Page 37 - BHTA 100 years

Bill and Elaine Ellis of Gordon Ellis (left) at a show in the 80’s with a brand new invention, the Derby plastic raised toilet seat. They would be presented with a joint Lifetime Achievement Award years later.
The Association continued to grow, with 211 member companies at the end of 1985, the highest amount for some years. In his AGM comments, Chairman of Council, Jack Vander-Molen made a suggestion for the rst time that would become very important to member companies. He said that, as many members now had sales direct to the public, it may well illustrate the need for a Code of Practice to promote good commercial practice and ethics in such dealings.
By 1986 a number of voluntary Codes of Practice were being discussed and introduced in a number of the Sections. For example, 22 companies in the Rehabilitation Aids Section had undertaken to comply with a Code. Explaining the thinking behind a Code for the Powered Mobility Vehicles Section, David Boxen told Council members that Lord Snowden had made some ‘highly adverse comments’ on the industry with ‘some rms making dubious claims’. Lord Snowden’s remarks were probably the rst of a series of comments over a number of years that would eventually lead to some very negative exposure for the mobility industry and see BHTA step up its plans to have a Code of Practice recognised and approved to support and protect member companies.
There was also concern at the time that a number of Sections would be referring to the ‘Code of Practice’, when in fact there would be a number of versions with different provisions.
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