Town Hall, Market Place, Durham, DH1 3NE

Town Hall, Market Place, Durham, DH1 3NE

Friday 7thDecember 2012

Town Hall, Market Place, Durham, DH1 3NE

Durham Welfare Rights cordially invite you to the next meeting of the National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (NAWRA).

All welfare benefits advisers are welcome, whether you work in the statutory, voluntary or private sector; NAWRA members come from all three.

Only members of NAWRA are able to attend the conference, but you can complete a membership form on the day.

There is no charge to attend or advance booking required – just come along for what should be an enjoyable and interesting day.

Please find the programme for the day, notes about speakers and workshops and joining information attached.

On arrival, please sign in and select your workshops. The organising team from the Durham County Council Welfare Rights Service will be around wearing name badges.

In keeping with tradition, the hosts will be available in the Head of Steam (3 Reform Place, NorthRd, DH1 4RZ) from 7pm the evening before the conference to welcome you to the city of Durham.

For any further queries please contact Phil Hanns at Durham County Council Welfare Rights on 0191 3708787 or

Friday 7th December 2012 – Town Hall, DurhamCity

Agenda

9.30 / Registration – the Lantern Room
Tea, coffee and breakfast pastries served in the main hall
10.00 / Welcome, opening remarks and minutes from last meeting
10.10 / Civic welcome– Councillor Morris Nicholls, Durham County Council Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion
10.20 / Speaker: Professor Clare BambraPhD, MA Econ, BSocSc – Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing, DurhamUniversity
10.50 / NAWRA Committee report
11.00 / Speaker: Gareth Morgan – Ferret Information Systems
Welfare Reform – What the Dickens?
11.15 / Break
11.30 / Workshop session 1 – See below for details
12.15 / Lunch – including a tour of the Town Hall (please pre book for the tour when you register)
1:45 / Reconvene
1:50 / Speaker: Eleanor Sibley–legal project manager at the AIRE Centre
EU law rights to claim special non-contributory benefits
2.25 / Workshop session 2 – See below for details
3.15 / Network opportunity - tea & coffee
3.30 / Information Exchange
3.50 / Workshop Plenary Session
4.00 / Notices, Any Other Business and Closing Remarks

Thanks to IIZUKA Software Technologies Ltd for providing tea & coffee and breakfast pastries -

Speaker and Workshop Leader Information

Professor Clare Bambra

Clare studied political science (BSocSc, Birmingham) and comparative social policy (MA, PhD, Manchester) before moving into public health research. Her research is highly inter-disciplinary, using theories and methods from the social sciences, epidemiology and public health. Her research focuses on health inequalities and the social determinants of health. She has three main areas of interest: (1) labour markets and the relationships between work, worklessness and health; (2) the influence of welfare state policies and political structures on international variations in public health and health inequalities; (3) tackling health inequalities by addressing the wider social determinants of health.
Clare has published widely in these areas with over 100 journal publications, book chapters and reports. She has also published a book with Oxford University Press: Work, Worklessness and the Political Economy of Health.
Clare was involved in the Department of Health’s Strategic Review of Health Inequalities (Marmot Review), and the European Commission’s review of health inequalities. Her research is widely cited in government policy documents, has received media attention, and has also been mentioned in Parliamentary debates on health and welfare. Her research and evaluation projects have been funded by ESRC, NIHR, EPSRC, NHS, Department of Health and Department for Work and Pensions.
Clare is a member of the Social Policy Association, the Society for Social Medicine, and the Socialist Health Association. She is an editorial board member of the Journal of European Social Policy and the Policy Press. Clare is a panel member for the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research.

Gareth Morgan

Gareth Morgan is Managing Director and founder ofFerret Information Systems which has for 30 years specialised in information systems in welfare benefits and similar areas. He is focused on affordability and sustainability assessment, in particular the effects of future changes to the benefitssystem.

He also chairs Dosh, a not for profit company carrying out financial advocacy for people with a learning disability, and is vice chair of HUSITA, the global association for IT in humanservices.

Ferret is now focusing on tools and models for assessing sustainability and affordability, for holistic assessments and for forecasting the effect of future changes to the benefits system on individuals and on groups andlocalities.

Eleanor Sibley

Eleanor Sibley is a legal project manager at the AIRE Centre, a specialist legal charity that exists to promote awareness of EU and ECHR law rights and to assist vulnerable and marginalised individuals to assert those rights.

Eleanor will deliver a presentation on the EU law rights of EEA national migrants (and their family members) to claim special non-contributory benefits ('SNCBs') in the UK, and recent case-law relating to these rights.

SNCBs are a hybrid benefit, falling within the scope of EU social security legislation - in particular, Regulation 883/2004. In the UK, they comprise: income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Disability Living Allowance mobility component, Employment and Support Allowance (income-related) and State Pension Credit. Until recently, income support was also a SNCB.

Eleanor will also briefly introduce a new AIRE Centre project, funded by the European Commission, which aims to improve the information available to EEA nationals on their rights to claim SNCBs.

Dr Jon Warren

Jon has worked in the Geography department at DurhamUniversitysince 2009. Prior to that he worked in the School for Applied Social Sciences.

Jon is currently managing a major project which is evaluating an initiative which aims to improve the health of long term incapacity benefit recipients. The evaluation has been funded by Durham NHS primary care trust.

This project is being lead by Professor Clare Bambra who is Director the Wolfson Research Institute, and involves Dr Mark Booth and Professor James Mason who are also from the Institute.The study involves a comparative cohort study, a longitudinal survey of longterm benefit recipients. Additionally qualitative interviewsand focus groups are being undertaken to explore service users’ views of the service.

Additionally Jon is undertaking research for Tees Valley Primary Care Trust regarding their "In Work Support"programme.

Jon is interested in the sociology of work and the history of work and industry in the north east in particular.His doctoral research explored the working lives and wider narratives of workers involved with the call centre industry in both the north east of England and India.

Kayleigh Garthwaite

Kayleigh is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Geography, DurhamUniversity. She is currently working on various projects related to health inequalities, health and wellbeing and employment for CountyDurham and Darlington Primary Care Trust. Her research interests focus on the relationship between health and disability, welfare-to-work policies, and self-identity, with a particular interest in spatial disadvantage in terms of worklessness. Kayleigh recently submitted her PhD in Human Geography (2012) from DurhamUniversityentitled ‘Incapacitated? Exploring the health and illness narratives of Incapacity Benefit recipients’. Kayleigh previously worked at TeessideUniversity as a Research Assistant on a project for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which sought to understand the dynamics of poverty and marginal work across the life-course. Kayleigh contributes to the Inequalities blog - a US/UK site featuring research and discussion on inequality issues and has recently written for New Statesman on sickness benefits and welfare reform.

Julie Burton

Julie has worked in welfare rights advice for most of her career. At Cleveland and then Middlesborough Council's welfare rights teams she was involved in the delivery of training to social work staff and voluntary work partners. Julie jointly developed and tutored on TeesideUniversity's Social Security: Policy and Practice qualification.

Within Durham County Council she is employed as a Principal Welfare Rights Officer and manages a range of core and commissioned activities, including casework services, tribunal work and the dedicated Welfare Rights provision including Sensory Support, Learning Disability, Mental Health and the safeguarding and specialist services.

Kathryn Wright

Kathryn studied Performing Arts at KnowsleyCollege in Liverpool.

Starting hercareer with EAGA Partnership Kathryn moved to Durham County Council in 2004 to work on an innovative project developing online and video conferencing welfare rights advice. Specialising in benefits for young disabled children she now delivers a project to families and those in transition. Kathryn delivers training and workshops to a wide range of organisations on Welfare Reform and other benefit topics.

Kathryn’s TV work includes theseminal British soap Brooksideand student drama Hollyoaks

Workshop Information

Workshops
Title / Location / Workshop Leader
Compensation and Benefits for Mesothelioma and Asbestos / The Mayor’s Chamber
(please note: no lift access) / Roger Maddocks
CTB Localisation / Main Hall / Ian Ferguson
Research findings from longitudinal study into the characteristics into long term Incapacity Benefit claimants / Burlison Room / Jon Warren Kayleigh Garthwaite
The Positive Side of PIP / The Lantern Room / Julie Burton
Kathryn Wright

Joining Information: Getting to Durham, where to stay, food and drink and getting to NAWRA

Durham

Durham was founded by a group of monks, when a man named St Cuthbert died in 687 and people soon claimed that miracles happened near his grave. St Cuthbert’s final resting place is in Durham Cathedral.

At the end of the 17thcentury a writer called Celia FiennesdescribedDurham:

'Durham city stands on a great hill. The cathedral and the castle with the college are built of stone and are encompassed with a wallfull of battlements. There is a steep descent into the rest of the town where is the market place which is a spacious place. There is a very fair town hall on stone pillars and a very large conduit (to bring water from the river to the townspeople).

How to get here:

Road:Durham is easily accessible by road and the city centre is situated just 2 miles from junction 62 of the A1(M).

Air:Durham is approximately 30 minutes from both NewcastleInternationalAirport and DurhamTeesValleyAirport.

Rail: Trains from many UK towns and cities travel direct to Durham. The station lies on the UK East Coast main line, one stop south of Newcastle. It is just over 3 hours by train from Birmingham, 2½ hours from Manchester, 2 hours from Edinburgh and just 45 minutes from York.

Accommodation in Durham

The most central hotels are:

  • Bridge Hotel (next to the railway station)
  • Premier Inn Durham City Centre or BroomsidePark (the latter is not within walking distance of the city centre)
  • Travelodge Durham (Station Lane, Durham)
  • Raddison Blu Hotel
  • Durham Marriott Royal County Hotel
  • Three Tuns Hotel

See or

Eve of the conference – Thurs 6th Dec from 7pm

Why not join us in the Head of Steam (3 Reform Place, North Rd, DH1 4RZ)? It’s easy to find in the heart of the city just off North Road, opposite a Tesco Metro store down through an archway. Come and join us for a drink (or two) and the option of a bite to eat in this traditional venue. Have a look at theirwebsite and see what’s available.

After the conference – Fri 7th Dec from 5pm

You are welcome to join us at The Bridge Hotel(39-40 North Road, DH1 4SE) from 5pmon Fri 7th Dec for the NAWRA/ Durham County Council Welfare Rights Team Christmas party. Come and get into the Christmas spirit with us and celebrate the festive season. Please let us know in advance if you are joining us for the meal so we can book you a seat and you don’t end up with the soggy sprouts!!Email to reserve your place.

Eating and drinking in Durham

Durham is packed with various pubs, wine bars and restaurants. Here are some areas of the city centre with a gathering of restaurants:

Walkergate has many places to eat & drink. They include The Slug and Lettuce, Fat Buddha (Asian), ASK (Italian), Nando’s (Portuguese), Chiquitos (Mexican) and the Ebony Champagne Bar.

Claypath has Oldfields (English), The Capital and The Rajpooth (Indian), Bistro Italiano (Italian) and Tias (Mexican)

Silver Street and Saddler Street have Kwai Lam Restaurant (Cantonese), The Hide Bar & Grill, Café Rouge (French), Pizza Express and Bella Italia (Italian).

You can also see the Rough Guide’s review of a handful of themhere

The Day of the Conference

Getting to Town Hall

By car:

If you are driving to the Town Hall you will need to head towards the city centre. The Town Hall doesn’t have its own car park but parking is available in the city centre car parks. Attached is a link to the car parks in Durham

Your best option may be parking at one of the 3 park and ride stations that serve the city centre and are based on major routes. For a map, times and more details click here

On foot:

The Town Hall is situation in the Market Place, about a 10 to 15 minute walk from the railway station. The venue is signposted.

By bus:

There are many buses that serve the city centre from all across the region. The only bus that travels into the market place is the Cathedral bus, for more information and a timetable click here. Otherwise the buses stop at either Claypath or MilburngateBridge and the Town Hall is a short walk away.

The Traveline website is a really good way to plan your journey to Durham.

Inside the Town Hall

The oldest section of the Town Hall is the Guildhall and it dates from 1356,

it was originally a timber formed building which was rebuilt in stone in 1535.

Today’s conference will be held in the Main Hall with workshops being run

in the BurlisonArtGallery, the Mayor’s Chamber and the Lantern Room.

The Town Hall is not fully modernised and the Mayor’s Chamber has no lift access, something to bear in mind when choosing your workshops.

The Town Hall is a building steeped in history and a guided tour is available on the day, free of charge.

Refreshments

Tea andcoffee, (courtesy of Iizuka) will be available on arrival, and then during both the morning and afternoon breaks. These will be available in the Main Hall.

Lunch

Lunch is not provided. Options include:

  • Local pubs and restaurants clickhere
  • There is a selection of cafés and sandwich shops around the market place and you could always bring your lunch back into the Lantern Room if you choose.

Why not make a weekend of it?

Durham is a beautiful city with lots to see and do. It has a wonderful timeless quality with rowing on theRiver Wear (even though it may be a little cold) and brisk riverside walks. Durham buzzes witha vibrant contemporary culture with superb cafés, artisan workshops, boutiques, galleries and museums. The ideal place to buy those extra Christmas presents.

We look forward to seeing you either at the Head of Steamthe night before or at the Town Hall on the day.

We hope you enjoy your visit to Durham and have a safe journey home.