Saturday, 10 October 2015

[diversityliving] Freedom of Information request -London Borough of Waltham Forest(October 2012) [3 Attachments]

 

[Attachment(s) from Diversity Living Services included below]

Freedom of Information request -London Borough of Waltham Forest(October 2012)

1. Please send me the information about the nature and description of Waltham Forest Council contracts awarded to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) businesses in the current year and last three years, including the support provided to BME businesses to win Waltham Forest Council Contracts.
In 2009 LBWF sent a questionnaire to all suppliers that had been used in the previous 2 years  and since then all new suppliers are requested to complete the questionnaire identifying whether they would consider themselves to be BME businesses. The data that we have is therefore only for those companies that chose to complete the questionnaire (it is not mandatory for them to do so in order to be set up as a vendor)

Based on those businesses who completed the voluntary questionnaire, since 30.9.2009 to date LBWF has raised Purchase Orders (i.e has contracted with for the supply of goods/services/works) to 335 vendors who stated that they were BME owned businesses.

2. Please send me the information about the funding allocation and grants to BME voluntary organisations working or based in the London Borough of Waltham Forest ( for the current year and last three years), and indicate the proportion of this funding allocation in relation to all voluntary organisations working or based in the borough.
Please see the attached spreadsheet (voluntary sector funding).  In terms of the last 3 years – we have records for 2010-2011, 2011-2012. We do not have collated information 2009-10. We are including 2012-2013 but would need to highlight that this period is not complete and there are other funding e.g. grants that are still to take place.

Notes
2012-2013 –NB as at 26 October 2012)
2011-2012 –
2010-2011 – NB no project information was collated for this period.

3. Please send me the information about proportion of BME staff employed by the Council, especially in the management positions.
HR Scorecard June 2012 attached – Includes details of Minority Ethnic Staff in top 5% of earners.

4. Please send me your report about the complaints from the public in relation to your Equality and Diversity Scheme, including any change or action that may have been taken place in the Council's policies, activities, services as the result of these complaints.
No complaints have been received.

5. Please send me the reports about the implementation of your Equality and Diversity Scheme for the last three years.
This is published on our website. The Equalities Review: http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/documents/equalities%20review%20final.doc

6.Please send me your annual workforce profile report that provides breakdowns of the workforce profile by gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and age and other additional data required by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Annual Workforce Profile is published on our website: Under Employment Information, there is a link to the Equality Scorecard. Can be found under this link: http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/pages/services/equalities-and-diversity-assessment-and-consultation.aspx?l1=100003&l2=200041
Some examples of current initiatives and on-going work include:
<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>Aspiring Leaders Programme (Year-long Development Programme launched in April 2012) – See attached for details.
<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>The council undertakes regular and routine analysis of its workforce profile through quarterly HR scorecards and an annual equality scorecard
<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>The Councils Equality Plan sets out  a number of equality objectives which it aims to progress, these include objectives on our workforce for example - Ensure the percentage of women, disabled staff, and black, Asian and minority ethnic staff is in line with top-performing London authorities across all tiers of the Council’s workforce; Eliminate bullying and harassment in the workplace.
The Council undertakes benchmarking exercises on how the profile of its workforce compares with other local authorities, this includes the top 5% of minority ethnic earners  and Waltham Forest is in the top quartile for London Boroughs

7.What strategy to increase the proportion of black people personnel if it is under-represented in your workforce ?
There is no overall under-representation of BME staff in the Council, as at June 2012 the overall % of BME staff is 53.2%, this compares well with our BME population locally (Waltham Forest) which is 47%.

I trust that the above satisfies your enquiry.  If you have any queries about this email, please contact me.  Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, you have the right to complain about the Council’s response to your request for information. If you wish to pursue such a complaint, please do so within 28 days from the date of this letter and ask for a review of the Council’s decision.  Please write to: The Information Officer, Complaints Team, Room 104, Waltham Forest Town Hall, Walthamstow E17 4JF, or email  information.officer@walthamforest.gov.uk .  Please mark your request clearly as “Request for Review”.

If after receiving a response to the review, you remain dissatisfied with the Council’s response, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner.  Further information can be obtained via the Information Commissioner’s helpline 0303 123 1113 or their website at:  http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints/freedom_of_information.aspx 


Waltham Forest Council
Room 104
Waltham Forest Town Hall
Forest Road
London E17 4JF

www.walthamforest.gov.uk



From: Website (DO NOT REPLY) [no-reply@walthamforest.gov.uk]
Sent: 02 October 2012 08:46
To: Information Officer
Subject: FOI request related to: Other/don't know
Dear Information Officer,
A Freedom of Information submission has been received from the website.

Form fields

Subject: Other/don't know
Please state below the information you are requesting from the Council: Dear Sir, Madam,

I would like to have more information about the following. Please ignore my previous request sent yesterday evening because it confusing. Here is the updated version of my request. I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Please send me the information about the nature and description of Waltham Forest Council contracts awarded to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) businesses in the current year and last three years, including the support provided to BME businesses to win Waltham Forest Council Contracts.

2. Please send me the information about the funding allocation and grants to BME voluntary organisations working or based in the London Borough of Waltham Forest ( for the current year and last three years), and indicate the proportion of this funding allocation in relation to all voluntary organisations working or based in the borough .

3. Please send me the information about proportion of BME staff employed by the Council, especially in the management positions.

4. Please send me your report about the complaints from the public in relation to your Equality and Diversity Scheme, including any change or action that may have been taken place in the Council's policies, activities, services as the result of these complaints.

5. Please send me the reports about the implementation of your Equality and Diversity Scheme for the last three years.


6.Please send me your annual workforce profile report that provides breakdowns of the workforce profile by gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and age and other additional data required by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

What concrete actions being undertaken by the Council to increase its ethnic diversity for example:

• Attraction strategy, talent management and mentoring progra mmes.
• Analysing the workforce profile to explore the reasons for underrepresentation.
• Reviewing ethnicity targets for the Council .
• Comparing the Council's top 5% of ethnic minority earners, (for Council departments) against other local authorities.
• Involvement of Black and Minority Ethnic Communities in the Council decision-making process and service delivery.
• Equalities consultations ( e.g. consulting with range of people from different backgrounds and cultures about different diversity and equality issues relevant to them.
• Diversity and Community Cohesion Board/ Committees/Steering Group.
• Contracting and commissioning ( Equalities and diversity as an important part of the council's procurement process with equality and diversity requirements in all tender documents (contract monitoring system that includes routine equality reporting).
• Promoting Equality and Diversity across all our services . Oth er actions in relation to Equalities monitoring, engagement and implementation

7.What strategy to increase the proportion of black people personnel if it is under-represented in your workforce ?

Note: Please send me the information with my original copy of the freedom of information request.
__________________

__._,_.___
Attachment(s) from Diversity Living Services | View attachments on the web
3 of 3 File(s)
Voluntary sector funding.xls
Scorecard June 2012.pdf
aspiring_leaders_programme.pdf
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[diversityliving] Freedom of Information request -London Borough of Croydon (October 2012) [1 Attachment]

 
[Attachment(s) from Diversity Living Services included below]

Freedom of Information request -London Borough of Croydon (October 2012)

 

1. The information about Council contracts awarded to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) businesses and the support provided to BME businesses to win Council Contracts;

 

We do not record ethnicity of contractors and so are therefore unable to provide a response to this element of this request.   There are no specific initiatives regarding encouraging BME businesses to bid for contracts.

 

2. Funding allocation and grants to BME voluntary organisations, in comparison with all voluntary organisations;

 

The Council does not formally define BME led organisations and any data provided could therefore be misleading as it may not be comparable with date provided by other local authorities.  The full list of organisations funded by Croydon Council is published on the website at http://www.croydon.gov.uk/community/advice/tsfunding/thirdsector.

 

3. The proportion of BME staff employed by the Council, especially in the management positions;

 

Please see attached link to the workforce profile

http://www.croydon.gov.uk/community/equality/strategies/workforceprofiles0910

 

4. The report about the complaints from the public in relation to Equality and Diversity Scheme, with any change or action that may have been taken in the Council's policies, activities, services as the result of these complaints;

 

We have not received any complaints in relation to the scheme to date.

 

5. Implementation of your Equality and Diversity Scheme for the last three years;

 

Please see attached link and the attached document

http://www.croydon.gov.uk/community/equality/strategies/edarchive

 

6. Annual workforce profile report;

 

http://www.croydon.gov.uk/community/equality/strategies/workforceprofiles0910

 

7. Concrete actions undertaken to increase ethnic diversity;

 

Please see attached link and document http://www.croydon.gov.uk/community/equality/strategies/edarchive

 

8. Strategy to increase the proportion of black people personnel if it is under-represented in your workforce

 

http://www.croydon.gov.uk/contents/documents/meetings/546596/2012/2012-03-19/cab20120319equalitystrategy.pdf

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire SK9 5AF

 

 

 

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1 of 1 File(s)

equalitiesstrategy10-13.pdf
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[diversityliving] Freedom of Information Act Request-Haringey Council [1 Attachment]

 
[Attachment(s) from Diversity Living Services included below]

Freedom of Information Act Request-Haringey Council

 

1. Please send me the information about the nature and description of Haringey Council

contracts awarded to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) businesses in the current year and

last three years, including the support provided to BME businesses to win Haringey

Council Contracts.

 

Haringey Council does not maintain information on the ethnicity of ownership for our

businesses awarded contracts.

There has been no specific support provided to BMEs, although the Council has provided

significant support to small/medium enterprises within the last three years. This can be

summarised as follows:

 

· A mandate for all contracts (excepting construction) to be let via the Compete for

system. This is an online portal that enables bidders to enter pre-qualification information

on a ‘yes /no’ basis and only the top scoring organisations are asked to submit their

documents, saving companies the time and expense of preparing a fully evidence based

PQQ submission unless they pass the criteria for shortlisting.

 

· A raising of our financial threshold for requests for quotation to £100k, ensuring

smaller businesses are able to compete for larger contracts, without having to comply go

through an expensive and lengthy tendering process.

· 3 Meet the Buyer events;

· Several workbooks, available at

 

http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/business/selling/sustainableprocurement.htm

 

2. for the list of all voluntary organisations that have been or being funded by the Council

this year and the last three years including BME organisations. This information should

include the description of the activities for which the funding was provided for each

organisation.

Please see attached.

 

3. Please send me the information about proportion of BME staff employed by the Council,

especially in the management positions.

 

Ethnic Group of our Workforce June 2011

Headcount

BME

Headcount %

Haringey Council Workforce 3866 2117 54.76

Management Workforce 103 16 15.53

 

4. Please send me your report about the complaints from the public in relation to your

Equality and Diversity Scheme, including any change or action that may have been taken

place in the Council's policies, activities, services as the result of these complaints.

We have not received any complaints in relation to our Equality & Diversity Scheme.

5. Please send me the reports about the implementation of your Equality and Diversity

Scheme for the last three years.

All actions will be contained in the policy and implementation plan in the links below these

documents are on the website.

 

http://www.haringey.gov.uk/equalities_scheme_2010-2013.pdf

 

http://www.haringey.gov.uk/school_place_planning_report_2009.pdf

 

http://www.haringey.gov.uk/equal_opportunities_policy_2012-13.pdf

http://www.minutes.haringey.gov.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=34139&Opt=3

 

6. Please send me your annual workforce profile report that provides breakdowns of the

workforce profile by gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and age and other additional data

required by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

See below link for our employment profile

 

http://www.haringey.gov.uk/local-democracy/about-council/equalities/haringey-council-employment-profile

 

7. What concrete actions being undertaken by the Council to increase its ethnic diversity in

the Council staff.

 

The Council have an equalities policy that has been in place for a number of years. The

council’s annual Employment Profile shows that the council is well represented in terms of

ethnic diversity but we use this to help monitor the situation.

 

8. What strategy to increase the proportion of black people personnel if it is underrepresented

in your workforce ?

 

Please see above answer. We do not need to increase representation, because we are

already well represented in Black, Asian and Minority ethnic staff groups.

If you have any further queries, or are unhappy with how we have dealt with your request

and wish to make a complaint, please contact the Feedback and Information Team as

below. (Please note you should do this within two months of receiving this response.)

 

Feedback and Information Team

River Park House

225 High Road

N22 8HQ

Telephone: 020 8489 2550

Email: FoI@haringey.gov.uk

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Haringey_FOI re vol sector and BME groups (2) (2).xls
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Freedom of Information Request to Waltham Forest Coun

Freedom of Information Request to Waltham Forest Council (October 2012)

1. Please send me the information about the nature and description of Waltham Forest Council contracts awarded to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) businesses in the current year and last three years, including the support provided to BME businesses to win Waltham Forest Council Contracts.
In 2009 LBWF sent a questionnaire to all suppliers that had been used in the previous 2 years  and since then all new suppliers are requested to complete the questionnaire identifying whether they would consider themselves to be BME businesses. The data that we have is therefore only for those companies that chose to complete the questionnaire (it is not mandatory for them to do so in order to be set up as a vendor)

Based on those businesses who completed the voluntary questionnaire, since 30.9.2009 to date LBWF has raised Purchase Orders (i.e has contracted with for the supply of goods/services/works) to 335 vendors who stated that they were BME owned businesses.

2. Please send me the information about the funding allocation and grants to BME voluntary organisations working or based in the London Borough of Waltham Forest ( for the current year and last three years), and indicate the proportion of this funding allocation in relation to all voluntary organisations working or based in the borough.
Please see the attached spreadsheet (voluntary sector funding).  In terms of the last 3 years – we have records for 2010-2011, 2011-2012. We do not have collated information 2009-10. We are including 2012-2013 but would need to highlight that this period is not complete and there are other funding e.g. grants that are still to take place.

Notes
2012-2013 –NB as at 26 October 2012)
2011-2012 –
2010-2011 – NB no project information was collated for this period.

3. Please send me the information about proportion of BME staff employed by the Council, especially in the management positions.
HR Scorecard June 2012 attached – Includes details of Minority Ethnic Staff in top 5% of earners.

4. Please send me your report about the complaints from the public in relation to your Equality and Diversity Scheme, including any change or action that may have been taken place in the Council's policies, activities, services as the result of these complaints.
No complaints have been received.

5. Please send me the reports about the implementation of your Equality and Diversity Scheme for the last three years.
This is published on our website. The Equalities Review: http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/documents/equalities%20review%20final.doc

6.Please send me your annual workforce profile report that provides breakdowns of the workforce profile by gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and age and other additional data required by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Annual Workforce Profile is published on our website: Under Employment Information, there is a link to the Equality Scorecard. Can be found under this link: http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/pages/services/equalities-and-diversity-assessment-and-consultation.aspx?l1=100003&l2=200041
Some examples of current initiatives and on-going work include:
<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>Aspiring Leaders Programme (Year-long Development Programme launched in April 2012) – See attached for details.
<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>The council undertakes regular and routine analysis of its workforce profile through quarterly HR scorecards and an annual equality scorecard
<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>The Councils Equality Plan sets out  a number of equality objectives which it aims to progress, these include objectives on our workforce for example - Ensure the percentage of women, disabled staff, and black, Asian and minority ethnic staff is in line with top-performing London authorities across all tiers of the Council’s workforce; Eliminate bullying and harassment in the workplace.
The Council undertakes benchmarking exercises on how the profile of its workforce compares with other local authorities, this includes the top 5% of minority ethnic earners  and Waltham Forest is in the top quartile for London Boroughs

7.What strategy to increase the proportion of black people personnel if it is under-represented in your workforce ?
There is no overall under-representation of BME staff in the Council, as at June 2012 the overall % of BME staff is 53.2%, this compares well with our BME population locally (Waltham Forest) which is 47%.

I trust that the above satisfies your enquiry.  If you have any queries about this email, please contact me.  Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, you have the right to complain about the Council’s response to your request for information. If you wish to pursue such a complaint, please do so within 28 days from the date of this letter and ask for a review of the Council’s decision.  Please write to: The Information Officer, Complaints Team, Room 104, Waltham Forest Town Hall, Walthamstow E17 4JF, or email  information.officer@walthamforest.gov.uk .  Please mark your request clearly as “Request for Review”.

If after receiving a response to the review, you remain dissatisfied with the Council’s response, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner.  Further information can be obtained via the Information Commissioner’s helpline 0303 123 1113 or their website at:  http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints/freedom_of_information.aspx 


Waltham Forest Council
Room 104
Waltham Forest Town Hall
Forest Road
London E17 4JF

www.walthamforest.gov.uk

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Friday, 9 October 2015

FW: LVSC health update - Sept-Oct 2015

 

October 2015

Dear colleague,

Welcome to the September-October 2015 edition of our regular health ebulletin bringing you news from LVSC, Regional Voices (of which LVSC is a constituent member), the Department of Health, Public Health England, NHS England and Care Quality Commission.

Ebulletins may include information from London's voluntary & community sector (VCS) as well as regional policy news - e.g. from the Greater London Authority, NHS England (London region), London Senate, etc.

We also intend to keep you up to date on the government's Five Year Forward View, including the vanguards in London.

If you wish to discuss any items to be included in future bulletins, please feel free to contact me.

Sandra

Sandra van der Feen

Policy Officer, LVSC

sandra@lvsc.org.uk

Mondays - Wednesdays only

 

LVSC news

LVSC health work update

I have recently met Abigail Jago, Programme Director, Tower Hamlets Integrated Provider Partnership (THIPP) one of London's vanguards. We looked at how we might share learning about working with the voluntary, community & social enterprise sector (VCSE) from integration pilots with the vanguard. THIPP will share information about how they are currently working with the VCSE and patient groups. We also explored a possible learning workshop with the VCSE in the New Year.

I have met with the Communications Manager at the NEL Commissioning Support Unit (NEL CSU) to explore potential links,better engagement and co-production between CCGs and the VCSE.

I will be meeting with the Office of CCGs later in October to discuss how we can make better links between CCGs and the VCSE at a strategic and regional level.

I am about to complete a  case study in partnership with Kensington & Chelsea Social Council and  Healthwatch CWL looking at co-production between the CCG, Patient Panel, Healthwatch and KCSC re their Whole Systems Change integrated care programme. The case study will be published within the next few weeks.

Work on a London wide social prescribing map with links to London based social prescribing programmes is also in progress. I will be liaising with lead people in social prescribing areas and hope to have a map published late November - early December.

Also a gentle reminder that there is less than a month to go before the VCSE Review consultation closes. It's really important to feed in your views particularly in view of the future of the voluntary sector investment programme.  My colleague Matthew Scott, London for All Manager at LVSC and I will be responding to the review. If you would like to feed in some key issues but don't have time to formally respond, please let me know. I have copied and pasted the online questions into two Word documents so that you can have a quick look at the kind of issues and questions raised. More information including links to the surveys and Word documents can be found below.

For more information also feel feel free to contact me: sandra@lvsc.org.uk

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Who's Who for London update (reminder)

Each of the regional networks that comprise Regional Voices including LVSC, have produced a "Who's Who" guide to key people working in health, wellbeing and care in each region. The guides include relevant people from clinical commissioning groups, health and wellbeing boards, CQC, NHS England area teams, commissioning support units and local Healthwatch.

The most regularly updated version of the guide is available here. Please help us keep this guide up to date by notifying us of any changes, gaps or corrections.

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Pathways to Wellbeing - Maximising Health Opportunities. Stonewall Housing

Read what members think about LVSC services. You may find Pathways to Wellbeing – Maximising Health Opportunities, Stonewall Housing of particular interest.
 

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London & national news

New hospital vanguards announced

NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens has announced radical new options for the future of local hospitals across the NHS. The new models being developed by 13 new hospital Vanguards represent the next stage of implementing the NHS Five Year Forward View. The Vanguards involve some of the best-known and best-run hospitals in the country. They will now be extending their geographical reach, stepping up to the challenge of driving efficiency and improvement across the country. Acute Care Collaboration Vanguards are designed to spread excellence in hospital services and management across multiple geographies.

In London:

UCLPartners - Four new vanguards across the partnership to improve care for thousands of patients

Four hospital vanguard have involvement from trusts across UCLPartners, meaning that patients in this region are likely to be the first to benefit from the innovative improvements in care. The new vanguards are designed to spread excellence in hospital services and management across multiple geographies. The trusts will receive financial and practical support, and learning from their experience will be used by other areas in coming years.

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust aims to identify the best approach to establishing and sustaining a chain of services and to produce a toolkit which can be used to roll out service level chains regardless of the specialty to benefit patients in other parts of the NHS. In addition to analysing the best approach for a successful chain of services, the trust will also explore the opportunities and risks associated with running an extended network of eye services, based on increasing the number of Moorfields satellite sites and widening the trust's geographic reach.

The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust plans to become the heart of a group that other organisations will want to collaborate with. The trust is considering options including buddying, merging specific office functions and other innovative models such as joint clinical and corporate ventures. The key benefits of this approach are that it would reduce the variation patients can experience in care, increase efficiency and can be delivered at reduced cost to the healthcare economy. Potential partners will be identified as the proposal is.

The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital has also been selected as a partner in the National Orthopaedic Alliance vanguard to develop a UK-wide franchise or chain of orthopaedic providers to deliver outstanding and consistent care in more areas. The partners will explore formal ways of collaborating more closely as well as the possibility of delivering exemplar orthopaedic services on a franchise model across England. The work will include developing a single common model for NHS franchising that can be picked up by any speciality; to implement best practice; to identify ways of expanding across a wider geography; and to ensure that scale brings with it stronger local patient and community involvement.

Along with the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, UCLH (University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) has formed a joint Cancer Vanguard that will aim to enhance and expand the existing cancer networks, such as London Cancer and Manchester Cancer, to give patients earlier diagnosis and reduce variations in the quality and cost of care.

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National news

New NICE home care guidelines

A new guidance has been published, promoting high-quality home care services for older people, at a time when demand for such services is set to grow. The focus of the guideline is on ensuring that home care services support the aspirations, goals and priorities of each person. The guideline is the first to be developed on behalf of NICE by the NICE Collaborating Centre for Social Care (NCCSC), a partnership led by SCIE.

Read the NICE press release  

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The VCSE Review engagement process and consultation

In November 2014, the Department of Health, Public Health England, and NHS England initiated a review of their investment in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. The group overseeing the review has representatives from the VCSE and public sector including Regional Voices. Their purpose is to gather views and evidence to make recommendations about two key elements:

  • Investment and partnerships between health and care agencies and the VCSE sector across England.
  • Central government grant funding of the VCSE sector contributing to health and care.  This is a joint funding programme across the system partners, administered by the Department of Health. This part of central government funding is called 'the Voluntary Sector Investment programme'.  Launched in April 2009, the programme seeks to enable the voluntary sector to work in equal partnership with public sector health bodies to help shape and deliver policies and programmes to improve health and wellbeing outcomes.  Approximately £22 million is available for the whole programme annually. There are three main schemes within the programme: the Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development Fund (IESD); the Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund (HSCVF); the Health and Care Voluntary Sector Strategic Partners Programme.

Visit the website to comment on blogs or contribute your own.

Contribute your own response via the two online surveys:

In case you want to have a quick browse and /or don't have time to formally respond, LVSC pulled together the surveys into two Word documents. You can let me know your key issues by email:sandra@lvsc.org.uk by 28th October.

Survey questions in Word:

  1. Voluntary sector investment survey questions
  2. VCSE challenges and solutions to better investment survey questions
     

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Smoking in cars with children banned from 1st October

To protect children from the dangers of second-hand smoke, it's now illegal to smoke in cars and other vehicles with someone under 18 present.

As from now, new legislation in England and Wales makes it illegal to smoke in a vehicle carrying someone who is under 18. It is now also against the law for a driver not to stop someone smoking in these circumstances. The fine for both offences is £50.

The change in the law is to protect children and young people from the damaging effects of second-hand smoke, which can put them at risk of serious conditions such as meningitis, cancer, bronchitis and pneumonia, and make asthma worse.
To read more, visit the government website.

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Gearing up for one of the most fundamental changes in NHS history

Sir Bruce Keogh has outlined an emerging strategy for Personalised Medicine in the NHS. NHS England's National Medical Director said it would entail a move away from a 'one size fits all' approach to the treatment and care of patients with a particular condition, to using diagnostics, genomics, data analytics and other emergent technologies to identify the underlying cause of disease. He told NHS England's Board this was the way to ensure the right patient gets the right treatment at the right time, leading to improved outcomes.

To read more, visit the NHS England website.

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You are not alone: Help is at Hand for anyone bereaved by suicide

People who have been bereaved by suicide have used their experiences to lead the revision of a support guide to help others affected by someone taking their own life.

Help is at Hand provides people affected by suicide with both emotional and practical support. The most recent official figures reveal 6,233 suicides of people aged 15 and over were registered in the UK in 2013 and suicide has far-reaching effects among friends, family, colleagues, and the wider community. Those bereaved by a suicide are at increased risk of mental health and emotional problems and may be at higher risk of suicide themselves, so receiving the right support is essential.

You can download the full support guide here

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Go sober for October

Macmillan Cancer Support are running Go sober for October, a national campaign that is not only good for your health but also helps to raise money for Macmillan and people facing cancer. Giving up the booze for a month can help you feel healthier, sleep better and improve your energy levels, all whilst raising money for a great cause.

More information is available here

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Breathe Arts Health Research Recognised by Lambeth NHS with Prestigious Innovation Award

Breathe Arts Health Research (Breathe), the not-for-profit social enterprise which uses the arts as a basis for pioneering healthcare programmes, is pleased to announce it has won the inaugural "Innovation in Lambeth" prize at the borough's NHS Clinical Commissioning Group's recent Lammy Awards.

Yvonne Farquharson, managing director of Breathe, said:
 "We are delighted, and humbled, that our work has been acknowledged with this award. To be recognized by the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group is an vital seal of approval for the value of injecting creativity into healthcare programmes. We know it has a profound impact on patient outcomes and, therefore, recognition by the NHS is a tremendous step forward for all of us pioneering this approach."

Breathe, best known for its flagship 'Breathe Magic' intensive therapy programme, also delivers the largest performing arts (including music, magic, theatre, creative writing and poetry) hospital programme currently running in the UK, and works in partnership with the National Theatre and other leading cultural institutions.

For more information please contact:
Yvonne Farquharson, Managing Director, Breathe Arts Health Research
yvonne@breatheahr.org | 07885912727 | 02032902013

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Events

Third Sector Commissioning Conference 21 October, London

The Third Sector Commissioning Conference examines how to improve partnership working with the third sector to enable the most effective delivery of public services, with both financial and social benefits. Speakers include NCVO's chief executive Neil Cleeveley.

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NHS England Pilot: Special Offer for volunteers who support improvements to health and social care

Free courses are available for volunteers who support improvements to Health and Social Care. There are three free courses on offer, all offered by a Department of Health funded partnership called 'Engage for Change'. You can choose one of the courses to take part in:

  1. Understanding the Health and Social Care Environment (UHSCE) is a course exploring the stakeholders in the current health and social care environment. Course participants will learn about influencing change and undertake a practical project as part of the course.
  2. Facilitation and Engagement in the Health and Social Care Environment (FEHSCE) is a course covering the engagement of seldom heard groups, facilitation skills.  Course participants will have to plan and carry out a practical engagement exercise(attachments)
  3. Using Data in the Health and Social Care Environment (UDHSCE) is a course focusing on key terms used in data, and where to get data to support a case for change, and course participants will have to plan a report and find data to back it up on the health and social care subject of your choice. (attachments)

The courses are delivered online, courses 1 and 2 above also have a face to face assessment day.  
If you have any questions, please contact Alice Williams: Alice.williams2@nhs.net

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Road safety: a public health issue event – Race Equality Foundation

Race Equality Foundation are holding a half day event to explore road safety policy and have discussions around reducing the number of collisions for young people and addressing road danger in different areas.
The session aims to  ensure local voluntary and community organisations are better informed about road safety policy, how to engage  with road safety initiatives,  and explore any particular issues for the communities they work.

There will be round table discussions to explore a number of issues and presentations will include:  

  • overview of London road traffic and road safety policy - Transport for London
  • research on road safety risk and diverse communities -  London School of Tropical Medicine

Further information and how to register
 

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Post

Communications Officer – National Aids Trust (NAT)

Part time 21 hours per week
Full time Salary: £23,147 (pro rata £13,888)
Based in London ECIV

NAT is the UK's leading charity dedicated to transforming society's response to HIV.  They provide fresh thinking, expertise and practical resources.  NAT champion the rights of people living with HIV and campaign for change.

NAT is looking for a  creative, confident and energetic person to join our small but dynamic staff team, reporting to the Marketing and Communications Manager. Your role will be integral to shaping our external communications – supporting our fundraising and policy teams, helping to devise and develop new communications initiatives, playing an important role in their World AIDS Day plans and raising awareness of NAT and HIV in the UK.

Closing date: 10 am on Friday 23 October 2015
Interviews: Monday 2 November 2015

The application pack documents can be downloaded here or by sending an e-mail quoting the job title, together with your name and address to recruitment@nat.org.uk or by calling 020 7814 6767. All materials are available in larger fonts upon request.
 

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ABOUT REGIONAL VOICES This e bulletin is published monthly by LVSC as the London region member of Regional Voices.

Regional Voices Logo

Regional Voices champions the work of voluntary and community organisations to improve health, well-being and care, across England. Regional Voices is a partnership of nine regional networks. Together, we directly connect to over 25,000 voluntary and community organisations. Our coverage is broad, deep and well-established. Our vision is for a society where voluntary and community organisations are connected with decision-makers at all levels, able to influence policy and improve community health, care and well-being through better services.

Regional Voices partnership is hosted by Involve Yorkshire and Humber,Registered charity number 1127119   |   Company registration number 6752034

London Voluntary Service Council (LVSC)

Registered charity number 276886   |   Company registration number 1395546

We try to check all the information in this bulletin and the web sites it links to, but we cannot accept responsibility for the contents of the websites and articles or guarantee their validity. Links should not be taken as an endorsement of any kind.

Telephone: 020 7832 5830   |   Email: info@lvsc.org.uk   |    Opt out of all LVSC mailings

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Our Vision and Services

Our vision is of a society where no one should experience discrimination on the grounds of their mental health.

Mental health problems are extremely common across society, with one in four of us experiencing them in any year. Despite being so common, people from all communities will still experience discriminatory attitudes and behaviours that can prevent people from speaking out, seeking support and playing full and active roles in our communities. The impact of mental health stigma and discrimination will vary between communities as mental health has a cultural context that affects the way communities talk about the subject and engage with people who have mental health problems. In some cultures depression, for example, doesn't exist and in others an experience of a mental health problem can be attached to a sense of shame.

For the African and Caribbean communities a key issue is the overrepresentation of young African and Caribbean men in mental health services. Misconceptions and stereotypes have led to a perception that this group is more likely to pose a risk of violent behaviour and, as a result, they are more likely to be treated as inpatients and sectioned when compared to other groups. It is well documented that this has led to a fear of talking about mental health issues more openly and a fear of using mental health services. Research by the Race Equality Foundation (2011) also highlighted fears that discrimination against Black & Minority Ethnic (BME) communities and migrant service users will increase in the austerity climate and whilst commissioning arrangements change.

Our Services

· Provide information, advice, advocacy

· Represent diversity communities in Health Care services, policies and strategies

· Organise training in health and social care in collaboration with local colleges

· Provide human resources ( including interpreters) who are suitable to the diversity communities especially to break language and cultural barriers

· Provides domiciliary care and support

· Provide services such specialised support for people with mental health needs, including people who suffer from short-term memory problems, Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

· Provide visits to elderly people and help them with outings and home services

· Participate in local authority and NHS consultations , research events and programmes to voice the needs of diversity communities.

· Increase access to services and rights for disadvantaged people and the most vulnerable of our society

· Help and support unemployed people to look for work, including training and job preparation

· Provide legal advice in a range of issues from on Immigration and Asylum , welfare benefits, housing, health, education, community care, and training, employment, etc.

· Provide advice and guidance, information and practical help so that our service users can access opportunities they are entitled to

· Organise training and other community learning opportunities that provide new skills, increase confidence and motivation

· Support our service users to overcome barriers to learning, employment and training

· Provide support for young people with their education, training, confidence building, employment and social needs.

Objectives of our Diversity Living Programme:

· To promote the inclusion and participation of diversity communities* in integrated care.

· To inform policy, locally and nationally, and assisting in the formulation of effective policies, strategies and good practices in integrated care in order to contribute to improved health outcomes for the people from the diversity communities (e.g. Black and minority ethnic communities) and to ensure health services are able to meet their specific needs.

· To improve the quality of life for diversity people with disability, mental health problems and their families and carers through integrated care by providing inclusive advocacy and information.

· To provide service that enable diversity groups and individuals with disability /elderly and their carers to make the right choice for themselves and have an influence on decisions made about their future.

· To promote the rights of diversity people with disability, their families and carers and make sure their rights are safe and protected.

· To promoting access to information regarding healthcare issues and to raise awareness of the needs of diversity disabled children, young people, older people and their families.

· To promote the rights of older and disabled diversity people, helping them overcome and enable them to participate in decisions about their future

· To provide support and information to those suffering the isolation and loneliness that can be associated with disability and old age

· To fight against mental health stigma in refugee, black and minority ethnic communities and ensure no one should experience discrimination on the grounds of their mental health or disability.

*Diversity communities are older people, disabled people, Black, Asian, refugees, migrants, asylum seekers and other ethnic minorities.