Housing and Neighbourhood Partnership

9th November 2010

User Led Organisations – the Stockton approach.

Background

  • ULOs are critical to independent living - to enable disabled people and carers to have choice and control over the support they need to go about their daily lives. They are one of the key elements of the cross-government Independent Living Strategy.
  • Putting People First also recognises that local organisations run and controlled by disabled people are vital to providing information, advice, peer support and advocacy to other disabled people.
  • In the current climate of ‘Choice and Control’, ‘Independent Living’ and ‘Personalisation’, now has never been a better time for voluntary and community sector organisations to refine their services, skill-up and be better prepared to bid for services in what is hoped to be a more stimulated market for service delivery.

What is a ULO?

  • A ULO is one which involves disabled people and carers in all aspects of its day to day services and functions. ULOs work in partnership with local councils and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in order to improve or change services that disabled people use.
  • In January 2005 the Government gave the commitment that,

By 2010, each locality (defined as that area covered by a Council with social services responsibilities) should have a user-led organisation, modelled on existing CILs (Centres for Independent Living).

(Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People, DH, 2005. p.91)

  • Putting People First recognises that local organisations run and controlled by disabled people are vital to providing information, advice, peer support and advocacy to other disabled people.
  • A ULO can be a single organisation or a network of local groups and organisations, run by disabled people, that as a consortium meet the key characteristics (“Design Criteria”) of a ‘fit for purpose’ ULO.
  • There is an important difference between organisations OF disabled people (run by disabled people) and organisations FOR disabled people (run on behalf of disabled people)
  • The ULO minimum set of values requires:
  • Works from a social model of disability perspective
  • Promotes independent living
  • Promotes people’s human and other legal rights
  • Shaped and driven by the members of the organisation, including the decision making processes at every level of the organisation
  • Covers all local disabled people, carers and other people who use support either directly or via establishing links with other local organisations and networks
  • The ULO organisational characteristics
  • Provides support to enable people to exercise choice and control
  • Is a legally constituted organisation
  • Has a minimum of 75% of voting members on the management board drawn from the organisation’s members
  • Able to demonstrate the members are effectively supported to play a full and active role in key decision making
  • Has a clear management structure
  • Has robust and rigorous systems for running a sustainable organisation (i.e. financial management, contingency planning)
  • Is financially sustainable
  • Has paid employees (many of whom must reflect the membership)
  • Identifies the diverse needs of the local population and contributes to meeting those needs
  • Is accountable to the organisation’s members and represents their views at a local level
  • Supports the members in designing, delivering and monitoring the organisation’s services
  • Works with commissioners to improve commissioning and procurement
  • The minimum ULO services to support independent living (as defined in ‘Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People’) as:
  • Information and advice
  • Advocacy and peer support
  • Support in using Direct Payments / Personal & Individual Budgets
  • Support in recruiting and employing personal assistants
  • Assistance with self-assessment
  • Disability equality training
  • Support the implementation of the Disability Equality Duty by public sector organisations in the locality (including consumer audits)

What a ULO isn’t:

  • Organisations in a national network of charities FOR disabled people, or an Independent Living Centre established by a local authority.

What do the Department of Health require?

  • DoH target that,

“By December 2010, each locality, defined as that area covered by a council with social services responsibilities, should have a user led organisation modelled on existing “Centres for Independent Living”.

  • However, financial insecurity and sustainability are often an issue in the long term stability of a user-led organisation. There are a range of factors which may constrain the ability of ULOs to grow their capacity. These may include difficulties in recruiting, training and retaining staff, the set up of systems for effective financial management, governance and monitoring and contingency planning (DH, 2007). Furthermore, many funding opportunities arise from securing public sector contracts.

What have we been doing in the North East?

  • RIEP commissioned two projects for developing ULOs to help Councils meet the DH Milestone.
  • Action Learning Set to support development of ULOs (assisted in problem solving for the delivery of effective co-production and sustainable commissioning of a ULO in each local area) – Vision Sense
  • Mapping of existing & emerging ULOs and development opportunities for those organisations - SES
  • RIEP identified development funding – through bidding route
  • Successful joint bid by 4 sub-regional LAs - £130k in total (£50k for Stockton made up of £25k RIEP funding + £25k match funding)
  • Sub-regional Steering Group formed – meeting with local VDAs

Stockton’s Position

  • Stockton ULO Development Group formed (StocktonBC, Catalyst, SRCGA)
  • PID – aim of developing support for organisations who have an interest or wish to explore, a ULO model for their organisation in the Stockton area.
  • The key initial aims are:
  • Increase awareness of number and type of ULOs in Stockton area
  • Increase number of ULOs in the Stockton area
  • Increase sustainability and capacity of these ULOs
  • Improve opportunities for ULOs to network, share learning and resources both locally and sub-regionally
  • Develop a scheme to ‘kite mark’ ULOs against the NE Design Criteria
  • The Stockton vision for ULOs
  • ULOs will be ‘kite marked’
  • ULOs to have sustainable business plans in place
  • An effective Teeswide partnership, led and managed by ULOs (established & emerging)
  • ULOs to develop protocol for joint working with commissioners
  • ULOs will be delivering services locally
  • A number of organisations have already declared themselves as emerging User Led Organisations that operate in Stockton-on-Tees. They are:

Name / Lead / Client Group / Contact
Stockton MIND / Emma Howitt / Mental Health /
Developing Partners / Jacqui Lovell / Mental Health /
Stockton Helps All / Louise Featherstone / Learning Disabilities /
SURGE / Kelly Hall / Mental Health /
Bridges / Alison Perry / Drugs & Alcohol Misuse /
George Hardwick Foundation / Andy McMann / Carers /

Sub-Regional Organisations

There are also a couple of other ULOs operating across the sub-region

Name / Lead / Client Group / Contact
The Main Project / Anna Taylor / Special needs /
Communicate & Empower / Verity Joyce / Deaf people /

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