Neath Port Talbot Council for Voluntary Service

What is happening to support people with Learning Disabilities in Neath Port Talbot?

Voluntary Liaison Group (Learning Disability Forum)

The Voluntary Liaison Group is a forum that meets on a bi-monthly basis to share information and discuss any issues that will affect people with learning disabilities. Members are also pro-active in raising awareness of the needs and promote the rights of people with learning disabilities living in Neath Port Talbot.

Representatives from this forum feed the views from the voluntary sector into joint planning via the Learning Disability Strategy Group.

The Voluntary Liaison Group is made up of voluntary organisations that provide support, activities and services to people with learning disabilities.

Parent Carer Forum

The Parent Carer Forum was established over ten years ago and provides an opportunity for Parent Carers to support one another and share any issues and concerns they have identified.

The overall aim of the Forum is to establish a dialogue between Parents Carers of adults with learning disabilities so that their needs and concerns can be reflected within the planning process.

Representatives from the forum feed the views and concerns of Parent Carers into the joint planning process via the Learning Disability Strategy Group.

Membership is open to any Parent or Carer of adults (including those within transition) with learning disabilities in the Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council area.

Person Centred Planning

In 2004 Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council and Neath Port Talbot Local Health Board developed a ‘Joint Commissioning Strategy for Learning Disability Services’. This document refers to shared areas of work which make services better.

One of these areas of work is called Person Centred Planning (PCP). PCP puts the person at the centre of planning their lives using a range of practical approaches.

The Personal Centred Planning Framework explains how PCP approaches will be developed across Neath Port Talbot.
Download PCP Framework

Housing Options

A Housing Options Coordinator is employed by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. Their role is to work with individuals and their parents or carers to identify what housing provision is available to them through a Housing Option Plan that identifies the most suitable form of housing to meet their needs.
The Coordinator is able to:

• Undertake completion of the necessary forms and referrals for the individual.
• Liaise with the relevant housing provider.
• Work in conjunction with the care manager.
• Provide independent and impartial housing advice.
• Provide support throughout the housing option process.
• Maintain contact with the individual/parent/carer.

The Neath Port Talbot People Website

Offers a secured and controlled environment where by people with learning disabilities can communicate with one another and other people, such as their social worker or family members. The functions it offers are, discussion groups in areas of interest such as sports, cinema, music, places of interest etc; a weekly planner which can be stored in picture form that can be shared with social workers or relatives.

The Neath Port Talbot Lives Website

NPT Lives combines information and links to all the services in Neath Port Talbot for people with learning disabilities and their carers. It will be styled with the same features as the NPT People site and will enable people to be able to create their own care plan. As people navigate through the site they can select the types of services they are interested and when they are finished a personal profile will be print out the services, contact details and information about how to access them. In effect it will form the basis of a care plan, which complies with the recommendations from the WAG for local authorities to develop Person Centred Planning approaches. The aim of which is to empower people to identify their own needs and aspirations and the services that may require to assist in meeting them.

Events

Let’s Celebrate

The Voluntary Liaison Group organised an event on 19th July 2007 at the Aberavon Beach Hotel.

The event provided an opportunity to demonstrate what services and activities the voluntary sector is providing for people with learning disabilities in Neath Port Talbot.

The following digital story shows how positively the event was received. Download a copy of the digital story.

Let’s Celebrate Again

Building on the success of last year’s event, a second event was organised to run during learning disabilities week, the event focused on Personal Centred Planning and was a great success.

Download Digital Story

Future Events

Useful Information

Radar Keys

The National Key Scheme offers independent access by disabled people to around 7,000 locked public toilets around the country.

You can purchase a RADAR key from Neath Civic Centre, Port Talbot Civic Centre and Pontardawe First Stop Shop at a cost of £4. For further information telephone 01639 763 333

Cinema Card

Free cinema admission for the accompanying carer of a disabled person. Applications can either be downloaded on the above website or collected from local cinemas.
For further information visit the website at www.ceacard.co.uk or
Telephone: 0845 123 1292

Passport to Leisure

If you are on disability benefits you can apply for a passport to leisure card, the card admits disabled people and their carers at a reduced rate or free to leisure centres and facilities.

For further information:
Telephone 01639 871444
Website: www.celticleisure.org

Changing Places

The Changing Places Consortium has launched a campaign on behalf of the thousands of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and their carers, and the many other disabled people who cannot use standard accessible toilets.

For further information visit the website at www.changing-places.org

Useful Documents

Fulfilling the promises
Section 7 Guidance on service principles and service responses 2004
A guide to “person centred assessments”

If you require any further information on learning disability please contact:
Emma Jones, Social Care Participation Officer at Neath Port Talbot Council for Voluntary Service
Telephone: 01639 631387
E-mail: emmaj@nptcvs.org.uk