FREE DEAF AWARENESS TRAINING OFFERED TO SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE NORTH WEST

 

DEAF and Disability Awareness Training is now available to small and medium sized enterprises in which the RNID represent in the light of the Disability Discrimination Act coming into operation later this year.

Last year, a RNID survey found that 69 per cent of small businesses in the northwest did not intend to make any changes as the new law requires. But small businesses that do not comply risk litigation from employees.

The DDAT gives businesses an introduction to the Disability Discrimination Act, deafness and disability. Employers and employees participate in group discussions and practical exercises, applying simple solutions to improve communication with deaf and hard of hearing people in the workplace.

RNID's three year project started in 2002 and funded by a £441,728 grant from the Community Fund. The project aims to train nearly 2,000 individuals and more than 400 small businesses across the UK by May 2005.

The project is now entering its final year and RNID is encouraging the business community to take advantage of this opportunity to benefit from free training in preparation for the DDA.

Lyndon Williams, RNID Regional Training Officer said:- "These training sessions allow delegates to explore the world of deafness and disability and to discuss disability issues in a relaxed and confidential environment, as well as giving practical advice on the implications of the DDA for small businesses."

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 comes into full force in October this year, yet there is still confusion about the steps small businesses should take to ensure they are compliant with the legislation. 

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43 YEARS FOR £10 MILLION NORTH WEST DRUG SMUGGLERS

FIVE North West men and a Dutchman were jailed for after a massive drugs raid by Customs and excise officers in St Helen’s in which the operation caught them smuggling a street value of £10 million street value of the drug cannabis.

Three St Helens men, two from Timperley, near Altrincham, and a man from Amsterdam had pleaded guilty at Manchester crown court to illegally importing four tonnes of cannabis resin from Holland via Harwich.

The men sentenced today culminated a sentence Manchester crown court of a total 43 year jail sentence between them. Stephane Hassiakos, 33, thought to be the mastermind of the drug import was jailed for nine years, as was Stephen Rooney. 

Accomplices Anthony McKie and Brendan Clarke, also from St Helen’s received six years imprisonment, Brendan Robertson, aged 30 received five year terms and Dutchman Konstantinos Sevastos was given an eight year sentence. All men pleaded guilty to various charges of possession of fire arms and possession of cannabis.

After arriving at Harwich on the ferry from Hook of Holland, the men driving the lorry were said to be carrying flowers to St Helens on May 23 2003. At a nearby farm, white boxes were unloaded from the lorry into two vans. Robertson drove one van away with Hassiakos following in a separate car. McKie, Rooney and Clarke were later arrested in the second van, while Sevastos was arrested in the lorry possessing a 8mm Beretta fire arm. All six men were arrested and taken for questioning by Customs

Customs Head of Investigation North West Peter Hollier said:- "In line with the Government's drug strategy, Customs focuses its efforts on the drugs that cause the most harm, particularly heroin and cocaine. A seizure of cannabis this size, worth up to £10 million on the streets, does hit the profits of the criminals behind it hard. This case should act as a strong deterrent to anyone tempted into smuggling. "