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Belongingness and Love - a blog by Phil Morris,
CEO Havencare (South West) Ltd and ARC England Champion
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 Phil Morris is the Chief Executive of ARC England Member Havencare (South West) Limited and is also a Champion of ARC England. In his blog he talks about the importance of positive relationships and people with learning disabilities.
"I do not need to cite academic research to define a simple human truth. Positive relationships make us feel well. Isolation and negative relationships will invariably lead to poor mental and physical health. It can be difficult to strike a balance between protecting vulnerable people from risks and enabling them to explore and develop wider personal and social relationships." Read more
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Councils ‘misusing funding panels for decisions 
on care packages’
Legal expert, Luke Clements, reveals that local authorities are using funding panels incorrectly, overriding social workers' recommendations, and in some cases are in breach of their duties under the Care Act 2014. Clements argues that, “the panel members are not there, they are not seeing the person, not taking in all that information, so they have no discretion to bear.” Read more here
- See here for example of the Local Ombudsman decision discussed in the article
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Council tax rises won't fix the problem 
The LGA warn that additional income raised by increasing the social care precept 'will be swallowed up by the cost to councils of paying for the Government’s National Living Wage, which could total up to £600m next year'.
The Government need to find more money for social care and must acknowledge that the precept will not plug the massive funding gap, as well as address the inequality of raising different amounts of money in different areas of the country, leaving poorer areas at yet another disadvantage. Read more here
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 HMRC and sleep-ins - a summary and update
Further useful observations on the current HMRC approach from Anthony Collins, based on their experiences on the ground. This briefing covers:
- Inspections
- Notices of underpayment
- Top-ups
- EAT decisions
- What counts as a sleep-ins?
For further advice or information concerning sleep-ins or National Minimum Wage, and how they might affect your organisation, please contact Matthew Wort or Anna Dabek.
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We are delighted to welcome new member Autism Consultants Ltd to the ARC community! Based in  Hampshire, Autism Consultants Ltd is part of Outcomes First Group Limited, a national provider for adults with learning disabilities and autism. Autism Consultants' homes offer a friendly, homely environment where individuals are actively encouraged to be involved in the day to day running of their lives.
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 ARC member Hft know that true involvement means providing
opportunities to recognise and grow people’s capabilities, and actively support them to put these skills to use in their lives. That’s why Hft has developed their ‘Voices to be Heard’ group. This group advises Hft on what they think needs to be changed and they have worked on specific projects requested by the management team, aiding the development of Hft. See here to read Becky, Chair of Hft's Voices to be Heard forum, speak out about mate crime and the importance of encouraging people to report it.
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 ARC member Henshaws celebrate their 180th birthday! They are proud to have been providing services and support for such a long time.
Take a look at these 10 things you might not know about Henshaws.
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Special Offer from Flint Bishop Solicitors LLP - 
Discount of 38% on all Employment and HR services for all ARC members!
Contact: Esther.Oddy@arcuk.org.uk for more details
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I’m getting married this year but many people with a learning 
disability will never get the chance - Lorraine Bellamy, Office Assistant and spokesperson for Mencap talks about her plans to get married and reflects on how she feels about society viewing people with learning disabilities differently to other people when it comes to love, relationships and marriage. Read more from Lorraine here...
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 The impact of health inequalities on people with learning disabilities - Sue Turner, Programme Lead for Learning Disabilities
at NDTi and a co-director of the Public Health England Learning Disabilities Observatory explains in her blog that the health charter, guidance and self-assessment framework for social care providers was developed "to improve understanding of health inequalities and enable social care providers to support people who may be affected by them". Read Sue's blog here...
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 Brexit threatens social care jobs and funding - Alfonso Montero, Policy Director of the European Social Network says that the social care sector relies more heavily than other employers on EU and other non-UK nationals to contribute to its workforce. "The fact is that older people, and those with disabilities or mental health problems, would not be receiving the same level of service without these professionals from Europe".
Read more from Alfonso here...
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 Adult Social Care - desperately seeking something? -
A blog about integration and partnership by Des Kelly, Chair of the Centre for Policy on Ageing, and former Executive Director at NCF. "There has been so much about the integration of health and social care in the news recently that it got for thinking about how successful partnerships are formed, developed and sustained. Imagine a lonely- hearts type ad: “Adult Social Care seeks partner for long-term relationship,
positive outcomes and maybe more!" Read more from Des here...
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ARC Disclosure and Barring Service
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Did you know...
• ARC England offers an online Disclosure Service to help you in your recruitment process by providing a faster service - no more postal delays!
• You can download *e-certificates so no more chasing your applicants for their Disclosure Certificate
• ARC members receive a discount on the administration fee
*only clear certificates are downloadable - you are required to see the applicants certificate if it is not clear – the online system will alert you by ‘See Disclosure’
What our customers say...
• "Amazing speed with which disclosures come back! Great for the recruitment process".
• "We really appreciate your help with our DBS checks".
• "Thank you for your excellent service!"
Can we be of service to you?
Email ARC Disclosure Service or call 01246 541660 for more details or see our website
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 Do you want to keep up with the latest adult social care news as it happens? |
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 'Supported Loving' is a national campaign led by Dr Claire Bates at Choice Support. In 2016 just 3% of people with a learning disability live with a partner. The aim of the Supported Loving campaign is to highlight the importance of good support in making and maintaining relationships for people who use services. Supported Loving wants to accomplish this by obtaining direct feedback from the experts: people with learning disabilities who receive support around relationships. Find out more here.
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Reports, resources and reviews
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 'What social workers need to know about mate crime' - this article contains useful advice and information about what mate crime is and how care and social workers can identify it. As mentioned in the article, ARC's very own Rod Landman pioneered the Mate Crime term, alongside ARC's Safety Net project.
Rod has spoken widely on the topic, educating the sector about this specific manifestation of hate crime aimed at people with learning disabilities.
Rod has delivered ARC's mate crime training to a number of Local Authorities across England, to both staff and people who access support. Please contact us for more information about our in-house Mate Crime workshops.
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 'Preparing you for the Apprenticeship levy - advice and guidance from Skills for Care'
Last week the government announced that employers classed as levy payers can now open their digital accounts. The levy is fast approaching and much more of a reality for those employers it affects. Skills for Care are saying - don’t dread the levy, prepare instead! They have set up a dedicated Apprenticeship levy guidance page. You can also read their article telling you how you can prepare for the introduction of the levy.
SFC have also created ‘a levy paying employers journey’ which is free to download or you can request a hard copy from marketing@skillsforcare.org.uk
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 'Finding the right social care: a new guide for people needing support'. VODG's top ten tips when choosing a support provider is designed to be used by those looking to secure high-quality social care for themselves or for a relative or friend. This resource helps people consider the differences between receiving support from a care provider organisation or directly employing a personal assistant (PA). It also describes other methods of support including assistive technology, or combining a range of different support options. You can download the guidance here.
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 'Working with care providers to understand costs' - a guide for adult social care commissioners. This practical guide is intended for adult social care commissioners who wish to develop their understanding of the costs involved in providing care to help them meet these duties. The aim is to enable and equip them with the knowledge and skills to support informed dialogue with providers in the interest of working toward agreed fee rates which are affordable, good value for money and support market sustainability. This guidance was commissioned by the Department of Health, the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) to co-ordinate production of this guide in agreement and consultation with the Care Provider Alliance (CPA).
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Consultations and dates for your diary
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 The King's Fund - Realising the potential of learning disability
employment in the NHS - 17th March - London
This one-day event, jointly hosted by The King’s Fund and NHS England, will provide insight into why and how NHS organisations
can employ more people with learning disabilities.
Conference sessions will share learning on how you can make learning disability employment a reality in your organisation. For more information and to register your place see here.
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 Naidex show, NEC Birmingham, 28th - 30th March - ARC England are pleased to be partnering with Naidex for their 2017 show.
ARC England are partnering with Naidex which will be returning to the Birmingham NEC on the 28th - 30th March for the 43rd instalment of this event in the disability and care sector. With a line-up of 150 speakers covering accessibility, employment, disability rights and recognition, inclusion and business development. Register now for your free ticket here. Stay up to date with the latest industry and event news by following Naidex on Twitter and Facebook.
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Health and Social Care Chief Executive’s Briefing
Date: 5 April 2017, 9am - 1pm
Venue: Anthony Collins Solicitors, 134 Edmund St, Birmingham B3 2ES
Cost: FREE
Join Anthony Collins for a session which will cover the key legal and governance issues you may face in the next 12 months. The session will cover the following:
- Governance
- Regulation
- People
- Contracts and commissioning
- Procurement
- Finance
For more information and to book your place, see here.
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 ARC England Membership includes free job listing on our website. To view any of our members' current vacancies, please visit our Vacancy Listing Page here |
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If you are an ARC member and would like us to advertise your job vacancies here and on our website, please email Esther.Oddy@arcuk.org.uk
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