1. From day service user to contributing citizen commissioning for people with a learning disability or autism
Angela Catley

2. Context - general
The need for adult social care is up by 2.8% at a time when real term cuts to local authority budgets are 7.8% and other costs are increasing Local authorities anticipate that in 2017/ % of these savings will be made from cuts to services 46% local authorities state that they will be targeting services for working age adults for cuts 71% of LAs stated that it was important or very important for them to stop delivering none essential services and to reduce the number of people getting care ADASS Budget survey 2017

3. Context – people with a learning disability, employment and day services
2012: 32% of local authorities have closed day services. 20% of have not provided replacement services. 57% of people who are known to social services no longer receive any day service provision. 1 in 4 people with a learning disability spend less than one hour outside of their home everyday. 37% feel ‘scared about the future’ and 28% ‘lonely’. Stuck at home - Mencap 2012
2017: local authorities estimate that nearly a third of the cuts they will make will affect people with a learning disability
ADASS Budget survey 2017
In 2010/11, only 6.6% of adults with learning disabilities were in some form of paid employment. 65% of people would like a paid job Foundation for people with a learning disability

4. Those on personal budgets [are] struggling to find activities
Only those assessed as having complex and or multiple physical / learning disability now eligible for service”
Day services are now called ‘day opportunities’ and a budget of £30 provided. Effectively, this rations the service... One family I reviewed recently had 3 days at a day centre. With the £30 allocated by social services, they pay for another day and so they have lost a day
Budgets for personal use were reduced or did not cover anything like previous provision... Brokering was limited. A significant amount of users were left with no service at all
Those on personal budgets [are] struggling to find activities
What is happening to day centre services – University of Birmingham and Unison

5. Policy context
The NHS and local councils have come together in 44 areas covering all of England to develop proposals to improve health and care. They have formed new partnerships – known as sustainability and transformation partnerships STPs) – to plan jointly for the next few years NHS England
STPs focus on integrated approaches that maximise resources and build on the assets of people and communities

6. Citizenship
Citizenship
To be a citizen means living a full life, contributing to and connected to other people and community
The Centre for Welfare Reform identified 7 keys to citizenship

7. What does Community Catalysts do?
Finds ways to address challenges – get more for less
Unlocking assets and resources
Develop and test creative ways to deliver the support that people need
Promote citizenship
Help people who want to start their own enterprise
Help people who want to do something for their
community
Help people run their own peer activity or interest
group
Help people connect
Give people more choice of:
What they do with their life
How they get the help they need to do it

8. Doing things differently?
Harnessing the power of people and communities – local people helping other local people

9. Key messages
People with a learning disability or autism have huge talents
These can be hidden and undervalued – by the people themselves, other people and society as a whole
Many people with a learning disability or autism want to make a difference to their own lives and the lives of others  
Traditional day services do not always focus on unlocking talents and enabling citizenship
Unlocking talents also unlocks resources

10. Key messages
Community Catalysts works with local commissioners in health and social care to unlock all this potential
We offer coaching and mentoring and help people make strong community connections
When we get this right it can challenge the way people see themselves and how others see them – creating positive impact for citizens and society
People helping themselves and each other
Alternatives to day services that work

11. Escaping from serviceland (and serviceland thinking)

12. Project 1: Enterprising Minds
Run by charity Hansel and Community Catalysts in partnership with North Ayrshire Council
Supporting people with learning disabilities or autism to use their skills to:
set up their own small business or enterprise
lead something in their community
Getting help from local people and businesses
Showing what people with a learning disability can do
Making people think differently as a result
Strong outcomes for individuals

13. “People think that because I’ve got problems myself I’ve got nothing to offer!”

14. Hansel and Ashley’s Bow Wow Biccies

15. Hansel and Ashley’s Bow Wow Biccies
Ashley loves baking and her dog Murphy
Ashley linked with Alyson at Enterprising Minds who helped her think about what she is good at and what she could do
She decided to create Ashley’s Bow Wow Biccies – baking handmade biscuits for special pooches like Murphy
Ashely was supported by Alyson to set up her enterprise
Ashley sells her biscuits at local pet shops and grooming parlours

16. ‘Ashley loves the sense of responsibility she gets from making and selling dog biscuits…She is very excited and keen to talk to people about it’
Maureen, Ashley’s Mum

17. Enterprising Minds Report

18. Project 2: Enterprise for All
In 2010 Community Catalysts worked with commissioners in Oldham
Helped people with care and support needs who wanted to set up a new enterprise
18 people were helped to start their own enterprise
One was Jen Blackwell

19. Jen Blackwell and Dance Syndrome

20. Jen dreamed of being a dancer
Felt her disability stopped her following this dream
Jen and her Mum set up DanceSyndrome in 2009
Jen got a personal budget and used it to employ her own staff who help her to run DanceSyndrome
7 years later now grown into a successful charity working across the NW. Jen is a director
They run dance groups and train disabled people to lead dance groups
Believe that everyone has the right to follow their passion

21. Run from start to 1 minute and 30 seconds then end

22. Do Your Thing in Kirklees
Commissioned by Kirklees Council and 2 local Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and run by Community Catalysts
Supporting people with a learning disability or autism to use their skills and talents
Supporting people to think differently about what they do with their time
Thinking most about people who are not using care services (and who might ‘fall through the net’)
Helping people to be good citizens - to meet other people, make connections and make a difference in their community

23. Learn and Grow

24. Jamie and Learn and Grow
Jamie, has a learning disability and loves his allotment
He wanted to meet new people and make new friends
Community Catalysts helped him to set up and run his own gardening group called Learn and Grow
Jamie has made new friends and gained skills and confidence in his role as group leader
Jamie is now developing a second gardening group at a local café and working there as a volunteer
A busy local self-employed gardener got in touch. Creating employment or self-employment possibilities for Jamie and others in the future

26. What people said before
I feel depressed and lonely and that my life lacks meaning and direction . 
Nothing ever changes; things pretty much stay the same
My life is boring. I feel lonely and fed up. I don’t feel like I’m doing enough
I don’t do any of the things I used to do and I feel like I will never leave the house again and that things will never improve
I do most things by myself
I’m not using any of my skills which is really frustrating

27. What people say now
I feel happy that this group was my brainchild and I’ve had fun setting it up and making new friends. I struggle sometimes to understand social situations but …socialising regularly, something, has helped me enormously . 
My confidence is growing more than ever. I have done a TV interview about setting up my own group, which is something I would NEVER have been confident enough to do before but I have just done one today and it went really well!
I am a lot more optimistic about the future and have learned to stop dwelling on the past and to keep focusing on the here and now whilst moving forward
It feels really good to be running my own group which is going really well and we have fun doing the activity whilst chatting about things that matter to us

28. I would say that I have definitely changed my perceptions after seeing the progress of the people working on the Do Your Thing project. I have been guilty of thinking of ways to “adapt” existing services to fit people with additional needs.
Since the success of the Do your Thing Project I have become aware that a better approach would be to spend time finding out their specific interests, how they think they can be achieved and offering them support to get there rather than under-estimating the skills and interests of the individuals and their ability to help themselves.
I think the work on this project has been, creative, outstandingly positive and demonstrated what can be achieved by having a belief in the abilities of people....
Christine Stephen, Development Officer Voluntary Action Calderdale

30. Questions to ask
What cuts have been made to day support for people with a learning disability in your area?
How many people in your area are in paid work?
How many people have little or no day support and no work?
What do they do with their time and what impact is this having on their lives?
What personal cost is that having on people now. What might that cost you financially in the future?
Are there any creative, low cost approaches that might bridge the gap and mitigate the cost and impact?
What one thing could you do to help more people live the life they want?

31. A final thought
“…people…are not just passive recipients of social and health care, but have expertise, gifts, strengths that can help them achieve their vision for a good life, contribute to their local communities and maximise the impact of resources” Bartnik 2008

32. For further information
Angela Catley
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