The TUC in partnership with NAVCA, Unite, UNISON and NCIA are staging a national conference in October "Outsourcing and Austerity"

 

Title:                     Outsourcing and Austerity:  Civil Society and the Coalition Government

Date:                     Friday 5 October

Time:                    9.30am – 5pm

Venue:                 Congress House

 

The conference aims to bring charities, trade unions, voluntary and community groups and other civil society organisations together to discuss the impact of the coalition government on the voluntary and community sector and the people that it serves and to consider effective political and organisational responses.

 

If you are interested in attending, or would like any more information, please email maxine@grantmoarcommunities.com

 

 

Independent Living Fund - Consultation on now

The Independent Living Fund (ILF) is an NDPB (Arms Length Body) of the DWP. Its offices are based in Nottingham which employs just over 130 staff. ILF exists to provide additional support in the form of direct payments to severely disabled people so that they have the choice and control that they need to live independent lives in the community.  For a great many ILF users, funding makes the difference between living independently in their own homes or living in residential care.  It makes the difference between doing what they want, when they want to, as opposed to doing what they're told.  For example; an ILF user, through the choice and control that ILF funding allows, may choose to go to bed at mid-night rather than being put to bed at 7.00 pm.

Minister for Disabled People, Maria Miller, permanently closed the ILF to new applications from May 2010 with a commitment to fund remaining users through the ILF to 2015 and to consult on how their support needs will be met from April 2015.  The consultation period started on 12 July and will run to 10 October.  The governments stated aim is to integrate ILF users into 'mainstream' social care by transferring responsibility for their support to local authorities.

PCS Regional Secretary Andrew Lloyd said, “The consequences of such a decision will be disastrous for the majority of ILF users.  Local authorities have seen massive cuts to their budgets under the current spending review.  Many disabled people were seeing cuts to the services and support provided by their local authority even before this.  They know that this decision will mean an end to the independence that they currently have and which they have fought for decades to achieve.”

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said, “Disabled people are already facing a barrage of cuts to their services and supports.  These proposed changes represent yet another blow to both disabled people and to the dedicated public servants who provide this important service.  What’s more, the proposals will potentially hinder, rather than help, disabled people to live independent lives which would be a very regressive, and depressing, step”.

As well as the services being lost nationally, it will mean that 130 jobs also are lost from the public sector and Nottingham.

It is important that we use the consultation to make well argued contributions to the debate and not let the government off the hook by not registering our opposition. Contributions can be made to the Consultation via ilf.consultation@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

Additionally there is an on line petition to oppose the closure http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/24368

Nuffield Trust publish on history of NHS

As the recent Health and Social Care Act (2012) shows, the NHS has been subject to much change since its inception in 1948. Having recently celebrated its 64th birthday, the NHS is entering another period of significant change.

To mark these changes, and to show them in their historical context, the Nuffield Trust has launched an interactive timeline that brings the NHS’ history to life, charting the evolution of this public institution from its inception in the post-war years through to the present day. The timeline outlines the current NHS reforms and how they came about, while also highlighting the future changes to the system that are expected.

To use the timeline, simply scroll through the decades, access further information, and watch embedded videos to familiarise yourself with the history of this dynamic institution. The timeline is a live resource and will be updated when further significant changes and developments take place. We believe the timeline to be a solid, accessible and fun educational tool that can be beneficial for the users of your network and anyone interested in health care, policy and public services in the UK.

The link to the timeline: http://nhstimeline.nuffieldtrust.org.uk.

You might also be interested in some key slides that we have developed to help illustrate the main changes to management, accountability and funding structures resulting from the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The slides are available to download so that the images can be reused in people’s own presentations: http://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/talks/slideshows/new-structure-nhs-england.

For further information contact:

Zaneta Stepien

Email: zaneta.stepien@nuffieldtrust.org.uk

Just published Midlands News 37

We have just published our new enewsletter, number 37 in the series, and this is now available on line on the Midlands page of the TUC website here

In this issue we have reports on progress on the Birmingham and London marches to take place on 7th and 20th August, an article from the Pensioners Network, and a report from the Action for Rail protest earlier this week This is available as a pdf if required and can be downloaded from the website.