With support from the local advocacy service for people with a learning disability the views and voices of people in the local community are gathered by regular meetings of self advocacy groups. These groups operate throughout all areas of Essex but this service supports groups in Tendring, Colchester, Chelmsford, Maldon and Braintree. These groups are made up of Service Users who are supported by the advocacy service and by elected members of Essex Peoples Parliament.

  Throughout all of the areas of Essex elections are held and members of Essex Peoples Parliament who are all people with a learning disability are elected for a three year period. The elected members attend regular parliament meetings in Chelmsford ensuring the views and wishes of people with a learning disability in the local areas are listened to at county level. The members of Essex Peoples Parliament also sit on the Local Action Groups which meet regularly in the 12 district areas of Essex. This further enables information to be absorbed and disseminated. They have a large attendance from various groups within the community including Housing, Social Services, Health, Voluntary Sector and private establishments together with parents and carer groups. The chairs of each of these groups meet together regularly to share information and concerns and representatives from the chairs also sit on the Partnership Board which meets four times a year in conjunction with the Parliament meetings.

  This is an excellent way of sharing and communicating views across all the areas within Essex especially for people with learning disabilities who regularly use these venues to make presentations if they have worries or concerns regarding important issues usually around their care, their health, transport or their housing. Agenda items which are taken to the Partnership Board have full impact at the highest level as the Partnership Board is attended by County Counsellors, Social Services Officers, Health Commissions and Social Care Commissioners.

  We feel that with advocacy support there is a clear opportunity for people with a learning disability of make their voices heard regarding the decisions which may affect their lives.

  As an advocacy service we constantly support people with a learning disability to access appropriate health care and we have good relationships with the local Community Health Teams, GP's and have a liaison officer in the local General Hospital for people admitted for treatment. The liaison officer makes the transition to acute services and support while and during admission less stressful for our client group.

  We are pleased to say that our advocacy service has established excellent links with people making their transition from schools to adult services and Essex County Council had the foresight to support a full time post within the advocacy service specifically for this need.

  We constantly support people with housing related issues including renting, tenancies and more recently in an extremely interesting initiative where people are able to joint own their own home using their welfare benefits.

  Within the advocacy contracts Essex County Council have recognised the need for specialist support for parents with a learning disability. This support is often based around the family court arena and we are pleased that we do have considerable success and expertise within this difficult field. We not only support within the court arena but with any legal visits to solicitors and barristers along with offering emotional support in the home environment. We feel this has been a very forward thinking decision by Essex County Council which is proving invaluable to parents with a learning disability at some of the most difficult times in their lives.

  We have been involved in a pilot for Individual Budgets and are pleased to say that we are seeing a real difference in the way people are able to enjoy a life which they want.

  We have also supported service users in self reviews, which have proved to be very powerful and ensure that the. service users own views are at the front of the review process.

  We have also been involved in the Brokerage pilot where by people with a learning disability might ask for the support of a broker to ensure they have the life they want.

  The advocacy service sits on the local Protection of Vulnerable Adults Group which meets regularly to review and ensure as many people as possible are aware of the processes in Essex. We regular support individuals involved in the POVA process including supporting them making video statements at the local police station and court appearances.

  This is by no means a perfect answer in ensuring every body's voices are heard but we genuinely feel that Essex recognises the need for these voices to be heard and has commissioned advocacy services and provided a mechanism through Self Help Groups, Local Action Groups, Essex Peoples Parliament and the Partnership Board for this to happen.

  We hope this information is useful and we would be only too pleased to provide any further information that you may require.

Avril O'Sullivan

Advocacy Team Manager

21 May 2007