Lyn Boyd and Gayle Brown

Small Charity – 3 part time staff & volunteers

360 Member organisations VCS organisations with an interest in mental

health and well being Advice, support, information sharing,

research, training, events, lobbying

To Influence Policy and Practice

Current economic and political situation

Changes to Local Authority and NHS Funding Cuts Personalisation No Health without Mental Health Benefits

Possible Constraints Capacity Lack of Funds Geographic Base Stature – small regional charity Perception of North East Time – to build up media & other contacts Response Time

Consult with our MembersConsult with our Members Brief Councillors, MPs and Lords Press Releases Website E bulletins Social media – facebook and twitter Write letters and emails Events Ask for help from our friends

Reports and concerns from member organisations about the initial assessment of ESA applications

Individuals contacting MHNE in very distressed conditions needing support prior or following assessments

To research how widespread these concerns are and to raise this issue at the highest levels

To examine the impact of the ESA and appeals process from a social, economic, psychological and physiological perspective

The Government Claims these changes will rid the system of fraud and abuse – and make it fairer on the tax payer “I think it was the right policy to do because there had been people sitting for over ten years on sickness benefit and no-one had ever seen them” Ian Duncan Smith (Secretary of State for Work and Pensions)

Survey compiled and sent out to all members Following requests new survey designed specifically for

service users and distributed Consulted local MP’s, welfare rights organisations etc Collection and collation of results Briefing of MP’s and media, press release Hardest Hit event Discussed in Parliament In process of reporting the findings

Throughout we have researched the issues surrounding ESA and reported on a regular basis via our website and

information bulletins 

MHNE’s concerns raised in debate in House of Commons

Hansard Extracts- (see handouts) Tremendous feed back from a wide range of

sources Steve Bell agreed use of his cartoon Raised Profile for future campaigns Articles in newspapers – hmmm Ongoing research and campaigning

A small organisation CAN have an impact!

Any questions?