary to normal policing services, and are often carried out in the officer’s own time. This initiative has played a significant part in the reduction of distraction burglaries by 30 per cent in the 2010/11 period.

The ethos of the SCLT is simple: if you have contact with the Senior Citizen Liaison Team, you are far less likely to become a victim of crime. Over the last year, crime-beating presentations have been made to thousands of seniors at various community gatherings. They additionally spread the message of their work through the Senior Siren Newsletter which is published quarterly and read by 10,000 people. The award-nominated publication is entirely funded by corporate sponsors and is totally cost-neutral to the public purse.

Far more than just another law-enforcement team, the SCLT has taken the opportunity to assist with other aspects of social improvement by joining other statutory and voluntary agencies to make referrals which have significantly improved people’s lives. This has included working with SSAFA Forces-Help to assist military veterans with domestic issues, and working with the Royal British Legion to establish a Remembrance Parade to boost community cohesion.

Many people have benefited from the work of the SCLT at a time of their lives where they feel isolated and marginalised. The SCLT is indeed unique, there is no other team to be found in the police service in the UK which provides such a service.

Tell Us Once Team

Innovative and customer-focused, Tell Us Once (TUO) enables people to inform government just once of a birth or death. People are often at their most vulnerable at these times, especially when bereaved. Without TUO, notifying government requires people to navigate their way around myriad government services at a time when many are least able to cope.

By notifying other agencies TUO saves an enormous amount of time and stress. Examples of services notified include state pension, housing benefit and Disability Living Allowance. TUO defines a national core process for reporting a birth or death that is the same wherever it is delivered.

Our Equality Impact Assessment received praise from the cross-government Heads of Digital Engagement Group as an example of best practice. Our customer insight revealed that to best meet the needs of the diverse groups of people, the programme would need to provide multiple channels to access the service. We currently offer a face-to-face service, and the bereavement service can also be delivered over the telephone, with an online channel to be made available by end of 2011.

We offer this service despite the push for defaulting services to digital because the face-to-face interview offered by local authority partners is particularly helpful and comforting for those who require additional support and signposting to services. These groups include elderly people and minorities whose first language may not be English. Often our service benefits older women whose husbands have traditionally managed the household finances. The TUO Birth Service benefits new mothers by helping them to get access to services and faster payment of benefits such as Child Tax Credit.

About 50,000 people have used TUO, saving them a further seven contacts with government, and customer satisfaction is recorded as 99 per cent. This is a result of TUO putting the diverse needs of customers at the heart of the service design. During 2010/11 TUO had saved £3.37m while operating in just 43 councils. Included in this was £180,000 in preventing Blue Badge fraud, thereby freeing up parking space for disabled people. TUO will be offered nationwide by the end of 2011.