News

Are you a local parent carer of a child or young person with a learning difficulty, disability or additional need?

Southwark Parent Carers’ Council is a growing group of parents and carers of children with learning difficulties and additional needs. They aim to represent the views of parents and carers in discussions with local authority and, through this, to influence the way local services are delivered to our children.

Their website has lots of information on services and events for disabled children. You can also join the online parent forum where you can find answers to questions, start a topic of discussion or browse for information.

To access the site click this link.

London Councils have advised us that through negotiation with Transport for London and the Association of Train Operating Companies, they have secured an agreement to allow the old style Freedom Passes to work as flash cards for a further two months as they will no longer work on the card readers after the 31^st of March 2010.

Freedom Pass holders who are waiting for their new pass to arrive will therefore still be able to travel. The old style passes will be accepted on all London buses, Tubes, trams and trains when shown to the ticket inspector or driver.

A leaflet giving further information is attached below for your information.

Freedom Passes-leaflet (2)

Although this in effect extends the deadline to the 31^st of May 2010 for renewing Freedom Passes, please encourage all those who have not yet applied to do so immediately, to speed up the processing of their application and to help ensure they get their new pass well before the 31^st of May 2010.

There will be a general election before the end of June this year and Carers UK want to ensure that the new Government makes carers a priority from their very first day in office. Carers UK are therefore encouraging carers to do two things:

• Sign an online letter demanding a better deal for carers that will be delivered to the new Prime Minister after election.
• Join a virtual protest by sending a photo of yourself holding a large piece of paper with a slogan on it on the theme ‘What do Carers Want?’ You can then email the photo to campaigns@carersuk.org or text a phone photo to 07810 192 158.

For more information or to take part in these campaigns click this link.

Have fun, meet new people, gain new skills!

CoolTan Arts will run free arts and multimedia workshops open to all Southwark residents over 19.

Places are allocated on a first-come first-served basis. Workshops start from March and run until July 2010, and Southwark residents can attend one course of 10 hours.

To make a booking, please return the enrolment form to CoolTan Arts, along with a deposit of £10 (unemployed) or £20 (employed). Cheques need to be made payable to CoolTan Arts and will be returned upon completion of the course. Tuition is free but materials re not included.

Workshops include:

Desktop Publishing
Podcasting / Radio Production and Broadcasting
Photoshop for beginners
Basic IT
Local history
Creative writing
Poetry
Portrait drawing
Batik (small charge for materials)
Machine sewing intermediate (small charge for materials)
Screen printing (small charge for materials)

For more information please contact Clara or Kathrin at CoolTan Arts.

clara@cooltanarts.org.uk

kathrin@cooltanarts.org.uk

020 7701 2696

For the first time, it will be possible for an unpaid carer looking after a loved one to build up a full basic State Pension based entirely on National Insurance credits. The Department for Work and Pensions and Carers UK are calling on carers across the country to find out if they could benefit.

April 2010 will see the introduction of the new Carer’s Credit that will count towards their basic and second State Pension. People may not recognise the help they give, unpaid, to a disabled, ill or family member as ‘caring’ but they are being encouraged to come forward if they are looking after someone for at least 20 hours a week, as they could benefit from the new Credit.

Minister of State for Pensions and Ageing Society Angela Eagle said: “We want people to tell us if they, or people they know, are looking after somebody for more than 20 hours a week, so they benefit from this change. The State Pension is everyone’s foundation of financial security in later life and therefore, it’s only right that caring for others should be counted towards it.”

Imelda Redmond, Chief Executive of Carers UK said: “We know saving for your retirement years won’t be your priority when you suddenly find yourself caring for a loved one. But there are simple steps you can take to secure your State Pension that will protect your long-term future as you care for others.”

For more information please contact the advice and support team on 020 7708 4497

Carers Direct is planning a photography project – and they need you to get involved. They’re going to have a top professional photographer taking pictures of carers from across England.

they want to highlight the diversity of carers, who they care for, where they are and what they like to do. They hope to offer a unique and perhaps surprising picture of carers in 2010.

If you’re interested in featuring in this project please get intouch via their helpline, email or enquiry form.

Tel: 0808 802 0202

Carers Direct are looking for carers in England to be photographed professionally for a major project. Please email carersdirect@nhschoices.nhs.uk with contact details and location if you’re interested.

Census 2011: Area Manager positions in Southwark

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have started the recruitment process for 2 Area Managers in Southwark, for the 2011 Census. These roles will be employed by the Office for National Statistics, will be full time (August 2010 – June 2011) and will be paid £18.19 per hour (equivalent to £35,000 per annum).

Southwark’s two Census Area Managers will be responsible for the census operation in Southwark. Their primary focus will be to ensure that the maximum number of people return their census questionnaires. Area Managers will be responsible for managing teams of up to 15 Census co-ordinators who themselves will be managing teams of up to 15 distributors, collectors and enumerators. The closing date for applications is the 11th of April 2010.

To find out more and to apply for these roles please go to www.censusjobs.co.uk,

For more information on Southwark’s preparations for the 2011 Census, please contact Christos Pishias on ext 57312, christos.pishias@southwark.gov.uk

Opinion Health, a healthcare market research firm based in the UK, and Oxford Outcomes, an healthcare consultancy, are looking for people who provide informal (unpaid) care to someone suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, to complete an online survey about their experiences of caring. The survey is 20 minutes long, and is aimed at understanding more about a caregiver’s quality of life.

A reward of £12 will be posted to each person who completes the survey after the study is over— or you can specify that the reward be donated to the patient group of your choice.

All responses will be confidential, and all information given will be studied in aggregated form only, and will then be deleted at the end of the study period. At the end of the survey, you will be asked to fill in address details for us to send the reward cheque.

You can take part in the survey by clicking on this link.

The survey is due to close on Wednesday, 31st March 2010, but we would appreciate any replies to the survey before that date, to establish some early trends.

If you have any further questions about the survey, please contact.

Paul Eccles, PhD
Senior Research Executive,
Opinion Health, 11 Poland Street, London, W1F 8QA, UK.
020-7486-6700

info@opinionhealth.co.uk

Try this handy list of questions to ask