View from the Chair Spring 2016

Spring is in the air, the sun is shining, the birds are singing in the trees and the daffodils are blooming and dancing in the wind. Easter eggs are lined up on the dining room table awaiting our grandchildren who will no doubt open and eat them as quick as they can say hello. If that's not a good enough reminder, then last weekend I joined Pam, Janis and Dave at our accessible caravans in North Wales to spring clean them ready for the busy season ahead.

Sorry, it’s been three months since writing my last ‘View from the Chair’, but looking back it’s been very busy at WDP, a tad tense in terms of contracts and funding, but overall exciting and productive, especially in terms of progress with our £150,000 Legacy Appeal.

Sad News

Early January we received news that Audrey Rogers had sadly passed away after a long illness. Audrey was our original Treasurer when we launched WDP back in 2003. She was previously a Trustee at Shopmobility and Warrington Disability Information Services and heavily involved with exhibitor administration for Disability Awareness Day. Audrey was charismatic, her laughter and wicked sense of humour brought warmth wherever she was.

Late January we received news that Andrew Carmen MBE had died after a short illness. Andrew was a regular attendee and active contributor at our Disability Forum, and assisted in the development of our Direct Payments and Payroll services. On a personal note, Andrew provided me with great encouragement and support during the past two decades. He was a perfect role model and inspiration to me and hundreds of disabled people nationally through his work with Scope, formerly known as the Spastics Society.

I was honoured to have been invited to provide a eulogy at each of their funerals. Our thoughts and condolences go out to their families and friends.

Silver Anniversary Legacy Appeal Principal Sponsors

When we launched the Appeal at our annual meeting in December we announced we were looking for a principal sponsor to pledge £25,000. Well I’m pleased to announce St Georges Healthcare Group and their charitable arm St Mark Universal Copts Care have signed up as joint principal sponsors.

WDP’s relationship with St Georges stems back nearly ten years. When I met their founder Dr Naser Fouad it was clear that we had much in common including our commitment to empowering disabled people, and as I got to know him further, I was pleased to learn that he shared my passion to supporting the development of young people.

In April last year I was honoured to have been invited to be the guest speaker at the public launch of St Mark Universal Copts Care at the Monastery in Manchester. The black tie event was professionally presented by Naser’s team of young people who eloquently shared their mission to support health and social care in Egypt and Sudan. As we watched a video I was shocked at the adverse poverty that Egyptian and Sudanese disabled people have to endure; there is no legal system to protect them, no welfare system to support them, no rights of access to education or transport and a health system that depends on your ability to pay.

When I shared what I’d seen and heard with colleagues at WDP we reviewed what we can do in terms of support and during the past months we have agreed plans to launch our Phoenix Project. This will involve WDP refurbishing mobility aids, wheelchairs, wheeled walkers, zimmer frames, crutches and walking sticks. The aim will be to send containers full of aids to Cairo where they will be distributed by St Mark’s team in partnership with Coptic Christian Churches.

25th Silver Anniversary Legacy Appeal Continued

Since the New Year nearly one hundred individuals, groups and businesses have signed up to pledge various amounts from £25 to £25,000. They include:

5 Boroughs NHS, Active Cheshire, Chester University, Claremont, CP UK, Culture Warrington, Golden Square, Lions Club International, Live Wire, Mayor of Warrington, MBS Supplies, Neutronic Technology, NRS Healthcare, Protive Security, Revive, Royal Mail, Today Team, Voisey’s, Warrington & Co, Warrington and Halton Hospitals, Warrington Collegiate, Warrington Guardian, Warrington World Wide, Colony Networking, Wire FM, Dot to Dot Consultancy, Gladstone Brooks, Oculus Photography, Solvay, Skillzone, Warrington Running Club and Woolston Rovers Under 11 Rugby Club.

So far we have received pledges totalling over £100,000.

For more detail see the latest sponsor list.

A couple of weeks ago we ticked off the first of our larger events on the 2016 fundraising calendar. Our Going the Extra Mile Sponsored Swim was a huge success with over 34 swimmers taking to the pool at Livewire’s Orford Jubilee Hub. Most of the swimmers set new personal bests including my son Gavin who contributed two of the total 27 miles. I think his motivation was taken from doubling my one mile contribution. Together our group of swimmers clocked up over 1700 lengths. WDP’s Sports and Leisure Lead Stacey King completed the final two and a half miles of her personal 25mile challenge which she smashed in less than 5 weeks; utterly amazing. If you are inspired, there’s still time to donate on line

Our next big event on the calendar will be held on Sunday 1st May, it’s our 5k Run and 5k Walk in the Park. Runners will set off in the morning through the picturesque route through Sankey Valley Park and walkers will set off late morning. Entry fee is only £5 and participants can choose to raise funds for a charity or community group. The Run and Walk will be followed by the first of our two World Record attempts, on Saturday 4th June we aim to set a new record with around 200 participants in our Mobility Scooter Rally and on Saturday 1st October we will have nearly 7,000 prizes on our Giant Tombola. Both events will be held in the Golden Square. On Saturday 3rd September we will be holding our annual Going the Extra Mile Scuba Challenge, with morning and midday dives at Capernwray Quarry followed by the one mile pool dive at Livewire’s Woolston Baths.

Our friends at WIRE FM are planning their Bring a Pound Day, on Friday 22nd April our teams will work together travelling around Warrington visiting businesses, groups and schools collecting donations that will go towards our Legacy Appeal.

All this talk about planned events reminded me to mention the surprise party my WDP colleagues organised with me as their special guest. As my wife Pam and I arrived at Warrington Market last week I was expecting to do the afternoon shift on WDP’s Teddy Tombola, but all that was a cover to get me along to the party organised by Market Manager Steve Pickering, supported by WDP’s staff and volunteers.

I was absolutely stunned; with over 120 people seated and standing, we were entertained by performances from Warrington Youth Orchestra, Warrington BSL Signing Choir and Ella Drama Group. The Mayor and Mayoress, and Reverend Steven Kingsnorth were involved, alongside several volunteers who readout poems they had written for the occasion. It was very emotional, I felt humbled by the efforts the team had undertaken, and it reminded me how far we have travelled since we started out on our journey at the Dallam Day Centre in 1991.

During our anniversary year we will be producing a 25 year timeline highlighted by milestone events. Friend of WDP Colin Pearson has designed the timeline in the shape of a sun and rays; it will be reproduced to fill the main wall of the conservatory at the Centre for Independent Living. Another new facility will be our Wall of Remembrance that will include the names of the 27 volunteers and staff who have sadly died during the past 25 years.

Partnerships 4 Change

During the past few months we have been busy working in partnership with Warrington & Co reviewing their plans for their £107 million redevelopment of the Bridge Street Quarter that includes new offices for Warrington Borough Council, new Warrington Market, new car park, new cinema, shops and restaurants.

We have also worked closely with LiveWire on their plans to redevelop Great Sankey Forum and their new build project the Bewsey and Dallam Hub. We have also met several times with Disabled Go. They are currently looking to secure funding to include Warrington services and facilities on their internationally acclaimed website. We have reached agreement for WDP to undertake most of the access and facilities audits locally.

I was honoured to have been asked to join the judging panel for this year’s Warrington Business Awards, and last week I was invited to be a speaker at the inaugural Northern Dive Show in Manchester where I will be sharing my passion for scuba diving, whilst promoting diving as an inclusive sport and signing up participants for our Going the Extra Mile Scuba Challenge.

Enough is Enough

Those of you who know me will know that I avoid getting involved in politics, but when the Chancellor announced his recent Budget it was clear that his plans to reform qualifying conditions for the Personal Independence Payments (PIP) would adversely affect the lives of hundreds of thousands people with long-term health conditions and disabilities, and I felt compelled to speak up.

I thought long and hard about how to respond to the mounting number of requests for comment from local and regional newspapers and radio stations. Finally I wrote a personal press release whilst being mindful that any comment from me would be closely linked with WDP.

I felt the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) would increase anxiety and fear amongst hundreds of thousands of people. Whilst at the same time the health and social care services that once served as the bedrock of Britain’s welfare state are being outstretched due to frozen budgets which with increased demand results in effects equal to funding cuts.

At a time when the criteria for accessing support is being raised, PIP provides the option for people to purchase their own aids and support, without PIP many will struggle to stay independent. I think that PIP provides a valuable lifeline to bridging the additional cost to living with a disability, without it many people will spiral into greater need. I feel access to PIP needs improving, not restricting further.

I feel the partnership led by Warrington Borough Council helped local agencies to be best prepared for the original Welfare Reforms, but we haven’t been able to avoid problems relating to how PIP is being implemented, including complicated assessments, wrong decisions and longwinded appeals.

I highlighted my observations that during the past few years there has been a significant reduction in the numbers of disabled people volunteering, many people we have spoken with state fear of being seen to be ‘fit for work’ as the reason for not volunteering. I also mentioned that like many charities we have seen cuts in grants, and an increase in the number of charities chasing public donations. But it’s at times like this that the need for our services will increase, not just for disabled people directly, but also for our partners in health and social care as they look for support.

I was utterly amazed at the numbers of people who contacted me by email, telephone and text congratulating me for speaking out against the proposed cuts, and I was humbled by the number of total strangers who approached me whilst fundraising at the Warrington Wolves game against Widnes on Good Friday and at Ikea on Easter Saturday. As we know by now the overwhelming feeling of shock, anger and outrage that was targeted at the Government resulted in the resignation of Ian Duncan-Smith Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, and more importantly, a U-Turn that saw the proposals withdrawn.

Disabled People an Afterthought

As if the PIP debacle wasn’t enough, last week saw the release of a major report from the House of Lords Select Committee on the Equality Act 2010 and Disability investigating the Act's impact on disabled people.

The Committee concluded that the Government is failing in its duty of care to disabled people. From taxi drivers refusing to take disabled people, to "disgraceful" accessibility at sports grounds, to pubs and clubs failing to provide basic essentials like accessible toilets, the report, entitled 'The Equality Act 2010: the impact on disabled people', says practice in all areas must be improved.

WDP was approached by the BBC to organise a meeting where their researcher Ruth could interview a number of our staff about the findings of the report, and more importantly their experiences of access and facilities. I was joined by Tom, Naomi, Rachel and Kate, together we shared our experiences about transport, access to shopping, attending concerts and sports stadiums, going out to pubs and restaurants, and accessing health services. Ruth then arranged for each of us to be filmed speaking about our main barriers, she then joined Tom in the Cultural Quarter in Warrington town centre where they visited a number of businesses where Tom and myself had encountered difficulties including stepped entrances and expectations of the owners that access to the rear past waste bins was the best they could offer.

Tom’s filming was used as the lead for the article that was used on the main BBC Six O’clock News. Filming from Naomi’s, mine and Tom’s interviews and our comments was used as the focus article for the BBC News on-line. Naomi’s interview contained hard hitting facts about her husband Nathan being required to lift her from her wheelchair on to the examination couch because it wasn’t height adjustable. This made me feel embarrassed as it was a subject I raised, and thought had been dealt with back in 1995 when I first joined the NHS as a Disability Advisor.

But it was the reference she made about the pressure they both faced from health care professionals to have her unborn baby checked for abnormalities. They suggested that her disability might increase the likelihood of their baby having a disability. Naomi and Nathan were distraught at the comment that their baby could be aborted if it was found to have a disability!

Kate shared her frustrations about attending a recent pop concert at the Apollo Theatre in Manchester with a close friend. Once inside they were informed Kate would need to sit in the wheelchair area whilst her friend would need to sit further back in the seating area. As she explained, the whole idea of going out together was to be together. Rachel expressed her concerns about the lack of thought around the facilities for disabled spectators at sports stadiums. Often uncovered, and often being required to sit with the opposing teams fans.

My concerns related to the lack of accessible public transport, with some bus companies still operating none accessible busses. My piece to camera related to taxi’s, with some drivers adding a fee to cover the time for setting up wheelchair ramps. Others have been reported as simply driving past wheelchair users in an attempt of avoiding extra loading time. I also shared a recently reported matter when a local taxi driver refused to take a young woman who has learning disabilities to a sports club unless she was accompanied. When challenged, the driver stated that he didn’t feel comfortable being on his own with the young woman.

I was a supporter of the Disability Discrimination Act when it was introduced in 1995, and I was heavily involved in influencing amendments in 2005, but it is clear to see that since it was merged with other equality legislation in 2010 it simply isn’t working. When you take a step back and consider a number of significant changes that have affected the lives of disabled people it does feel like we are seen as easy savings and often an afterthought. Welfare Reforms including the bedroom tax and changes to Employment Support Allowance, the scrapping of the Independent Living Fund, the closure of Government aided Remploy factories, the recent proposed changes to Personal Independence Payments and now these finding in the House of Lords Select Committee’s report. I feel that it’s time for local, regional and national disability organisations to form a strong alliance to speak out before the next life changing strategy is introduced.

A Year in the Life of WDP’s Chief Executive

This time last year I was saying my goodbyes to my colleagues and friends at 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. I was in my final week before retiring from a 20 year career that started out as a one year contract, a career that took me to places I’d never imagined; including speaking at international conferences, lecturing at universities, leading regional work streams and influencing national policies and strategies, but most importantly helping to give a voice to service users and carers.

The day after leaving the NHS I started my new joint role as Chief Executive at WDP and Managing Director of DTC. In agreement with our board of Trustees I left Derek, Gavin and Caroline to get on with the day to day running of our business. I spent the first few months visiting all of our teams, meeting with staff and volunteers, listening and learning more about our services, and considering suggestions about redesigns, some very simple, some much larger. I’m pleased to say that almost all of them have been implemented.

The next month involved writing a short term plan that included strategies for our 25th Legacy Appeal. The last six months of my first year has involved me getting heavily involved in reenergising existing corporate partnerships and developing many new relationships. Several have and will continue to result in new projects including Living Life Well (long-term health conditions), Scoota Safe Campaign and our international Phoenix Project in partnership with St Georges Healthcare Group and St Mark Universal Copts Care. I have also overseen the introduction of several new Trustees on to the WDP Board and several new Non-Executive Directors on to the DTC Board. Mark and Jamie from the DTC Board have led four development sessions that have involved team leaders, senior managers and Board members. Outcomes include greater understanding of each area of the business and a three year plan that will steer DTC to becoming a one million pound a year company by 2019 or before. We are currently planning to run similar development sessions with WDP later this year.

On reflection, my first year has seen a few surprises, but with the support of my close family and friends, our Board of Trustees, committed staff and volunteers, and the trust of our partners we have dealt with each matter in a very professional manner. I feel the experience has made us stronger as a team, and I have found a new level of resilience that has been energised from feedback received from our staff and volunteers, and from the people who rely on our services daily. It simply goes to show that reward and recognition isn’t just about money. Each day I get a warm glow of satisfaction from witnessing disabled people growing in confidence and independence, which results in them living happier and more fulfilled lives.

Finally for This Time

As well as celebrating WDP’s 25th anniversary year, on the 10th July we will celebrate our 25th Disability Awareness Day at Walton Hall and Gardens. This in part is thanks to Kathy, Brian and their team at Your Housing Group who have once again signed up as our principal sponsors.

Before I go, once again, don’t forget to sign up for our next big fundraising event on Sunday 1st May, it’s our 5k Run and 5k Walk in the Park. Entry fee is only £5 and participants can choose to simply run or walk, or to raise funds for a charity or community group of their choice.

I hope Warrington Wolves excellent and exciting start to the 2016 Super League season continues. We are 7 wins from 7 games so far, and Good Fridays local derby against Widnes Vikings at the Halliwell Jones stadium attracted a record 15,010 crowd which was great news to for Team WDP. Our team of volunteers staffed our allotted charity bucket collection and the record crowd contributed to our record for a bucket collection. One day later we followed up that record day with another record fundraising day, part of our team staffed our Teddy Tombola at the Bus Interchange whilst the rest of us staffed another Teddy Tombola and bucket collection at Ikea. WDP’s life sized mascot Ollie Owl proved the favourite with the children. Thanks to all the members of the team who volunteered for the events and to members of the public who donated.

Finally, thanks for your interest; on behalf of Team WDP, may I wish you a very Happy Easter.

Take care.

PS. Keep up to date with what's new at WDP follow me on Twitter @davet21