Ian Loynes and Robert Droy from SCIL recently attended the first session of the Hampshire Personalisation Commission. Throughout the day, we discussed with members of the audience how they felt about the Commission and their observations of the first session.

Firstly without wishing to be overly negative, the format and acoustics of the venue was not particularly accessible for many of the participants. There was no sign language interpreter at the session but we presume this would have been provided if an participant had requested it. We were also disappointed with the lack of diversity amongst both the commissioners, witnesses, and the audience in general. ‘White, middle aged, and middle class’ was one comment we heard.

Despite the session being entitled ‘People and Carers’, out of the 7 people who gave evidence, 3 people were actually ‘professionals’ who gave lengthy presentations which were followed up by questions. Their evidence, whilst useful, may have been better suited to a later session.

In contrast, the ‘people’ and ‘carers’ were asked to give very brief presentations with no opportunity for the commissioners to question them further. We feel this was a missed opportunity to really capture from the ‘users’ themselves why personalisation was so important. This part of the evidence was summed up by the Commission Chair as ‘moving’ and ‘uplifting’. Whilst these comments were well meaning, they were construed by many as slightly patronising and not viewing the evidence on an equal level as the evidence given by the other witnesses.

The round table discussions in the afternoon were found to be much more successful but unfortunately were only open to a ‘select’ group of invited guests. Some of the common themes have however been summarised in a document on the Hampshire Personalisation Commission website, along with much of the other evidence and presentations at each session.

The next session is on June 12 and you can apply for tickets for that session until May 20 by visiting the website or by calling 01962 833 040. Leave your name, telephone number and address and they will post an application form to you

Unity 12 is an organisation run and controlled by Disabled People to support Disabled People to live independently

Facilities Manager

18.75 hours per week 
Salary: £26,588 (actual salary £13,294) + pension contributions 
25 days annual leave plus national bank holidays.

2 year fixed term (extension subject to successful income generation)
Flexible working that will involve working some unsocial hours.

We are looking for the right person to develop, organise and market services and activities of our fully accessible office and hospitality complex. This will involve proactively contributing to overall organisational and strategic development in line with the vision of our management committee.

For an application pack please contact:

Amanda Hames, Management Committee, Unity 12, 9-19 Rose Road, Southampton, SO14 6TE

Tel: 023 8033 0982
Fax: 023 8020 2648

Email: info@hcodp.co.uk

Closing date for applications - 26.04.08

NCIL are looking to recruit Mental Health Experts by Experience for  the next stage of this exciting project. This project is funded through the Commission for Social Care Inspection. The Commission is the body that inspects and regulates social care provision for England. The project is working with a range of Centres for Independent Living and user led organisations in order to develop a diverse pool of Experts.

We are particularly looking for people who use Mental Health Services, across the following regions in England which will support the Commission’s inspection processes.

·         South East

·         South West

·         London

·         Eastern

·         East Midlands

·         West Midlands

·         Yorkshire & Humberside

·         North West

·         North East

As a Mental Health Expert you will be linked to a Centre for Independent Living or user led organisation in one of the above regions, you will be provided with training and support to develop your skills for this role and you will be paid an hourly fee of £15.00.  The amount of hours will vary.  All other associated costs will be met, including travel, access costs and personal assistance costs.

Experts by Experience will be part of the Inspection process and will be required to undertake inspections in different regions.

You will need to be a person who uses services, or has used services or is likely to use services, you will need to be willing to travel across your particular region and occasionally into other regions, and you will need to be willing to attend training and briefing days in your region.

The closing date for this role is Friday 2 May 2008

If you would like to have an informal discussion please contact Sandy Marshall, Projects Manager at NCIL offices.

For an application pack please contact: Karen Earl at

The National Centre for Independent Living

Fourth Floor, Hampton House

20 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TJ

Telephone 020 7587 1663     Fax:  020 7582 2469

Minicom: 020 7587 1177

e-mail:  projectassistant@ncil.org.uk

Thanks to NCIL for passing on this information.

The Coalition on Charging is a group of organisations chaired by the National Centre for Independent Living (NCIL). The coalition was established to campaign against the current system of charging for community care services.

The Coalition members include: NCIL, Age Concern, Scope, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Disability Alliance, Alzheimer’s Society, People First, Mind, Radar, the Alliance for Inclusive Education, Counsel and Care, United Kingdom Disabled Peoples Council (UKDPC), Action for Blind People, Royal National Institute for the Deaf, Arthritis Care, British Polio Fellowship, Carers UK, Equalities, Help the Aged, the Parkinson’s Disease Society, Mencap.

The Coalition is writing an up to date report, highlighting the current situation with charging for care, to ensure that the issue is on the government’s agenda when looking at the future of social care.

Our survey:

As part of the report we want to include feedback from people who are affected by charging. We have developed a survey that will be used to help the Coalition on Charging produce good information.

The report is aimed at the Department of Health and Government. A Government consultation (‘green’) paper on reform is due out sometime in 2008.  The Government has said that it ‘believes that there are real opportunities for reform within a system that shares the cost between the individual and the state’.

However, in our view, it is very important that they look at the effects on people of the current charging system and hear the views of people who are currently being charged for their support.

In order that we can include your views please can you respond to this survey by May 1 2008.

Please fill in the question on personal details. It is important for us to know your age as adult services are often provided for ‘adults’ and ‘older people’. We will not pass on any personal information and will make all responses anonymous in the report.

The Coalition has one set of survey questions for individual people who need support and their carers. There is a separate set of survey questions for organisations representing people who need support and representing carers. Please fill in the right survey.

You can download them here:

charging-survey-for-individuals

charging-survey-for-organisations

If you are involved in a forum or network, if you were able to discuss this issue that would be very useful.

The survey is for all adults in England who use (or have used) local authority social services for support in their own home. This includes people who use (or have used) direct payments. It does not include people who use residential care services.

This survey is aimed at all disabled and older people who use community care services.

We apologise for the short amount of time given to return the survey but we hope you will be able to give us your views.

Please send your completed survey by May 1 2008 to NCIL,  Fourth Floor, Hampton House, 20 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TJ or to policy@ncil.org.uk or fax to 0207 587 1663

The news that SCOPE, along with six other ‘Disability’ organisations have been awarded 4.2 million pounds by the Big Lottery Fund, has angered many people within user led organisations. According to the press release, Disability Lib is aimed at helping ‘Disability’ organisations boost their performance by improving their management and organisational systems. 

Hazel Peasley, a member of SCIL and chair of HCODP commented ‘Yet again, CILs and ULOs are just left with the crumbs off the table….  We don’t need bits of training, we need money to pay the rent, pay people to do the hard work supporting Disabled People who are suffering greater and greater barriers rather than fewer…

it is very patronising when 25 years ago we were forging the path for the liberation of Disabled People and setting up our own organisations that have stood the tests we’ve faced. People with huge talent and commitment…

Southampton CIL & Derbyshire CIL – 2 of the first CILS to set up have been designated as unworthy to mentor other CILS/ULOs. Sadly, the balance of power remains the same as it was then, except for the few who have made it big time. ‘

Over two years ago, despite protests from SCIL and the majority of Direct Payments users in Southampton, Southampton City Council decided to introduce charging for Direct Payments users. For a number of reasons, the policy has not been implemented…until now.

This week, all Direct Payments users will receive a letter asking them to complete a form about their individual circumstances. Based on this information, Southampton City Council will then assess whether the user will pay a charge for Direct Payments.

SCIL completely oppose the introduction of charging and believe that it is fundamentally wrong for people to have to pay towards having their human rights met.

SCIL also believes that the amount of revenue actually raised by such policies is a lot less than many authorities claim once you take into account the costs of financially assessing users and administering the charges. We also question whether trying to collect accurate information from users without actually visiting them is going to be possible, particularly when disability related expenditure needs to be considered.

Indeed the Fairer Charging guidance issued by the Department of Health states ‘The process should not be primarily paper-based, or carried out by post, as a full list of possible items without explanation could be confusing for users. The process should be flexible enough to deal with differences in the needs of individual users. Users will very often need personal help and advice on how to claim. Assessments involving disability-related expenditure should, therefore, normally be carried out by personal interview in the user’s own home.’

SCIL has already had many concerned users contact us and we have therefore decided to hold an ‘open day’ where users can visit SCIL and receive help to complete the form. We will also be providing users with information on disability related expenses although this in no way absolves the local authority from their responsibility to provide face to face financial assessments to users.

The ‘open day’ will be on Friday April 11 2008 between 10am and 4pm. Direct Payments Support Workers will be on hand to give information, advice and support throughout the day. Obviously, we will also be visiting people at home if they are unable to get to SCIL, although Southampton City Council has set very tight deadlines for getting the forms completed. Please ring 023 8033 0982 or email directpayments@southamptoncil.co.uk for more information.

Below is an advice sheet produced by HCODP about preparing for a financial assessment. Please feel free to download it if you think it might be useful.   

Advice Sheet on Financial Assessments  

35 Hours/week Salary £30,000 + pension contributions, 25 days annual leave plus national bank holidays

2 year fixed term (extension subject to successful fund raising)

Hampshire Coalition of Disabled People is an organisation owned and controlled by Disabled People which subscribes to the Social Model of Disability and campaigns for Disability Equality: the full inclusion of Disabled People into the social, political and economic life of society.

We seek to recruit a Disabled Person who can apply Social Model thinking to action, is committed to Disability Equality, has a proven record in the wider Disabled People’s Movement and can provide the necessary skills to implement its ambitious Business Plan; provide leadership; manage projects, finances and personnel; secure resources; and build HCODP’s capacity.

Do you recognise yourself in this description?

If so, then you are the person we are looking for! We believe that the Disabled People’s Movement has achieved a lot, but our rights and liberties are under more threat than ever before.  We believe that it is only through collective action that Disabled People can secure their rights.  We want to make local Disabled People a force to be reckoned with and to link into nationwide campaigns that can challenge the institutional discrimination Disabled People face.

HCODP is committed to the principle of equality of opportunity and welcome applications from Disabled People who are also members of other minority groups.

For application packs, or an informal chat, please contact:

Hazel Peasley, Chair HCODP,19 Blighmont Crescent, Southampton, SO15 8RH

Tel: 07775 741696 Email: hazelvpeasley@btinternet.com

Closing date for applications – Friday 18^th April 2008

Baroness Jane Campbell has called for Personalisation and Social Care to been seen as a human rights and equality issue. In a powerful speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research, she says that funding for older people, support for carers, and promoting independent living needs to be one debate.

Echoing CSCI’s recent report on social care, Baroness Campbell questioned the tightening of eligibility criteria by local authorities - ‘If disabled people cannot access services unless they have the highest level of need, then all the empowering transformed delivery in the world, will not change the inequality experienced by people and families who require public service support to participate equally in society.’ 

She added ‘When we debate the future of adult social care, we are talking about people’s human rights and equality, not just for the person requiring the support, but for those with whom they share their lives.’

Here at SCIL, we believe Self Directed Support can only be fully utilised if people receive support and advocacy in order to make informed decisions.

Jane seems to agree. She said ‘As Demos have pointed out, the very advantages that personalisation and coproduction potentially offers also contain the seeds of building further inequality and disadvantage: “there will be huge scope for self-directed services and personal budgets. These pay-offs will particularly apply where people can mobilise their own knowledge and resources to make the service more effective”.  “For those who do not — the most excluded in our society, the people who need it the most, will lose out”.

We highly recommend blog visitors read the complete speech on the Equality and Human Rights Commission Website.

The Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councilor Ken Thornber has launched a commission of inquiry to help shape future services for people in need of support and care.

According to Hampshire County Council’s website: ‘Adult social care services must be transformed over the next three years. This transformation will include moving to a personalised adult social care system which emphasises the individual’s dignity, right to self-determination, choice, control and power over the support services they receive.

Personalisation means moving away from traditional social care where people are fitted into a limited set of available statutory services. It involves considering a person as an individual with aspirations, as well as needs, and a circle of family, friends and other resources and support mechanisms around them. It introduces the requirement for greater personal responsibility and for individuals to use their own resources, as well as those available through statutory and other services, to meet their needs in the best way possible. 

We need to take into account the challenges of demographic changes and resource constraints. We need to adopt a more collaborative approach between agencies, including the voluntary and independent sector.’

Hampshire are planning four evidence sessions over the next five months and are requesting evidence at least one month before each session. Hampshire will then select some people to give evidence in person if they wish to.

The four sessions are as follows:

April 28 – People and Carers - For this session we would like information on people’s experiences of personalisation or the lack of it in adult social care services. We would like people’s ideas on how personalisation can be achieved and how the system can be paid for. We want to hear from individuals, staff, families, carers and interested organisations.

June 12 – Partners and Funding - For this session we would like information on the implications personalisation will have for our partner organisations in Health services, Government departments, Adult Protection, the Third Sector and Voluntary Sector, and Employment. We will want to explore in depth the opportunities for new ways of funding. We also want to understand how risks may change for individuals and organisations.

July 18 – The Care Market - For this session we would like information on the effects personalisation will have on the market place. We would like to know what it will mean for all care providers running residential and nursing homes, home care, day activities and meals services. We would like information on what it means for the voluntary sector, the leisure market, health and other partners.

September 19 – The Local Authority - For this session we would like information on the implications personalisation will have for Local Authorities. We would like to hear from all aspects of Local Authority provision including housing, transport, leisure, and community safety. We want to explore the impact on culture, workforce and systems.

The Commission will be chaired by Councillor Ken Thornber with Councillor Felicity Hindson. Other notable commissioners include Peter Beresford, John Dixon from ADASS, Peter White and George Young, MP for North West Hampshire.

More information including a list of Commissioners, briefing papers, and how to submit evidence is available at http://www3.hants.gov.uk/adult-services/commission-personalisation

It seems like there’s nothing like the subject of Blue Badges to get people energised with many local papers regularly filling their pages with stories of either people abusing the Blue Badge scheme or Blue Badge holders being given parking tickets unfairly.

The Disabled Person’s Parking Badge Scheme (”the Blue Badge Scheme”) was introduced in 1971 to provide a national arrangement of on-street parking concessions for disabled people, allowing them to access goods and services more easily.  There are currently 2.3 million Blue Badge holders in the UK.

The Department of Transport have now decided to consult on changes to the Blue Badge scheme. The main changes being proposed relate to the eligibility criteria for the Scheme together with better ways of administering and enforcing the Scheme in order to cut down on levels of abuse. This may require altering the design of the badge to make it harder to forge.

A national database of Blue Badge holders is also being proposed. Another proposal is that different local authorities could vary the parking concessions granted to users of Blue Badges. This already happens in Central London, however the report also points out that this may add to uncertainty amongst Blue Badge holders about where they can park and for how long.

One idea being mooted is to try to lessen the financial worth of the Blue Badge to put people off stealing them. The idea would be that Blue Badge holders would no longer receive free parking but that Disabled People would be entitled to a ‘parking payment’ as part of their Individual Budget.

The final date for responses to be received by the Department for Transport is 17 April 2008. The full consultation document is available on http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/bluebadgereformstrategy