CoProduction, Politics and Comedy

Th plans are well underway now for the PEP /HCC Annual Conference on the 6th December 2011. With a diverse range of speakers from Maria Miller, Minister for Disabled People, to Laurence Clark, an acclaimed Disabled comedian, it promises to be an exciting day.

You can download the agenda in PDF format

If you are interested in attending and have not yet booked your place then email robert@southamptoncil.co.uk for any late availability.

This conference is for service users and carers living in Hampshire only.

New Audio Blog on PEP Meeting

The Personalisation Expert Panel (PEP) are currently experimenting with a range of ways that we can highlight some of the work we do, things we discuss and widen the number of people who can get involved.

One of these ideas is for one of the PEP members to do a short audio blog at the end of each meeting so people can get a sense of what got discussed without reading all the minutes.

For August 2011, Robert Droy, co chair of the PEP shared his views and you can hear what he had to say by pressing play on the audio player below.

Icy Reception for Extension to Charging

Service users and carers braved near freezing conditions in Petersfield yesterday in order to attend a consultation event, organised by the Personalisation Expert Panel, on Hampshire Adult Services’ proposals to extend charging to all non-residential and short term residential services. This would mean that some services such as day care and support worker services would no longer be free.

In addition, Hampshire Adult Services are consulting on removing the current £440 per week maximum charge cap, taking into account 100 percent of users’ disposable income, rather than the current 95 percent,and the treatment of personal awards.

Over 5000 people are likely to be affected with an average increase  of £1500 per year. The proposals could result in additional income to the County Council of between £3.5 and £5 million per year.

Despite the low turnout, due to the weather, there was a lively discussion between service users, carers and representatives from Hampshire Adult Services.

There was wide spread concern regarding how Disability Related Expenses would be calculated in the future and whether users would understand their importance.

There was also much debate around how it would decided whether the services are provided for the user or for the carer. Services for Carers are not chargeable at present.

As you can see from the video below, people found the meeting interesting but were more cynical about whether it would really influence Hampshire’s proposals.

The consultation runs till Friday 14 January and then a report with the recommendations will be presented to Cabinet on 28 February. Any policy changes will be implemented in July 2011.

Find out more on the Contributions Consultation web page.

Personalisation Expert Panel to host HCC Service User and Care Conference 2010

HCC / PEP Conference Flyer

On Friday 3rd September 2010, Hampshire County Council and the Personalisation Expert Panel will be hosting the 2nd service user & carer conference in the Ashburton Hall in Winchester.

This year the theme is “involvement”  and will explore the ways in which individuals and groups can get involved within their community as well as with the County Council in moving towards more personalised services. We would like to invite you to attend this conference to share your experiences and give us your views. Further information will be available once you book your place. 

Details of Conference

This year, the Hampshire LINk (Local Information Network) have agreed to assist us with the conference and therefore we would ask that if you are interested in attending the conference, please email conference@hampshire-link.co.uk or phone 01489 611675.

The event is likely to be oversubscribed so should you wish to attend please let the LINk know as soon as possible. We will also need to know your dietary requirements and any access needs you have.