Choices & Rights
Disability Coalition
Choices and Rights are an organisation run and controlled exclusively by disabled people in the Hull and East Riding area. We believe that the best experts on the needs of disabled people are disabled people themselves and as a result, Choices and Rights membership and reputation has grown because agencies and organisation know that when they seek consultation with us they will have dialogue with a delegation of disabled people.
What do We Do?
- Campaign on a wide variety of disability issues
- Run and manage the Hull and East Riding Centre for Independent Living (CIL), providing information, advice and a range of services for disabled people, their families and service providers.
- Provide consultancy and advice to other organisations in the voluntary, statutory and private sector, both locally and nationally.
- Provides a regular email newsletter as well as a wide range of information and resource packs.
- Recognised as the leading local organisation on the Equality Act Disability). We are able to offer support and advice on the Act in relation to disability.
- Organise conferences, workshops and forums so that disabled people can be informed of new developments and have an opportunity to voice opinions face to face.
Choices and Rights – Current Services – October 2017
Direct Payments Support Schemes
We currently have a Direct Payment Support Scheme for disabled people and another for families of disabled children. Both of these schemes are currently funded on a Service Level Agreement with the Local Authority (Hull). Since the scheme started we have assisted over 1000 disabled people/families of disabled children, access Direct Payments/Personal Budgets and given them assistance recruiting Personal Assistants, we also provide on-going support to Direct Payment Users.
Database of Potential Personal Assistants
As part of the Direct Payment support scheme we have developed and manage a database of potential Personal Assistants (PA’s). We have approximately 1300 potential PA’s on the database that have already been reference checked and the number is growing every month. The database has proved to be successful locally and has recently been rolled out across the East Riding, through a partnership working with the East Riding Council.
Disability Information Service
As a core function we have a disability Information service which is managed collectively by all employees of the Centre for Independent Living. This includes advice on any area of disability (with the exception of welfare benefits), and typical enquires request information on accessible holidays, the blue badge scheme and about disabled people’s rights.
Disability Equality Training
Our Disability Equality Training Project, (although currently unfunded) enables us continue to deliver DET on a limited basis, with requests being considered on merit. We have delivered DET to a wide range of organisations including the National Probation Service, the Crown Prosecution Service, Primary Care Trust, Health Service and various Local Authorities and Voluntary Sector Organisations.
Consultancy
We are regularly approached by organisations who want us to provide consultancy. This has included assisting them with their training programmes, assisting with policy development, and more recently assisting with the development of Disability Equality Duty Schemes and Plans. We have assisted with the Disability Equality Duty Schemes and Plan of Hull City Council and the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Humberside Police, and Humberside Fire and Rescue. The Local Authority has involved our organisation in all its consultancy work, implementing strategies and their Equality Schemes.
Equality Act Advice (Disability)
Choices and Rights had two workers that provided advice and support to disabled people who had been discriminated against. We have had training in respect of the Equality Act (formally the Disability Discrimination Act) , and many of us have first hand experience of taking disability discrimination cases to mediation, small claims court, and employment tribunal. Although we no longer have the workers in post, we are still able to offer initial advice on these issues.
CARDC are recognised as the local “experts” on disability and in particular the Equality Act in relation to disability.
Personal Health Budgets
Hull was chosen as one of the pilot areas for the development of Personal Health Budgets and Choices and Rights were working in partnership with City Health Care Partnership CIC on this scheme. The work has led to an improvement in the understanding of the needs of disabled people by health care professionals as well as the development of good practices between the partnership of health, social care and disability led organisations. PHB’s are now an automatic right for those who qualified from October 2014 and we have developed in partnership with CHCP to develop a new scheme to provide advice and support.
For more information about any of the above, please contact Choices and Rights Disability Coalition via calling 01482 878778 OR for those with hearing impairments Text-phone: 01482 370986.
Email: office@choicesandrights.org.uk
www.choicesandrights.org.uk