SOCIAL SERVICES NORTH WEST

MEETING ON 21 JUNE 2002 AT BURY

REPORT OF THE CO-ORDINATOR

LEARNING DISABILITY

1.         Matter for Consideration:

This report reports briefly on involvement by Social Services North West in regional work on issues related to people with a learning disability, and describes the work on wider disability issues being undertaken by the North West Regional Assembly, in which we have been invited to participate.

2.         Information:

2.1       The Co-ordinator continues to represent Social Services North West on the Regional Task Force which is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the White Paper Valuing People.  This is chaired by Steve Jones, Chief Executive of Wigan MBC and has a strategic role in monitoring and steering development of services to people with a learning disability right across the region.

2.3       The Task Force has welcomed the offer from Social Services North West to work with the North West Training and Development Team in making information quickly and easily available across the region, through a website entitled Valuing People North West.  Other regional and national websites address learning disability issues, but these are largely for a knowledgeable audience rather than for ordinary people seeking easy access to basic information.

2.4       Planning is now well advanced for the website, aimed chiefly at families of people with learning disabilities, and made as accessible as possible for people with learning disabilities themselves.  The site will be as user-friendly as possible, requiring a minimum of computer expertise and a minimum of prior knowledge required about learning disability.  However it will also be possible for non-beginners to move on to more detailed material as soon as they are ready to do this.  Contained within the site will be information about the White Paper, services and organisations at local and regional level, and information about the various ways in which people can make their own further enquiries and access the support which they will find helpful. 

2.5       The Task Force has also noted that another area where Social Services North West may be able to assist regional development lies in our unique access to local authority members with social services responsibilities.  Through their participation in Learning Disability Partnership Boards, members are being faced with new challenges in terms of enabling people with learning disabilities and their family carers to play a meaningful part in strategic decisionmaking.  Discussions are continuing about a possible future conference for members, focussing on how best to make use of these opportunities, to assist the effectiveness of these Boards across the Region.

2.6.1        The Annual Report considered earlier in this Agenda suggested that in the context of a growing impetus towards regional government, Social Services North West should play a full part in existing regional activity on relevant issues, such as the Economy and Society Key Priority Group of the North West Regional Assembly.  The Assembly has begun an innovative process to combat social exclusion.  Following the launch of the report  ‘Committed to Inclusion - Accepting the Challenge: The North West and Disability’ in December 2000, the NWRA has established a Health and Social Care Task Group, to take forward the issues and actions highlighted in the report.  .  Members of this Task Group represent a wide range of organisations from the Health and Social Care sector and an officer of SSNW is attending meetings to demonstrate the willingness of SSNW to contribute relevant expertise.  The Chair of the Task Group is Dave Thompson (5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust) who acts as a ‘regional champion’ and assists in the management and delivery of a work plan that is to be action oriented and relevant not only to the progression of the ‘ Committed to Inclusion’ goals, but also those of the member organisations. To date a definition of disability has been agreed, key issues identified and a work programme has been developed.

3.        Recommendation: