Thurrock Centre for Independent Living

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Thurrock Centre for Independent Living's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Thurrock Centre for Independent Living is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett, MP

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles, MP

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

56 | THURROCK CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING

Disability Rights handbook

CEO John Paddick and

some of his team

Established in 1999, Thurrock Centre for Independent Living

is a charity that offers support and advice on a variety

of issues that affect disabled people. Based in Thurrock,

Essex, TCIL is a member of the Thurrock Coalition, which is a

“user-led organisation” for local people in Thurrock, offering

general advice, benefits advice and advocacy. CEO John Paddick

discusses their strategy in turning TCIL around.

There are plenty of vulnerable people and families out there, in desperate need of the

help and benefits they qualify for. For many of them, the process and complexity of

receiving what they deserve drives them to desperation and crisis. The re-engineering

and redesign of the benefits systems and processes may have helped the government

achieve its aims of controlling cost and improving the internal processes involved,

but it has done nothing but build and reinforce institutionalised barriers that inhibit

people accessing the resources the system is meant to provide for them. Stroke

survivors who have lost the ability to read or write will still be expected to complete

a 42-page questionnaire in order to begin the application for financial help.

Overcoming difficulties

In 2007, after 23 years in retail banking and six years as a consultant, I applied to

become the chief executive of TCIL, a small charity in financial trouble. TCIL is a user-led

organisation that advocates for the social model of disability. Our directors all identify

as disabled, not by virtue of their impairment, but because of the obstacles in our

society that “disable” them from doing what they want, be they physical, attitudinal

or institutional. It is their experiences that shape and guide the services TCIL provides,

meeting the real grassroots needs of people trying to live the best life they can.

FACTS ABOUT

THURROCK CENTRE FOR

INDEPENDENT LIVING

»CEO: John Paddick

»Established in 1999

»Based in Thurrock, Essex

»No. of employees: 7

»Services: Information, advice,

advocacy, work experience

programmes and other

services for disabled or

vulnerable people, their family

and carers and corporate

services to other charities

»www.tcil.org.uk

Thurrock Centre for

Independent Living

57THURROCK CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

These insights are not enough on their

own, with many a good cause failing

for want of money and commercial

insight. In 2010, the financial crisis had

a dramatic impact on local authorities,

and this led to commensurate cuts

being made to third-sector funding.

We had very little funding, no reserves,

a lack of leadership and no commercial

or financial expertise; the future

lookedgrim.

The redesign and restructuring of TCIL

began as a result. New leadership was

introduced through the appointment

of a new chair, there was an increase

in focused commercial design aimed at

cost-cutting and there were attempts

to refocus the charity on helping the

people who needed us most.

Transformation

For the following four years, annual

spend in every category came down,

yet the demand for services grew,

as did productivity. New sources of

funding were found, new expertise

recruited, and with a growing credibility

and reputation, new joint ventures

were formed with other local providers

to strengthen the pool of talents and

successfully bid for some of the newly

outsourced services previously provided

by the localauthority.

So strong was its commercial and

turnaround reputation, the charity

began to support other organisations

with highly competitive consultancy,

payroll and bookkeeping services –

today supporting seven organisations

with turnovers up to £3 million – and

by so doing was able to supplement

itsfunding.

Our services, while refocused, are wide

and varied, from assisting disabled

and vulnerable people to prepare for

or return to work, to being part of

a consortium supporting carers with

information and advice, and hiring

specialist off-road wheelchairs. The

biggest demand continues to be

helping vulnerable people to navigate

their way to the crucial financial and

other support they need to live now

and in the future.

Payroll and bookkeeping

services

Many a good

cause failing

for want of

money and

commercial

insight

“

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

58 | THURROCK CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING

Navigating the system

For many disabled and vulnerable

people, the prospect of tackling a

lengthy, complex application form

presents a formidable obstacle to

getting the financial or other help they

need. Often their impairment leaves

them unable to cope, and they often

seek help, either from a carer, relative

or friend. This route has mixed results

in our experience.

The DWP’s own figures show that in

Thurrock, only 40 per cent of new

PIP claims are awarded – 45 per cent

nationally. This cannot be solely due

to applicants not being sufficiently

impaired according to the guidelines.

For those then challenging the award,

things don’t get much better. The

mandatory reconsideration results in

84 per cent of new claims yielding no

change to the award. When the case is

taken to appeal though, there is a 71

per cent success rate in overturning the

DWP decision.

For TCIL, where we are asked to help

in completion of the initial form, our

success rate is extremely high, and

where unsuccessful claims for PIP have

been made and our help sought for the

appeal, it is in excess of 90 per cent.

This is not because of new information,

but purely because we can guide our

clients through the complexity of the

form, get them to answer the question

and collate theevidence.

The cost of rework within the

system is huge, far in excess of any

acceptable maxim in the private

sector, and yet there is little or no

funding from government at any level

for organisations that connect the

individuals with the help they need.

Few people would argue that the style

and veracity of assessment are wrong

in their nature and objective, but where

is the help for those most vulnerable in

our society to access what is rightfully

theirs and often desperately needed?

Way forward for TCIL

TCIL still exists today because we were

prepared to change with the times. We

sought and secured skills, particularly

commercial skills, that have become

the backbone of its offering and we

have relied on our disabled trustees to

guide the shaping of our services to

meet the most crucial needs.

Such has been the demand for our

form of advocacy that we have

broadened our scope, with the

encouragement and training of

the Office of the Public Guardian,

to provide assistance to vulnerable

people in completing Lasting Powers

of Attorney for free – saving clients an

estimated £290,000 in legal fees so

far – and wills. We all live in a society

that rightly demands accountability

and legitimacy in qualifying for help,

but let’s not institutionally discriminate

by creating barriers in the path of

those most in need, or at least fund

organisations that can assist them in

overcoming those barriers.

TCIL still exists

today because

we were

prepared to

change with

the times

“

User-led, professionally

delivered

The Parliamentary Review Publication, in which this article originally appeared, contained the following foreword from the prime minister.

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review. For Her Majesty’s Government, our task in the year ahead is clear: to achieve the best Brexit deal for Britain and to carry on our work to build a more prosperous and united country – one that truly works for everyone.

The right Brexit deal will not be sufficient on its own to secure a more prosperous future for Britain. We also need to ensure that our economy is ready for what tomorrow will bring. Our Modern Industrial Strategy is our plan to do that. It means Government stepping up to secure the foundations of our productivity: providing an education system that delivers the skills our economy needs, improving school standards and transforming technical education; delivering infrastructure for growth; ensuring people have the homes they need in the places they want to live. It is all about taking action for the long-term that will pay dividends in the future.

But it also goes beyond that. Government, the private sector and academia working together as strategic partners achieve far more than we could separately. That is why we have set an ambitious goal of lifting UK public and private research and development investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. It is why we are developing four Grand Challenges, the big drivers of social and economic change in the world today: harnessing artificial intelligence and the data revolution; leading in changes to the future of mobility; meeting the challenges of our ageing society; and driving ahead the revolution in clean growth. By focusing our efforts on making the most of these areas of enormous potential, we can develop new exports, grow new industries and create more good jobs in every part of our country.

Years of hard work and sacrifice from the British people have got our deficit down by over three quarters. We are building on this success by taking a balanced approach to public spending. We are continuing to deal with our debts, so that our economy can remain strong and we can protect people’s jobs, and at the same time we are investing in vital public services, like our NHS. We have set out plans to increase NHS funding annually by an average by 3.4 percent in real terms: that is £394 million a week more. In return, the NHS will produce a ten-year plan, led by doctors and nurses, to eliminate waste and improve patient care.

I believe that Britain can look to the future with confidence. We are leaving the EU and setting a new course for prosperity as a global trading nation. We have a Modern Industrial Strategy that is strengthening the foundations of our economy and helping us to seize the opportunities of the future. We are investing in the public services we all rely on and helping them to grow and improve. Building on our country’s great strengths – our world-class universities and researchers, our excellent services sector, our cutting edge manufacturers, our vibrant creative industries, our dedicated public servants – we can look towards a new decade that is ripe with possibility. The government I lead is doing all it can to make that brighter future a reality for everyone in our country.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Prime Minister