March 2011

This update includes

Monthly Update 22 articles on the following
topics:

Welcome to the March edition of

ecdp’s
monthly email update.
ecdp news

This month we have been looking at your 1. ecdp report on Access

responses to our Access to Work survey. The to Work
lived experience of those who completed the 2. DLA reform consultation
online survey has fed into our report, which looks – ecdp response
at how people obtain and use their Access to 3. Choice and Control –
Work support and how they have been affected Office for Disability
by the recent changes which our members Issues
initially highlighted to us. 4. ecdp insight member
training
We will of course be sharing this report with our 5. ecdp enterprise
members via the ecdp website and you can read Disability Equality
more about the key findings on page 3. Training
6. Free training from ecdp
In our last bulletin we wrote about the proposed pass
changes to Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
The consultation period on the reforms closed
during February and ecdp submitted a response,
which you can read more about on page 4. We local news
will be keeping our members updated on this
issue - which we know affects many of you - 7. Deaf Achieve
through this bulletin, our quarterly ecdp 8. Free Cultural
magazine and our website. Awareness Workshop
9. Essex Supported
Best wishes, Volunteering
10. Skills for Care – Free
Rich Watts Workshop
Director of Policy and Development, ecdp

March 2011: Monthly Update 22 Page 1 of 17

Monthly Update 22 – March 2011

11. True Vision – Hate

Crime reporting

national news
12. Local Inclusion Lab
opportunity – local
approaches to multiple
disadvantage
13. Blue Badge Scheme
reform
14. Self funders, complaints
and adult social care

If you want to get in touch with us about

any
of the articles included in this update:

Telephone: 01245 392 300

Email: info@ecdp.org.uk
Post: Ivan Peck House, 1 Russell Way,
Chelmsford, Essex CM1 3AA
March 2010: Monthly Update 22

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ecdp news

ecdp report on Access to Work

54 of our members contributed their lived experience through our
online survey and a further 8 shared their stories through the Lived
Experience Log kept by ecdp.

A key area identified by members was the effect that good

communication had on their overall experience of using Access to
Work. Where communication had been poor it was harder for
individuals to use the service successfully. People used their support
in a number of ways, which demonstrates the importance of flexibility
in supporting people doing different jobs and with different support
needs.

People disclosed both positive and negative experiences of obtaining

and using Access to Work. However, whether people had positive or
negative points to make, a resounding message was that the support
provided was essential to individuals. A large majority of respondents
(76.9%) said they could not work without the support that Access to
Work provides.

This report will be feeding into the Sayce Review, looking at disability
related employment programmes (including Access to Work), which
you can read more about on the Department for Work and Pensions
(DWP) website.

This report will be sent directly to the Minister for Disabled People,
Maria Miller by Mike Adams, ecdp’s Chief Executive. This reinforces
the importance of respondents’ contribution; their lived experience
being used to inform the next steps taken by the Government.

March 2011: Monthly Update 22 Page 3 of 17

ecdp news

DLA reform consultation -

ecdp response
The government consultation period for the reforms to Disability Living
Allowance (DLA) closed on Friday 18 February. The response ecdp
submitted is available to read on our website: ecdp response – DLA
consultation

Many of our members will know we’ve done a lot of work on DLA
over the last year, including our survey of member’s views, the
results of which can be read on our website: ecdp survey on DLA /
ILF

ecdp has worked with Disability Alliance and encouraged people to

share their individual experiences with them. As such, this document is
ecdp’s organisational response, which takes a policy-based approach
and references other campaigns and points other organisations and
individuals have made.

March 2010: Monthly Update 22

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ecdp news

Choice and Control - Office for

Disability Issues
The Office for Disability Issues (ODI) leads the government's vision of
achieving equality for disabled people.

One of the projects run by ODI focuses on how professionals, such as

social workers and GPs, can offer choice and control to disabled
people. The Choice and Control web pages use real examples of best
practice in providing services.

ecdp is working with ODI to enable people to contribute

their lived experience of being given choice and control
through the services provided to them. If you are interested
in sharing your story, or for more information, please
contact Holly Wilkins by email:
holly.wilkins@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

To see the stories already included, visit the Choice and Control
webpages and select the ‘real life stories’ link: www.odi.gov.uk/odi-
projects/choice-and-control-for-disabled-people/index.php

Holly Wilkins from the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) will be
attending ecdp on Tuesday 8 March, to speak to some members
about their experiences of what being given choice and control in the
different services they have used has meant to them.

If you are interested in speaking to Holly and contributing your lived

experience to the work described above, please contact Faye Savage
by email: fsavage@ecdp.org.uk or by phone: 01245 214019

March 2010: Monthly Update 22

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ecdp news

ecdp insight member training

ecdp insight supports disabled people to use their lived experience as
far as they want by identifying their goals and aspirations and
providing Personal Development Pathways.

If you are interested in using the Personal Development Pathways, or

you would like to volunteer to support someone else to do so, please
use the contact details below for more information.

We provide all members with free training, covering the following

topics:

▪ ecdp: our teams and services

▪ Opportunities available on the Personal Development Pathways
▪ Safeguarding
▪ Disability Equality and the Social Model of Disability
▪ Effective communication

Our next training day is on Thursday 31 March from 10am until 4pm
and lunch is provided. We will also cover reasonable travel expenses.

For more information, please email insight@ecdp.org.uk or call 01245

392310.

March 2010: Monthly Update 22

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ecdp news

ecdp enterprise Disability Equality

Training
The Equality Act is here. Are you taking notice?

Our next Disability Equality Training course will be taking place on

Thursday 7 April and will cover:

• What are the rights and entitlements for disabled people?

• What is it that disables people in society?
• What does the Equality Act (2010) cover?
• What is the correct language and terminology to use?

By the end of the training you will be able to answer these questions.

Participants will also get the opportunity to develop and share practical
guidelines for best practice.

All courses take place at our fully accessible Chelmsford training

centre and are delivered by trainers with lived experience of disability.

For more information please contact Karen Bellerby by phone

01245 392303 or email training@ecdp.org.uk

March 2010: Monthly Update 22

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ecdp news

Free training from ecdp pass

The following training courses are available for all Direct
Payment / Personal Budget holders and their Personal
Assistants (PAs) during 2011.

Moving & Handling (am) Wednesday 30 March

Risk Assessment Awareness (pm) Wednesday 30 March
ACAS Employment Law Update Wednesday 6 April
PA Training Friday 13 May
ACAS Employment Law Update Tuesday 17 May
Employer Responsibilities Friday 10 June
Empowering the Employer Tuesday 14 June
Moving and Handling (am) Friday 24 June
Medication Awareness (pm) Friday 24 June
Emergency Life Support Friday 8 July
Health and Safety Awareness (am) Wednesday 20 July
Food Safety Awareness (pm) Wednesday 20 July

All courses are held at ecdp’s fully accessible offices, Ivan Peck
House, Chelmsford.

For further information on the content of courses, or to book a place

please contact Debbie on 01245 392321.

March 2010: Monthly Update 22

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local news

Deaf Achieve
ecdp has been contacted by the Royal Association for Deaf
People (RAD), who are offering a new project to support
Deaf/deafened people aged 18-65 who feel isolated or low in self
confidence.

The project aims to support people to:

▪ Improve confidence
▪ Develop skills
▪ Find volunteer work
▪ Start a community group
▪ Improve life changes/opportunities

For more information please contact Natalie Creevy:

email - natalie.creevy@royaldeaf.org.uk
minicom: 0845 688 2527
SMS: 07595 652 411
Fax: 0845 688 2526

March 2011: Monthly Update 22 Page 9 of 17

local news

Free Cultural Awareness Workshop

Our colleagues at Essex County Council are running a free cultural
awareness sessions for those in receipt of social care services, and
their relatives, with the aim of overcoming language and cultural
barriers in care.

The event is being held at 10am on Tuesday 22 March 2011 at Adult

Community Learning, Bishops Hill, Rayleigh Road, Brentwood CM13
1BD.

If you’d like to book a place, please contact 01245 430 442 or email
workforcecommissioning.ahcw@essex.gov.uk.

Further details about the event can be found downloaded here: Free
cultural awareness training flyer.

March 2010: Monthly Update 22

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local news

Essex Supported Volunteering

In Essex CSV is currently recruiting more volunteers to support adults
with learning disabilities to engage in their local communities. The
project, Essex Supported Volunteering, is in its tenth year and needs
more volunteers to help retain its success. The project works with
adults with learning disabilities who wish to volunteer or access their
communities. Support Volunteers act as positive role models to offer
guidance, support and a friendly face.

Tessa Dallyn-Roberts, Project Manager said, “We need to recruit more

volunteers to support adults with learning difficulties living in the
Rochford, Castle Point, Rayleigh areas. Potential volunteers do not
need any specific skills – just the desire to help people successfully
access their surrounding communities. Anyone who wishes to get
involved will have the opportunity to make a real difference to their
community and to the lives of those they support. In addition they will
have the opportunity to learn new skills and develop experience of this
interesting area of work.”

Volunteers need to be over 18 and willing to commit a few hours a

week for a minimum of six months. Full training and support and “out
of pocket” expenses will be given to all those becoming involved in the
scheme and in addition, applicants will need to be willing to undergo a
screening process which includes a CRB check.

For more information see the ecdp website, or if you are interested in
becoming a Support Volunteer or would like to know more about this
scheme contact Tessa Dallyn-Roberts by phone 01375 396091or
email: tdallynroberts@csv.org.uk

CSV (Community Service Volunteers) is a national charity, which

has been offering volunteering opportunities for over 40 years.

March 2010: Monthly Update 22

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local news

Skills for Care – Free Workshop

Following a consultation process, Skills for Care has developed a
new NMDS-SC module for people who employ their own care and
support staff. These employers (known as Direct Employers for the
purpose of the NMDS-SC) are now able to access the module on
the NMDS-SC website. One of the benefits of completing the NMDS-
SC is that employers are then eligible to apply for Training Strategy
Implementation (TSI) funding which is a contribution towards the
training of their workers.

As part of the implementation plan for the new module, we would like
to invite you to attend a free workshop which will showcase the new
module and also to ask your advice on how we implement the new
NMDS-SC questionnaire with people who employ their own care and
support staff so that we can identify some real benefits for these
employers.

The workshop takes place on Friday 25 March, 11am-2pm and is open

to Direct Payment or User Led Organisation representatives, Local
Authority leads, and people who employ their own care and support
staff as well as staff from the Eastern Region Employer Engagement
partnerships.

For more information, please email ectp@eica@org.uk or call 01702

547144.

March 2010: Monthly Update 22

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national news

True Vision – Hate Crime reporting

A new website, called True Vision, has been launched across the
UK to enable witnesses and victims to report hate crime online. The
website includes a secure online reporting form which automatically
distributes to the relevant police force.

As well as providing the facilities to report, there are also pages of

information about what hate crime is and the different ways you can
report it, including through the website.

The police service believes True Vision will help increase the reporting
of hate crime by building confidence in victims and offering a range of
reporting options for those who may not wish to talk directly to the
police.

The Government’s Hate Crime Advisory Group will be examining hate

crime data in the forthcoming months and years to better understand
the extent of hate crime and to challenge where performance does not
meet the high standards that the public rightly demands of the criminal
justice agencies.
The website can be used to report all types of hate crime, but there are
some pages dedicated to disability hate crime.

You can access the website homepage by following this link:

http://report-it.org.uk/home

If you have any comments or feedback about the website, please

contact ecdp’s Lived Experience Officer - using the details below - and
we will ensure they are passed on to the administrators of the website.

As part of ecdp’s ongoing work on the topic of disability hate crime,

this month we will be holding a roundtable discussion for organisations
working in this area. For more information on this event, please contact
Faye Savage by email: fsavage@ecdp.org.uk or phone: 01245 214019

If you would like to read more about our work on disability hate crime
see: Disability Hate Crime - ecdp discussion paper

March 2011: Monthly Update 22 Page 13 of 17

national news

Local Inclusion Lab opportunity - local

approaches to multiple disadvantage
As part of a national project looking at the issue of multiple
disadvantage, a range of organisations wish to work with a small
number of areas from April to September 2011 to find ways to reduce
multiple disadvantage amongst adults.

Expressions of interest to become “Local Inclusion Labs” are invited

from areas that want to:
▪ Improve the outcomes of multiply disadvantaged adults in their area
▪ Access support from a range of partners to help achieve this
▪ Be at the forefront of current thinking and learning on reducing
multiple disadvantage.

For further information about this opportunity, please visit the Cabinet
Office website: Become a Local Inclusion Lab area.

Last year ecdp was invited by the Cabinet Office to work with them
and others on this project, which is aiming to find and publicise new
approaches to resolving multiple disadvantage. We are thus pleased
to publicise this opportunity.

“Multiple disadvantage” is circumstances being experienced by people

with 3 or more needs, some or all of which are not being met other
than possibly at a time of crisis (eg A&E). Examples of causes of
disadvantage include homelessness, unemployment, poor physical or
mental health, and limited social networks.

Whilst not all disabled people experience multiple disadvantage, we

know that a good number do, and are pleased to be working alongside
other nationally recognised organisations with the Cabinet Office to
support work on this important issue.

March 2011: Monthly Update 22 Page 14 of 17

national news

Blue Badge Scheme reform

On Monday 14 February 2011 a major programme of reforms to the
Blue Badge scheme was announced by the Government. The reform
programme has been developed in consultation with disabled people,
local authorities and other stakeholders, and on the basis of research
and economic analysis. The reforms will deliver the most
comprehensive changes to the Blue Badge scheme for 40 years.

For details of the consultation and the responses given, please see the
consultation page on the Department for Transport (DfT) website.

For further information, including frequently asked questions and a

summary of the reforms, see the Reform of the Blue Badge Scheme
page on the DfT website.

March 2010: Monthly Update 22

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national news

Self funders, complaints and adult

social care
The Local Government Ombudsman has commissioned some
research to establish information about the current state of complaints-
handling within the adult social care sector. The Ombudsman wants to
understand what works well in current complaints-handling, and what
needs to be improved, from a range of different perspectives, including
those of people who use adult social care services, their relatives or
others acting on their behalf, care providers, independent advocacy
and advice organisations, and local authorities.
The findings will be used to inform LGO’s future work, planning and
priorities, especially in relation to how it meets its new responsibility.

To help us understand the views and experiences of people who have

made a complaint about their social care, our colleagues at the Office
for Public Management are carrying out some interviews.
In particular, they would like to ask about people’s own experiences of
the complaints system, and what worked well, and what could be
improved.

A variety of people can take part in this research, including people

who:
▪ Are self-funding adult social care service users or relatives of self-
funding service users
▪ Are using Direct Payments to privately arrange their own adult social
care or that of a relative
AND
▪ have made a complaint about adult social care services - ideally
within the past 18 months (i.e. complaint first made in/since July
2009)

Full details of the research can be downloaded from our website:

Adult social care complaints research - flyer
About the adult social care complaints research - briefing
If you would like to take part, please contact Anne Schuetz on 0207
239 7837 or email aschuetz@opm.co.uk.

To thank people for their time and to cover any expenses such as
March 2010: Monthly Update 22

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national news

travel, each user of adult social care services or relative who takes
part will receive £40 for a face-to-face interview or £25 for a phone
interview.

Please note: everything said at in the interviews will be anonymous

and confidential - we will not record anyone’s names, and will not
identify any person or organisation in our findings.

March 2010: Monthly Update 22

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