Your business tag line here.

Contact details

Tel: 0845 33 11 310

Email:enquiries@

lincolnshireparent

carercouncil.org.uk

Address:

PO Box 1183

Spalding

PE11 9EE

Website:

www.lincolnshire

parentcarercouncil

.org.uk

LPCC Liaison Officer

Tel: Coralie Cross

on

0777 945 6627

or

Email:coralie.pcc@

twinsmum.plus.com

March/April 2011

P

C L

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The Lincolnshire Parent Carer Council (LPCC) will be touring across the county

so that families of disabled children can enjoy a film together in a community

atmosphere. The mobile cinema, funded by Lincolnshire County Council

through the Short Breaks Grant Scheme will be visiting families across

Lincolnshire very soon. Therese Lord, Chair of the LPCC says, “This will be a

fantastic opportunity for parents and their children to view new releases and

family classics, meet other families in their local area and unwind in a

welcoming atmosphere.”

Thanks to the funding received, admission is only £1 per person (under 2’s go

free) and the LPCC are welcoming family and friends too. Funding has also been

received for a popcorn machine and nacho warmer to create an authentic

experience.

Marmaduke is coming to...

Market Rasen Social Club on Sunday 8th May at 4pm

Spalding St Norbert’s Church hall on Friday 15th April at 6.30pm

Please book your place for the mobile cinema.

Contact: Carol on 07534691620 or email:

cinema@lincolnshireparentcarercouncil.org.uk

or call 0845 33 11 310.

Walt Disney’s production,

Tangled is coming to a mobile cinema near you! Keep an eye on our newsletter or website for further information.

POP

PO

P

CO

RN

POP

CORN

Do you enjoy good company and a great night out?

Do you have a talent for answering questions?

If the answer is yes, come along to the LPCC Quiz and Raffle at Cranwell Village Hall on

25th March 2011

Time: 7pm for a 7.30pm start. Entry: £2.50 per adult, £1.50 per child Up to 5 members per team – prize for the best team name!

Refreshments will be available and raffle tickets can be bought on the night. The draw will take place during a break in the quiz. For further information or to book a place, call Carol on

07583 184205 This event has been organised by disabled children and their families to support the work of the LPCC. Please

come along and join us to have some fun - ALL welcome.

LPCC Lottery Club

Fancy a chance of winning one of the following prizes?

1st prize = £1,000

2nd prize = £100

3rd prize = £50

4th, 5th and 6th prizes = £10 each

7th, 8th, 9th, 10th prizes = £5 each

We, at Lincolnshire Parent Carer Council are continually looking at new ways of

fundraising to support the work that we do to help families with children with dis-

abilities and Special Educational Needs. We would like to set up a lottery club to

achieve this and at the same time, this will give our supporters a chance to win some

money too!!

First we need to find out how many people would be interested in joining. The idea is

that at least 300 people (the more the better) become members of the club and con-

tribute £1 per week. Funds will be payable in advance for the next 6 or 12 months.

Each member has a personal membership number and every month a draw will take

place. The more members that join, the better the prizes. You can purchase more

than one number too!

When we have enough people, we will contact you with your allocated membership

number(s). If you know of any friends or relatives who would also wish to join,

please complete and return the details below or email us with the information:-

Name:

Email:

Address including postcode

Tel No:

10 prizes to give

away each month!

Latest News...

Carers allowance to remain outside of

Universal Credit Carers UK commented ““We are pleased to see that Carer’s Allowance will remain a non means-tested benefit. It is clear that the Government were considering drawing Carer’s Allowance into the new system and if this had been the case, hundreds of thousands of carers would have faced a means-test and the risk of losing their Carer’s Allowance and a key recognition of their contribution to society.” Carers UK’s full response to the Universal

Credit White Paper is available at

www.carersuk.org/Professionals/

ResourcesandBriefings/

Responsestogovernment

A personal account by one of our members

Forward Planning

We all realise that we need to make plans for our children’s futures. This is something that we usually make an effort to get sorted out particularly when our children have additional needs.

Recently I discovered that though my husband and I had wills, had appointed guardians and formed Trusts there was a great deal to be rearranged when he became ill and following his death.

The biggest difficulty I faced when he died was the need to get finances back into order and quickly. My husband had been in receipt of benefits for many years and had taken his retirement pension early in 2010. This caused the first problems as changes in rules led to him no longer being able to claim for dependents. We finally sorted that by the middle of May. Just as I relaxed, he died. I needed to apply for Bereavement Benefits at the same time as discovering that Child Tax Credits stopped. I had to make a fresh claim as I was now a single person. It took almost six weeks to be finalised. As a single mum I became eligible for good old Income Support. Yet another hole opened up in the ground, my Carer’s Allowance has ended though I retain an underlying entitlement. In itself not a problem but a bod in an office has ticked a box saying

that I’m no longer entitled to a Class 1 national insurance stamp after April. The reason I have been told is that I no longer care for my son. Needless to say I’ve had that corrected and my pension protection is now back in place. Another interesting item popped up too, my claim took longer to finalise as the children were linked to my husband, so had to be disconnected from him and connected to me. Strange, I thought they were connected to me.

The whole point of this short article is to ask you all to think for a moment. I should have had some cash available in a separate account to cover bills, a pair of shoes, or other items that crop up. With a much restricted income I had to cope in the coldest part of the year for six weeks with just my son‘s DLA, child benefit and Carer‘s Allowance, not much fun with 4 sons and a large house with solid fuel central heating. It’s not a good time to be using credit cards as we can’t be sure of what income will be forthcoming either, as Bereavement benefits are payable according to age and husband’s national insurance contributions. For future peace of mind, try to put some cash to one side, as when this rainy day occurs it feels as if your life has been placed into a cyclone with a cloudburst for company. A little cash not tied up in joint names would have made the difference.

Disability Living Allowance

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a much-needed benefit for many families who have children with disabilities or additional needs. However, many of these families are suffering due to current legislation that stops DLA payments when a child spends more than 84 days in hospital (Carer’s Allowance is also suspended at this point). Contact a Family and The Children’s Trust are calling for these regulations to be scrapped, believing them to be unfair, penalising parents at the most distressing of times. If you wish to support their campaign, ‘Stop the DLA Takeaway’, you should contact your local MP. They can be found by visiting the website http://findyourmp.parliament.uk . Elaine Bennett from Contact a Family suggests you write to them, requesting that they sign the Early Day Motion (EDM) number 1520. There are already several supportive MPs on board. If you want to find out more or require a draft letter, contact Elaine Bennett at Elaine.bennett@cafamily.org.uk .

LPCC Conference –Disabled Children –improving their future together. On Friday 11th March we held our conference at the Carres Arms in Sleaford. It was well

attended by many parents and professionals. The aim of the Conference was to highlight the

significant achievements of the Lincolnshire Parent Carer Council in working together with

Service providers to improve services for families of children

with disabilities.

The first speaker Thérèse Lord ( Chair of LPCC ) gave an

overview of the Past, Present and Future of the LPCC and

highlighted many important issues that parents of children

with disabilities have to deal with e.g the vast number of

professionals that may be involved with their child.

The second Speaker was Richard Rieser, who is a Disabled

teacher and trainer who runs the International Training

Organisation World of Inclusion. He gave a presentation on

the rights of the Disabled person and an overview of how

these rights have developed throughout History.

The third speaker was Meredith Teasdale, who is Head of

service for children with disabilities. Meredith explained

about the current priorities for Children ’ s Services in

respect to the current economic climate and she confirmed

that Lincolnshire County Council remain committed to

services for Children with disabilities.

The fourth speaker was Christine Lenehan OBE, who is

Director of the Council for Disabled Children and a board

member of the Every Disabled Child Matters Campaign.

Christine ’ s presentation gave an overview on Short Breaks,

the personalisation agenda and the Green paper ( see below ) .

Important announcements at the Conference Thérèse made two important announcements on behalf of the LPCC. The first one is that we are extending our remit to parents with disabled children over 25. This important announcement will mean that the LPCC’s support will be seamless (when children go through from children to adult services) and we will be able to provide consistent support to families. This has been recognised through constant consultation with our families, as to how best to support their needs.

The second exciting announcement is that Steve Broach, the esteemed barrister from Doughty Street Chambers, co-author of the book ‘Disabled Children; a legal handbook’ is coming to Lincolnshire to speak to parents and professionals mid June. Make sure you put a note in your diaries now!

The Green Paper Support and Aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability– A Consultation.

The document includes chapters on Early Identification and Assessment, Giving Parents control, Learning and achieving, Preparing for adulthood, Services working together for families, Next steps, Consultation questions and how to get involved. This Green paper was developed in Partnership with health and parents’ experiences were key. This consultation runs until 30th June and we hope to consult with you over the next few weeks to capture your thoughts.

Above: Question time panel featuring (from left) Richard Reiser, Meredith Teasdale, Nigel Shier, Cllr Patricia Bradwell, Thérèse Lord

Above: Christine Lenehan OBE

Short Breaks –Activity Contact details

Please note: these are not all of the Short Breaks available. More details to follow.

Activity Club Location Contact

Bowling Action for Children 01522 546516

Family Disability Activity

Days

Lincolnshire Sports Part-

nership

Various 01522 585580

Charlotte Childs

Sports club Lafflettics Sleaford 01529 413204 Thelma

North Kesteven

Disabled Club

01522 585580

Ian Brown

Performing Arts Buzz club Various 01400 275133

Saturday Clubs & Drama

Group

Action For Children 01522 646516

Sports Club Can Do Sports Club South Holland 079136 16797

Horseriding Jetna House Farm Swinderby, Lincoln 01522 868 733

Horseriding Castledyke Equestrian

Centre

Near Boston 01205 280824

Swimming Lessons Grantham Leisure Centre Grantham 01476 581933

Sue Harris

Making Noise in

Museums

Soundlincs Various 01522 510 073

Target Shooting (LPCC) Lincoln Target Shooting

Club

Lincoln 0785 0789343

Family Film Shows LPCC County –Wide 0753 4691620

Dance Lincolnshire Dance 01522 811811

After school clubs Strut 01522 527292

After School Clubs Scope 01507 546 516

Archery Club & Lessons Steve Robinson Various 01507 527187

Wheelchair Basketball Lincolnshire Sports Part-

nership

Various 01522 585 580

Sporting activities Lincoln City Football club Lincoln 01522 563792

Saturday Club Middlecott School Near Boston 01205 722336

Sailing 15th Lincoln Scout Group Lincoln 07732 534451

New Service offered by Lincolnshire County Council with Movement 2

The service is for families to hire equipment ( no charge ) for their child to access a child care facility or Short

Break. The break could be with Grandparents, friends, carers who may not have the specialised equipment ie, mo-

bile hoist, changing bench etc in their home. All families need to do is contact Movement 2. The link is below:-

http://movement2.co.uk/news/lincolnshire-county-council-short-breaks-for-disabled-children-and-young-adults/

LPCC Coffee Mornings

Where and when?

BOSTON

10-11.30am

New England Hotel,

Wide Bargate ,Boston, PE21 6SH 16th May 2011

SKEGNESS

11.00-12.30pm

The Vine Hotel (Best Western)

Vine Road, Seacroft

Skegness PE25 3DB

8th April 2011

SPALDING

10.00-11.30am

The Royal Mail Cart

Pinchbeck Road Spalding, PE11 1QL

29th March 2011

24th May 2011

LOUTH

10.00-11.30am

Best Western, Kenwick Park Hotel,

Kenwick Park Estate,

Louth, LN11 8NR

10th May 2011

GRANTHAM

10.30-12.00 noon

Best Western, Kings Hotel,

130 North Parade,

Grantham, NG31 8AU

12th May 2011

LINCOLN

12.30 –2pm

The Homestead

St Johns Park

Canwick Road, Bracebridge Heath

Lincoln LN4 2RS

4th May 2011

SLEAFORD

10-11.30am

The Lincolnshire Oak

East Road

Sleaford NG34 7EH

4th April 2011

GAINSBOROUGH

11.00 –12.30pm

Hickman Hill Hotel

Cox’s Hill, Gainsborough

DN21 1HH

1st April 2011

Meet other

parents of

children with

disabilities and

additional

needs

Feel free to pop

in and join us –

no need to

book.

Please feel free to pop in and join us. If you would like more details, please phone Coralie on 0777 945 6627. Do keep a check on our website as we keep adding more venues.

Also, Paul Hewlett – Carers benefits advisor for Carers Connect will be attending the January or February meetings apart from Gainsborough where he will see parents in April.