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You and Yours: Hidden Disabilities, Vinho Verde, Pierre Alexandre

08/07/2019

Hidden Disabilities, Vinho Verde, Pierre Alexandre

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Hidden Disabilities, Vinho Verde, Pierre Alexandre

Helping people with hidden disabilities. Vinho Verde wine. Pierre Alexandre complaints.

The councils accused of discriminating against people with hidden disabilities, the growing popularity of Vinho Verde wine, and complaints about Pierre Alexandre.

All councils in England are being told they must look again at how they help people with hidden disabilities who use their services. The warning from the Local Government Ombudsman follows investigations into three London councils - Hillingdon, Lambeth and Wandsworth. We speak to Nigel Ellis, Chief Executive at the Ombudsman, about what the three councils got wrong. All three have told You and Yours they accept the Ombudsman's findings and have apologised for how they treated two people with learning difficulties which included autism and dyslexia. By law, councils must make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities as soon as they're made aware of their condition. 

We look at the growing popularity of Portuguese wine from the Vinho Verde region. Sales of wine from the region have soared in the last 10 years, rising by more than 350 per cent. The UK is one of the top five importers of the wine globally. We speak to the business manager of a vineyard in Northern Portugal and Ben Stephenson,  the managing director of Hanging Ditch, an independent wine merchant in Manchester. 

Our reporter, Shari Vahl, investigates more complaints about a hair and beauty chain called Pierre Alexandre. Customers say they paid up front for treatments but the company then cancelled their appointments and wouldn't respond to emails or phone calls when they tried to re-book them. Pierre Alexandre had 11 branches in England, in cities including Birmingham, Chester, Manchester, Leeds and London. We speak to customers who've been left out of pocket and are now trying to get their money back.

Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Tara Holmes

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