1. November 2012
This update includes
Monthly Bulletin 42 articles on the following
topics:
Dear Members,
Over the last three years, ecdp has been working
with Essex County Council and OPM to evaluate ecdp news
the impact of Personal Budgets.
1. ecdp takes Essex Unite
This week, the final results of this long term study to Government
will be published. You can read more about this 2. ecdp supporting
in the national news section of the bulletin, on Department of Health
page 10. on Personal Health
Budgets
On page 3 you can read an update on ecdp’s 3. ecdp’s 15th Annual
unique employment programme, Essex Unite, General Meeting
which is now in its fifth week. Last week, two 4. Free training for
young people on the programme were invited to disabled employers and
meet the Minister for Disabled People to talk their PAs in Thurrock
about role models for disabled people.  Empowering the
employer
This month we will be holding our Annual General  Personal Assistant
Meeting. All members are invited to attend and Training
hear about the work the organisation has been
doing in the last year to enhance the everyday
lives of disabled people. You will also have the local news
opportunity to share your thoughts about ecdp’s
work in the future, shaping our new strategy. 5. Activities for young
Information about the AGM is available on page disabled people in
5. Essex
6. DIS – A new way to
Members will know that we have been working deliver personal
closely with Skills for Care to ensure people aspirations
employing care and support staff have access to
the support and tools they need to do this
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42 Page 1 of 15

2. Monthly Bulletin 42 – November 2012
successfully. We have now finished this work but
on page 14 you can read an update about the
ways in which you can get involved with Skills for national news
Care and access the support they offer.
We look forward to seeing you at the AGM! 7. The impact of
Personal Budgets
Best wishes, 8. EHRC launch final
disability related
Faye Savage harassment report
Lived Experience Officer 9. Local authority support
for people who employ
personal assistants –
report launched
10. Share your experience
of Learning Difference
with TOTKO
11. Working with Skills for
Care
We welcome member contributions to the
bulletin, our website and the ecdp
magazine. If you would like to write
something, or comment on any of the
articles in this edition of the bulletin, please
get in touch with us using the details below.
If you have missed a previous email
bulletin, they are all available on our
website: ecdp monthly email bulletin.
Telephone: 01245 392 300
Email: info@ecdp.org.uk
Post: Ivan Peck House, 1 Russell Way,
Chelmsford, Essex CM1 3AA
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42
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3. ecdp news
ecdp takes Essex Unite to Government
Last month we launched our innovative new work experience
scheme for disabled people, Essex Unite. We are running the
programme in partnership with the private sector organisation,
MITIE and with companies across Essex who have offered
placements to 15 disabled people.
The aim of the scheme is to support disabled people to gain
valuable work experience and help them to gain or extend their
skills in order to get into paid work.
The Essex Uniters are now 4 weeks into their work placements,
and through regular phone calls and visits, receive support from
peers at ecdp.
Sebastian Fontenelle and Leanne Morley, two participants of
Essex Unite recently took part in a discussion with the Minister
for Disabled People, Esther McVey on how role models can
inspire young disabled people.
In the afternoon Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Work
and Pensions popped by to thank everyone for their help and
support (see pictures on the right).
For more about the Essex Unite programme see the Essex Unite
page on the ecdp website.
Photographers wanted!
ecdp is looking for volunteer photographers to take pictures
at events and to help us build up our photo bank for
publications and the website.
If you are interested in using your photography skills to help
us out, please call 01245 392 324 and speak to Faye or
email fsavage@ecdp.co.uk.
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42 Page 3 of 15

4. ecdp news
ecdp supporting Department of Health
on Personal Health Budgets
ecdp is delighted to be working with the Department of Health on its
work on Personal Health Budgets (PHBs).
Personal Health Budgets allow people to have more choice, flexibility
and control over the health services and care they receive. They draw
upon Personal Budgets in social care, which ecdp has considerable
experience of, especially in supporting people to ensure they have as
much choice and control as possible over the care and support they
receive.
The Department of Health has asked ecdp to capture the information,
advice and guidance people need to make the most of the opportunity
of Personal Health Budgets. We will develop guidance for people
responsible for implementing PHBs so that they know the best way of
offering information, advice and guidance to people. We will also be
working in detail in one area to develop the information offer, as well
as understand how well websites and other forms of giving information
work in practice.
This work is just starting, and we will keep you up-to-date as it
progresses. In the meantime, you can read an article we’ve written that
captures our 7 top lessons from working on Personal Budgets in social
care for people developing Personal Health Budgets, on our website: 7
practical suggestions to help Personal Health Budgets succeed
for everyone.
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42
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5. ecdp news
ecdp’s 15th Annual General Meeting
ecdp’s 15th Annual General Meeting (for 2011/12)
will be held on Wednesday 21 November 2012 at the
Millennium Hall Great Baddow, Chelmsford CM2
9RL. The meeting will start at 2pm and finish at 5pm
after a buffet, where there will be an opportunity to
network with other members and ecdp staff.
Full details of the day are available on our website,
including the letter and notice sent to members plus a
reply slip for members to book their place.
So that we can make the necessary arrangements, such as providing
for any access needs, we need to know in good time if you will be
coming to the AGM. If you have not already done so, please use the
reply slip, available on the website, or request a booking form by
contacting us on 01245 392 300. Alternatively, you can confirm your
attendance via email: using agm@ecdp.org.uk.
Please ensure we have your booking form by Monday 12 November
2012 at the latest.
Following the AGM, we will be holding an interactive session to
discuss the planning for ecdp’s next strategic plan to be launched next
year.
Once again, we look forward to welcoming you on the day.
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42
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6. ecdp news
ecdp running free training for disabled
employers and their PAs in Thurrock
ecdp and Thurrock Borough Council are running two free
training courses, for disabled people who employ staff and for
their Personal Assistants. Details of both courses are below:
Empowering the Employer: Training for disabled people who
employ personal assistants.
This peer-led workshop covers a range of skills needed as a PA
employer, including:
 Rights and needs – examining how Human Rights and physical
and emotional needs are linked and why it is important to get
your needs met.
 Resolution – resolving difficult situations and elements of
compromise when managing a PA.
 Behavioural types – approaches to working with different types
of people.
 How disciplinary and dismissal procedures work – what you
need to have in place.
 Appropriate record keeping – A list of legal and necessary
paperwork needed to maintain Direct Payments/Personal
Budgets.
The training for employers will be repeated two more times on 22
November and 21 January and will start at 10.30 and end at 15.30.
Personal Assistant Training: Training for Personal Assistants who
support disabled or older people.
This workshop covers a range of information and skills needed as a
PA, including:
 Equality Act 2010 – basics of the Act and how it relates to being
a PA.
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42
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7. ecdp news
 Safeguarding – recognising abuse and what you can do to stop
it.
 Employer’s responsibilities – the responsibilities of your
employer to you as their employee.
 Best working practice – good practice and how you can be a
great PA.
 Lone working – risks and how to keep safe.
 Dignity in care – what is dignity and why it is important in PA
work?
The training for Personal Assistants will be repeated two more
times, on 23 November and 23 January and will start at 10.30 and
end at 15.30.
If you or your PA are interested in participating, please contact Faye
Savage at ecdp: 01245 214 023 or email: fsavage@ecdp.co.uk.
Could you be an ecdp Trustee?
Could you help set the strategic direction at ecdp – a leading
Disabled People’s User Led Organisation (DPULO) – which
serves, and represents, the interests of disabled people in Essex
and beyond?
We are a charity and company limited by guarantee and are
looking for people to join our existing Board of Trustees/Directors.
To find out more, please contact the Companies and Charity
Secretary, Margaret Watchorn (mwatchorn@ecdp.org.uk ) or
telephone 07546 597044.
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42
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8. ecdp news
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42
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9. local news
Activities for young disabled people in
Essex
InterAct run activities for young disabled people (aged 13-18) in the
Chelmsford, Basildon, Brentwood, Braintree, Colchester and
Tendring areas and aim to provide an enjoyable way for young
people to learn and practice skills while socialising with their friends.
On the ecdp website is a programme with the details of InterAct
events for the next 2 months. If you want to attend any of these
events, please complete this booking form.
For further information about InterAct’s activity and events programme
please contact them by phone 01245 608201 or email
bookings@interact.org.uk.
Help judges make the right decisions in disability cases
There are opportunities available for individuals who work with
disabled people in their profession or as a volunteer, or who are
disabled themselves, to work with judges to help ensure the right
decisions are made in benefits appeals cases involving disability.
There are vacancies for Fee-Paid Disability Member roles to sit as
judicial office holders in the First-tier Tribunal, Social Entitlement
Chamber. These roles involve working on a panel, with a judge
and a medically qualified member, to analyse the evidence and
reach a decision on the effects of disability and entitlement to
benefits.
For more information about these roles, please see the ecdp
website. The closing date for applications is 12 November.
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42 Page 9 of 15

10. local news
DIS – A new way to deliver
personal aspirations
An article from DIS, the Disability Inclusion Society…
With the backing of Essex Social Services, Basildon Council
and MP Stephen Metcalf, the Disability Inclusion Society (DIS)
was born.
In a nutshell DIS work with small groups of disabled and non-
disabled individuals on community projects. Working
alongside our three trained and experienced artists up to
seven individuals can attend our sessions run throughout
Basildon.
In the sessions we work on community projects, which could include
decorating community halls, maintaining an elderly persons gardens’
or maintaining Basildon District Volunteer Carers fleet of wheelchairs
to name but a few.
DIS works with most people who either have a physical, sensory,
cognitive or developmental disability or multiple impairments. We meet
all people who are interested in joining DIS to find out what they like
and don’t and what adjustments we will need to make to meet the
needs of everyone working with us.
DIS are currently looking for individuals aged 18 and upwards (no
upwards limit) who are looking to participate in fun, exciting and
worthwhile projects in and around Basildon. They are able to
accommodate people with the widest range of disabilities.
DIS would like to offer a free taster session for all those interested in
finding out more. To book this please contact us on 07914334892 or
email us on enquiries@dis4u.co.uk
After your taster session the programme costs will be £55 for a half
day and £90 for the whole day including transportation (subject to
location).
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42
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11. national news
The impact of Personal Budgets
At ecdp we’ve been working in partnership with OPM and Essex
County Council on a three year research project to explore the impact
of Personal Budgets on service users in Essex.
One of the key findings of this study has been the huge variety of
benefits we’ve seen Personal Budgets enabling service users to
access. These benefits range from a greater sense of empowerment
and self esteem, to access to better quality, flexible and consistent
care. However, an equally interesting finding from the research is the
ways which Personal Budgets have been shown to have a positive
impact on the friends and families of service users.
Many family members reported how the care and support they
purchased through Personal Budgets has eased their caring
responsibilities and given them much needed time to themselves
during their daily lives. They described how they are now able to live
fuller lives, by, for example, taking part in leisure activities, socialising
with friends or just simply running errands. Some have even been able
to plan holidays and go back to part-time work.
The full report will be available on the ecdp website, but before it is
released you can watch 3 short films illustrating the effect Personal
Budgets have had on specific people with social care needs in Essex,
via the links below:
Simon’s Story
Nicola’s Story
Tim’s Story
If you would like to speak to OPM about Personal Budgets or any of
the issues raised in this post, please contact info@opm.co.uk or you
can contact Faye at ecdp: fsavage@ecdp.co.uk.
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42 Page 11 of 15

12. national news
EHRC launches final disability related
harassment report
‘Out in the open: a manifesto for change’ was published
by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
at the end of October. This report follows ‘Hidden in
plain sight’, which was published following the
conclusion of the EHRC’s major inquiry into disability
related harassment.
‘Out in the open’ includes a summary of agencies’ formal responses to
the disability related harassment inquiry and finalises the
recommendations made in 7 strategic areas by the original report.
The UK government published its formal response to Hidden in plain
sight on 17 July 2012. It refers to a number of significant new policy or
legislative approaches that have been or will be influenced by the
inquiry’s recommendations.
When the original report was published, ecdp noted some of the
similarities between the recommendations we made following our
disability hate crime report, which ecdp coproduced with members and
published in May 2011. You can listen to them in an audioboo on our
website.
ecdp is continuing to work with Essex Police and other key agencies
around disability hate crime. For more information on this work, please
contact Faye, ecdp’s Lived Experience Officer: fsavage@ecdp.co.uk.
The ‘Out in the open’ report is embedded below and is also available
to read on the EHRC website.
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42
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13. national news
Local authority support for people who
employ personal assistants –
report launched
A research report into what local authorities across England are doing
to support people who employ personal assistants has been launched.
Skills for Care, the Association of Directors of Adult Services (ADASS)
and Learn to Care came together to produce ‘Better understanding of
levels of support for individual employers and their personal assistants
(PAs)’.
The report was commissioned to find out more about how local
authorities support more than 170,000 individual employers and their
personal assistants, who now make up around a fifth of the adult social
care workforce.
It points to the leadership role that local authorities have as
commissioners in developing local markets. It also makes it clear that
local authority partnerships with direct payment support and user led
organisations are crucial to embed personalisation.
One of the areas highlighted was the need for more support and
information for PAs plus more learning and development opportunities
for this growing part of the workforce.
The three organisations make very clear recommendations that local
authorities and key partners can begin to implement. An advice note
for local authorities was also launched setting out the minimum
standards of support for individual employers and personal assistants
backed by examples of good practice.
This article is continued on the ecdp website.
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42
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14. national news
Share your experience of Learning
Difference with TOTKO
TOTKO (takes one to know one) is a not-for-profit
organisation that supports, informs, and connects with
all people affected by learning disabilities, difficulties, or
differences.
They provide services in schools, businesses, and our own
community, to challenge the way learning disabilities are viewed.
As part of their work to facilitate discussion and awareness about
conditions such as Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dyspraxia, ADHD and forms
of Autism, they are running a short survey: TOTKO survey.
For more information about TOTKO, please see their website, or find
them on Twitter @hellototko.
Are your CRB checks up to date for your employees?
If you employ Personal Assistants (PAs) or carers, you may wish to
take advantage of ecdp’s fast and efficient CRB service.
If you employ a PA and use ecdp’s payroll services you will not be
charged an administration fee to process your CRB applications.
While the CRB fees for all disclosures still apply, ecdp can arrange
this payment for you direct from your account with us.
For any other employers, ecdp has recently reduced the fee you
will pay, making it even cheaper to CRB check your staff through
us.
For more information, please contact the ecdp Admin Team on
01245 392310 or email CRB@ecdp.co.uk
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42
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15. national news
Working with Skills for Care
Share your information through the NMDS
Skills for Care run the National Minimum Data Set for
Social Care. This helps them gather information about the
adult social care workforce – including Personal Assistants
– so they can help the government make decisions about
policy and funding for the social care workforce. It also
helps local councils – like Essex County Council – to know what the
workforce issues are in their area.
To help Skills for Care, you can sign up to the National Minimum Data
Set for Social Care. To do this, you can follow the instructions here:
Signing up to the National Minimum data Set for Social Care
Join the Skills for Care Advisory Group
The Department of Health has given Skills for Care the job of
implementing the Personal Assistant Framework. In undertaking this
task it is very important to Skills for Care that we take advantage of the
widest possible consultation. To do this they have set up a Sector
Advisory Group.
Members of this group will have many roles including informing
directing and advising on how the work around the PA Framework
should be done. There are no limitations to who can join the group and
there are no expectations as to how much time and involvement
volunteers can give to the task. It is also up to volunteers to decide
which areas they are most interested in getting involved with.
If you would be interested in learning more and/or registering your
interest in being part of the Sector Advisory Group please contact
Skills for Care on paframework@skillsforcare.org.uk or 0113 241
1275.
November 2012: Monthly Bulletin 42
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