Conference Highlights Region as Leader in Social Care
A conference held in Southampton last week examined how the private, public and third sector could work together to make David Cameron’s Big Society concept a reality and make a positive impact on the lives of vulnerable people. The meeting, organised by ROCC, brought together leading figures in the sector and highlighted the extent of the expertise in the region, which is set to be at the forefront of social care and supported housing provision.
ROCC Chief Executive Dominic Lodge suggested that the changes inpolicy legislation left what he called “insurmountable opportunities” for the sector. Keynote speaker Francis Davies, who works as a policy advisor to the Government on the Big Society, highlighted that the region has a rich history of being at the forefront of cultural change within the sphere of social care and support. He noted that the radical 1977 Homelessness Act initially came from a suggestion from an Isle of Wight MP and was inspired by work taking place at the time across Hampshire. With more change on the horizon from the coalition Government, there was an opportunity for the providers in the area to embrace the chance to deliver what he called “bottom up innovation” by demonstrating exactly what vulnerable people in the region need to feed back into the national agenda. Dominic Lodge stated: “There was an incredible buzz to the day; we had a fantastic range of speakers for the event and some great practical workshops to look at how we can deliver support to the most vulnerable in our society. It is unfortunate that to date, the Big Society concept has been associated with the budget cuts, but it’s not a cost-saving measure – it’s about empowering individuals to take charge of their own lives, and empowering organisations to deliver groundbreaking, top-class services and feeding their knowledge back to the Government. With these changes, there is an opportunity to set the agenda and it is our aim to support organisations across the South East in making the Big Society a reality.” Delegate Nicola Youern, Chief Executive of social care provider care and support provider YOU Trust added: “This is one of the most useful and inspiring events I’ve been to in a long time. I heard so many positive stories and took a lot of ideas away from the conference. I’m keen to take advantage of the opportunities the Big Society presents to care and support providerssocial care providers, because we’re being given the chance to make a difference to people’s lives on an individual level, and that personalised service is what the YOU Trust has always been about.” ENDS
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