1. June 2012
This update includes
Monthly Bulletin 37 articles on the following
topics:
Dear Members,
Welcome to the June edition of the ecdp monthly
email bulletin. At ecdp we’re starting to get very ecdp news
excited about the Paralympics and are working
on a special Paralympic edition of the ecdp 1. Could you be a
magazine to celebrate. If you have any Trustee/Director at ecdp?
information about disability sports in Essex or are 2. ecdp’s disability hate
a disabled athlete who would like to share your crime report used as a
story please contact Faye at ecdp: case study in a report on
fsavage@ecdp.co.uk. improving victim support
We are also looking for talented disabled people
to join ecdp’s Board. Our Board of Trustees are
all disabled people and have a variety of lived local news
experience and skills. If you would like to help
shape the strategic direction of the organisation, 3. Time to Change: East of
please see page 3 for more details or contact England networking event
Margaret by email: mwatchorn@ecdp.org.uk or 4. The Mental Way Blog
phone 07546 597044. 5. Disability Sports Day
6. Step up and join Miles for
This month, we have another opportunity for you Macmillan
to get involved and share your views. ecdp is 7. Zinc Arts ‘Launch Pad’
delighted to be working with Skills for Care to
support disabled people in Essex and beyond
who employ their own staff to access Skills for
Care’s useful and time-saving resources. There
are lots of ways you can get involved in this work, national news
which you can read about on pages 5 and 6.
These include a focus group taking place at 2pm 8. Over £500k of
on Friday 15 June 2012 (plus two more to save Government Funding
the date for) and an online survey about your awarded to Disabled
People’s User-Led
June 2012: Monthly Update 37 Page 1 of 17

2. Monthly Bulletin 37 – June 2012
views of the PA Toolkit.
Organisations
Best wishes, 9. 100 days to go until the
Paralympic Games
Rich Watts 10.A perfect partnership:
Director of Policy & Development supporting disabled
workers
11.Fulfilling Potential: what
happens next?
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
June 2012: Monthly Update 37
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3. ecdp news
Could you be a Trustee/Director
at ecdp?
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. We need
people who:
 have a self-declared impairment, as recognised under equality law
(this includes long-term health conditions such as diabetes, HIV etc)
 live, work or study in the geographical county of Essex;
 have experience of working at a strategic level; and
 can commit to around 10 days a year to prepare for, and attend, Board
and/or committee meetings
In return Trustees/Directors will directly contribute to making ecdp’s
vision of enhancing the everyday lives of disabled people a reality.
They also have the opportunity to meet many policy formers in Essex
and influence central government.
We would welcome expressions of interest from those with experience
in any field, but would particularly like to hear from those with a
background in financial management, policy, law or marketing.
To find out more, please contact the Companies and Charity
Secretary, Margaret Watchorn (mwatchorn@ecdp.org.uk ) or
telephone 07546 597044.
June 2012: Monthly Update 37 Page 3 of 17

4. ecdp news
ecdp's disability hate crime report used
as a case study in a report on
improving victim support
“Victims’ services advocates: Helping to shine
a light on victims’ issues”
In 2011, Victim Support launched a new project
with Louise Casey (former Commissioner for victims
and witnesses) to find out more about the issues
affecting local victims and witnesses of crime. They
recruited a national network of victims’ services
advocates (VSAs) to research and report on local victim
and witness issues.
The VSA team talked to victims and witnesses about their experience
of crime and identified what services are available across England and
Wales.
Their findings have come together in a series of local reports that raise
awareness of important issues affecting victims and witnesses. These
reports will also help the new police and crime commissioners as each
police force have victim and witness issues on their agenda.
Through a series of focus groups and interviews VSA spoke to victims
and witnesses about their experiences locally including:
how they were treated by the police and criminal justice system
if they found suitable support services to help them through this
difficult time in their life whether or not they reported the crime, and if
not, why.
On the Victim Support website you can download the reports for all
areas, including Essex.
The report from the team who worked in Essex is also available on the
ecdp website. You will see that ecdp’s work on disability hate crime
has been quoted as a case study (page 25).
June 2012: Monthly Update 37
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5. ecdp news
ecdp – Working with Skills for Care to
support you as an employer
ecdp is delighted to be working with Skills for Care to
support disabled people in Essex and beyond who
employ their own staff to access Skills for Care’s useful
and time-saving resources.
Skills for Care wants to ensure the people who work for
disabled and older people in providing care – often paid
for by Direct Payments or Personal Budgets – have the
right skills and qualifications to do so.
We know Direct Payments can be a very beneficial way of arranging
your social care. But we also understand that it can sometimes take
time to get the right information to feel fully in control. This is
why ecdp is working with Skills for Care to ensure their useful
information is made as available as possible to you. There are lots of
ways you can get involved in this work.
Focus groups
We will be holding a series of focus groups on different areas of Skills
for Care’s work over the next few months.
The first focus group will be to review their Personal Assistant Toolkit,
which is designed to help people employ their own personal
assistants. Skills for Care are about to update their PA Toolkit and
would like to know your views about it, including any suggestions you
may have on its content and format.
The focus group will take place at 2pm on Friday 15 June 2012 at
ecdp’s office in Chelmsford.
We can pay for people’s travel to and from the focus group and can
also pay £15 for your time. If you’re interested in attending this focus
group please contact Faye Savage on fsavage@ecdp.co.uk or 01245
214023.
June 2012: Monthly Update 37
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6. ecdp news
We will also be holding two other focus groups as
follows, so hold the dates in your diary!
Apprenticeship Resources: 1pm on Tuesday 14
August 2012
Build Your Qualification Card Kit: 1pm on Tuesday 4
September 2012
Survey
We also currently have a survey open about the Skills for Care PA
Toolkit. You can let us know your views by filling out this online survey.
More information
We hope you will consider getting involved in the different types of
work outlined above.
If you have any questions about any of the above, please don’t
hesitate to contact Richard Watts via email on rwatts@ecdp.co.uk.
June 2012: Monthly Update 37
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7. local news
Time to Change: East of England
networking event
Have you experience of Mental Health problems and
the discrimination associated with it?
Time to Change are running an event on Monday 11
June from 1.30-4.30 pm to get people together to try
and change this.
At the event you can:
 Learn more about Time to Change
 Get involved – become a Time to Change Champion
 Make links and plan your own networking events
 Find out about training opportunities
 Build support through networking activities
The event is taking place at King’s Centre, King Street, Norwich, NR1
1PH
Book your place by contacting Sarah by email: s.james@time-to-
change.org.uk, stating any access details, or call Sarah (East of
England Regional Coordinator) on 07949083899.
Some financial support is available for travel expenses on production
of receipts/car mileage and light refreshments will also be available.
Please note places are limited at this event so book early to avoid
disappointment.
June 2012: Monthly Update 37 Page 7 of 17

8. local news
The Mental Way Blog
Laura Brook – the pen name of a real mental health
patient in Essex – has launched a blog on the NEPFT
website. The aim of the blog is to get people talking
about mental health so people can really understand
what using mental health services is really like.
Laura has experienced severe issues for many years
and has agreed to blog monthly on her treatments, her
views about it and to comment on topics that take her
fancy. People can comment or join in. To read the blog
and post your comments, please visit the NEPFT
website.
Andrew Geldard, Chief Executive of NEPFT said:
This is a brave move by Laura but I am completely in favour of it.
The pen name reminds us of the dangers of stigma and
discrimination - especially as Laura has a job - but there is also a
stigma around treatments, which in fact are very effective. Real
experiences will help public understanding of what really
happens here. Well done Laura.
If you are interested in writing a blog, please contact Mike Waddington:
mike.waddington@nepft.nhs.uk
June 2012: Monthly Update 37
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9. local news
Disability Sports Day
Riverside Ice and Leisure aims to meet the needs of the local
community by providing access for all to a wide range of its
facilities and services. To promote these services, Riverside –
with support from the Sports Development Unit – host an annual
Disability Sports Day.
The next Disability Sports Day will take place on Sunday 17 June
2012 from 1pm to 5pm, at Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre in
Chelmsford.
Watch the website for more updates on the Riverside website or
call Neil Potter on 01245 615069. You can follow Riverside on
Twitter: @riversideLC.
Volunteering Opportunities
Year on year the Disability Sports Day has been largely
supported by volunteers from various backgrounds. If
you would like to volunteer your time to help out on the
day, there are a number of roles including: Meet and
Greet, Chaperones, Registration/information Point, and
Sports helpers.
To find out more please contact Neil Potter using the
details above.
June 2012: Monthly Update 37
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10. local news
Step up and join Miles for Macmillan
Explore the countryside and take in the beautiful views
on Macmillan’s three or ten mile walk on Sunday 1 July
from the Discovery Centre, Great Notley Country Park,
Braintree.
If you are interested in supporting Macmillan but do not
want to walk, volunteers are also needed to help with
registrations, marshal the route, hand out water and help with car
parking.
For more information about the above walks, please contact
Macmillan’s Fundraising Support Centre on 0300 1000 200 or email
fundraising@macmillan.org.uk
June 2012: Monthly Update 37
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11. local news
Zinc Arts 'Launch Pad' Summer
Programme
Zinc… gives… some independence and opportunity
to mix with new people and access new activities and
pursue interests –Parent of participant
As part of the BBC Children in Need’s ‘Fun and Friendship’
programme, Zinc is running ‘Launch Pad’, a unique series
of activities for young people aged 12 - 18 years of age
who are Deaf or have a physical, visual or hearing impairment.
Between June and August they are launching the Summer
Programme which will feature a host of activities, including creative
arts workshops, residential weekends away, and even a group trip of
the participants’ choice!
To get a better idea about what this programme can do for young
people, check out this article on the BBC Children in Need’s website
about two of our Launch Pad participants, Symran and Benjamin. BBC
Children in Need - Zinc Arts.
If you know of any young person that may benefit from this creative
programme or for more information contact Alice Williams
on alice.williams@zincarts.org.uk or call 01277 365626.
Transportation, personal care and communication support can be
arranged if required.
A timetable of activities for the Summer Programme is available to
download from the ecdp website: Launch Pad Summer Programme
For more information on Zinc, visit their website: www.zincarts.org.uk,
or follow ‘Zinc Arts’ on: Twitter, Facebook or Flickr.
June 2012: Monthly Update 37
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12. national news
Over £500k of Government Funding
awarded to Disabled People's User-
Led Organisations
£509,124 has been awarded to Disabled People’s User Led
Organisations since the Strengthening DPULO Programme was
launched in July 2011, it has been announced today by the Minister for
Disabled People, Maria Miller MP.
These User Led Organisations run by and for disabled people, often
provide support and services alongside those provided by the public
sector. Drawing on their own first hand experiences of a disability, they
have clear ideas about what works and what doesn’t.
61 applications for funding have been received from DPULOs across
England, 41 of which have been successful. As well as offering
financial support, the Strengthening DPULOs Programme’s provides
DPULOs with support and advice on how to strengthen and make their
organisations more sustainable through its Ambassadors.
Some examples of how the Strengthening DPULO programme is
strengthening and building DPULOs, as well as making a difference to
the lives of disabled people in the local community are available on the
ecdp website.
Minister for Disabled People, Maria Miller MP, said:
I am delighted the Strengthening DPULO programme is
successfully promoting the growth and improving sustainability of
Disabled People’s User-Led Organisations, as well as making
practical real improvements to the lives of disabled people and
their communities.
Whilst it is good the Facilitation Fund has awarded £509,124, a
large amount of the £3 million funding remains, so I would
encourage DPULOs to apply: In particular bids would be
welcomed from the Midlands, and East of England.
June 2012: Monthly Update 37 Page 12 of 17

13. national news
100 days to go until the Paralympic
Games
Last month we celebrated just 100 days
to go to the London Paralympic Games.
To mark the occasion, the British
Paralympic Association (BPA) launched a
new five year plan to ensure the
Paralympic games continue having a
positive impact on the lives of disabled
people after they have taken place.
Their plan sets out a new vision that
highlights the power of sport to inspire
change in people’s lives.
The plan outlines how it will harness the momentum from a home
Games to drive and support progress across Paralympic sport to Sochi
2014, Rio 2016 and beyond.
Called ‘Maximising Momentum’, the plan also states what impact the
BPA thinks London can have on disability sport more widely, what
outcomes should be targeted as a result, and what role the BPA
should play with partners in assisting their deliver.
It follows six months of detailed consultation with the membership of
the BPA, other stakeholders and sponsors of the Paralympic Games.
On ecdp’s website you can find quotes from various people involved in
putting the plan together, including Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson,
BPA Patron and one of our most successful ever Paralympians,.
The BPA Strategic Plan for 2012-2017 is available to download on the
BPA website.
Please feel free to share your thoughts on this strategy with ecdp by
commenting below, writing on our Facebook page or tweeting us,
@ecdp.
June 2012: Monthly Update 37
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14. national news
A perfect partnership: supporting
disabled workers
A new report from the Equality and Human Rights
Commission (EHRC) has found that disabled people continue
to be put at a disadvantage in the workplace. They are not
realising their full potential as they are not getting the support
they need at work. The report, “A Perfect Partnership,” says
that closing the employment gap between disabled workers
and non disabled workers can increase the performance of
staff across the board.
It found that disabled people do not want to be singled out for special
treatment. They are looking for company-wide solutions that support
all workers – not just those with a disability – to do their jobs
effectively. However, the review shows that employers are sometimes
confused by what exactly disability means. They are unsure of who is
disabled and what support disabled workers might need. The
Commission recommends that the employer and disabled worker
collaborating together best resolves these issues.
One of the barriers disabled people say they face is their own
reluctance to reveal their disability. People with mental health
conditions told the Commission that work was their best rehabilitation
route. Yet they did not feel comfortable in discussing any changes in
their working day that might benefit them and their employer.
There are wider benefits as the UK economy also gains from a
reduced reliance on State benefits when disabled people are in work.
More than one in five adults is disabled, yet only half are likely to be in
work, compared to four fifths of non disabled adults. One disabled
person in six loses their job in the first year after acquiring a disability,
more than doubling two years later.
The full report and other recommendations arising from the it are and
available on the EHRC website: EHRC - the perfect partnership.
June 2012: Monthly Update 37
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15. national news
Youth Select Committee Inquiry: Call
for evidence
A Youth Select Committee has been established by the British Youth
Council ‘to inquire into issues and concerns around safe, affordable
and accessible transport for young people and make
recommendations to decision makers to address them.’
Some of ecdp’s young members might be interested in sharing their
views on the problems they face using public transport. During our
Fulfilling Potential work with members to inform the Government’s new
disability strategy we were told about various transport barriers which
prevent young disabled people from living as independently as they
would like to.
The Youth Select Committee is inviting written evidence about various
issues – including accessibility for disabled people – all of which are
listed on ecdp’s website.
How to submit evidence
Written submissions are due by 4 June 2012. Individuals and
organisations can submit evidence to the Youth Select Committee by
emailing: bycyouthselect@parliament.uk
The Committee intends to hold oral evidence sessions on 6 and 13
July.
For more information, please see the Youth Parliament website.
June 2012: Monthly Update 37
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16. national news
Fulfilling Potential: what happens next?
The Government has released an update on the Fulfilling
Potential discussion our members and thousands of
other disabled people across the country contributed to
at the start of this year. The experiences disabled people
shared will inform the new disability strategy.
The update below is taken from the Office for Disability
Issues (ODI) website:
There will be three phases of further work - so we can
continue co-production of this important strategy. This
will address the issues raised in the Fulfilling Potential
discussions and in our recent work with stakeholders.
We also want to ensure there is ongoing work on practical measures
which will make a real difference to the lives of disabled people.
Phase 1: we aim to complete our current work with disabled people
and disabled people's organisations in June 2012, so that we can then
agree two documents with government colleagues in July 2012. These
will be (provisional titles):
 Fulfilling Potential – Next Steps, setting out the strategic narrative,
priority areas for further action, specific next steps, and how we would
co-produce further plans. This will set out the vision for ensuring
disabled people have better opportunities to realise their aspirations,
with more choice and control over their lives and an approach to
changing attitudes and behaviours in society. It will outline a new
partnership approach which aims to build the capability of
communities, and explore new ways to put power in the hands of
individuals.
There will be a focus on how we can strengthen the role of disabled
people's user led organisations and other community groups. It will
draw on the extensive discussions with disabled people and disabled
peoples' organisations, and address the key issues raised including
how to improve key life transitions, improving information and advice,
new approaches to early intervention, and improving the accessibility
June 2012: Monthly Update 37
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17. national news
of the environment and services.
 Fulfilling Potential – the discussions so far, which will include
a summary of responses to Fulfilling Potential and set out
current and planned actions across government.
These documents will then be published in September 2012,
to allow time for preparation of a range of accessible formats.
This will be complemented by publishing the full set of
Fulfilling Potential discussion responses received from
organisations and individuals.
Phase 2: in addition we will publish in the autumn, an analytical
document, drawing on statistical and research data, exploring the
nature of disability in the UK today and the issues faced by disabled
people.
Phase 3: the further work set out in Fulfilling Potential - Next Steps
would lead to a further strategic document and action plan in the New
Year, along with full analysis of the Life Opportunities Survey Wave 2
data.
June 2012: Monthly Update 37
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