Learning disability and autism hub

Terms of reference - Surrey Learning Disability Partnership Board

Below you can find out what the partnership will do and how it will do it.

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What is the Learning Disability Partnership Board?

In 2001 the Government asked that partnership boards were setup across the country. This was to put into action the white paper, Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century. This is when the board in Surrey started.

The government published a national plan called Building the Right Support in 2015.

The vision of Building the Right Support:

Children, young people and adults with a learning disability and autistic people have the right to the same opportunities as anyone else. They should be treated with dignity and respect. People should have a home within their community. They should get the support they need to live healthy, safe, and ordinary lives. This includes relationships, education, training, employment, access to good screening and healthcare.

The Government published Building the Right Support Action plan in 2022. to build on and develop further the work that had been undertaken. This brought together the commitments made by different organisations including health, social care, education, housing, and criminal justice.

The board continues to work on delivery of these commitments to people with a learning disability in Surrey.

The board is a group of people who work together to make the lives of people with a learning disability in Surrey better.

What are our aims?

  • to influence, talk about and make recommendations on plans in Surrey and nationally so that people with learning disabilities are included
  • in line with Surrey County Council's guiding mission to residents that no one is left behind, to tackle inequality and target resources to those who need them most
  • to ensure a strength-based approach, focusing on skills and abilities when planning support
  • to make sure services for people with a learning disability in Surrey are the right services and that they work properly
  • working with universal services to support access by people with a learning disability
  • to make sure we have plans for change and that change is happening
  • to share information with everyone about developments and make sure people know what is happening and what they must do
  • to work together to share information from and to organisations/groups that members represent and wider networks

Who are our members?

It is important that all key people (stakeholders), who can bring about change, in Surrey are members of the partnership board.

The stakeholders will include:

  • people with learning disabilities
  • family carers
  • Surrey County Council
  • health organisations, clinical commissioning groups and NHS trusts
  • voluntary organisations
  • members of Surrey People's Group
  • provider representatives

How will the board run?

2 people will work together to chair the Partnership Board.

1 will be a person with a learning disability elected from the Partnership Board.

The other will be the Head of Commissioning for Disabilities in Adults, Wellbeing and Health Partnerships.

If the Head of Commissioning cannot attend the meeting, the meeting will be co-chaired by a Senior Commissioning Manager.

If the person with a learning disability co-chair cannot attend the meeting, then a member of the partnership board with a learning disability can co-chair the meeting on their behalf.

Meeting times

There will be 6 meetings a year. The time of the meetings will be from 10.00am to 12.30pm.

Format of our meetings

Presentations are sent out 1 week in advance of the meeting to self-advocacy groups and organisations. They are given the opportunity to send in questions / comments if they are not attending the meeting.

The meeting is a hybrid meeting held on teams and in person at Woodhatch Place or another Surrey County Council office.

Agenda of the meeting

The agenda of the meetings is sent out 1 week before the meeting. It is sent out by email. Hard copies by post can be requested through the Engagement and Partnership Officer.

The meeting will usually include:

  • 2 topics / areas of work
  • experts by experience

The board will follow Surrey County Council's Equal Opportunity Policy.

Requests to our partnership board

  • if you would like to gain an opinion or approval from the board, you should contact the Engagement and Partnership Officer who will talk to the co-chairs
  • papers and presentations to the board will be in easy read format. The presentations and papers need to be sent to the Engagement and Partnership Officer
  • requests to observe the meeting should be made to the Engagement and Partnership Officer. Observers will be limited to four per meeting

Meeting minutes

Notes are taken at the meeting and easy read minutes published on the learning disability and autism hub within 20 working days. Members of the board will be sent an email with the link when the minutes are available online.

Responsibilities of our members and officers

  • board members that represent a stakeholder group are responsible for communicating and sharing information to and from the board for the group they represent
  • members must attend three out of the four meetings
  • board members are responsible for signposting people and cascading information from the board to others

The Engagement and Partnership Officer should:

  • update the Learning Disabilities Partnership Board website pages about learning disability issues
  • update the Learning Disabilities Partnership Board on key legislation
  • make sure people with learning disabilities and parent carers can take part in meetings
  • promote the Learning Disability Partnership Board and Surrey People's Group

Elections of our members

  • the person with a learning disability co-chair is elected every two years
  • the chair and the Engagement and Partnership Officer will look at membership every two years to ensure the right stakeholders are represented

People needed for our meeting to go ahead

There must be 10 members of the Partnership Board at the meeting for the meeting to go ahead.

These must include:

  • chair or deputy chair
  • person with a learning disability
  • carer representation

Work plan

The work plan will flow from the Learning Disability and Autism program board together with feedback from people with learning disability and carers. It will be updated yearly telling everyone what the board have, will do and have done throughout the year.

The work plan will be placed on the website.

Managing our agenda

The Engagement and Partnership Officer will set the agenda depending on the work plan agreed.

Supporting people with a learning disability

People with a learning disability will be supported at the meeting by:

  • getting ready for the meetings
  • having a clear agenda
  • offering the option to discuss agenda items in groups before the meeting and submit questions / comments
  • use of communication cards
  • providing breaks
  • presentations are sent out in advance of the meeting and be in easy read, including images
  • having people to support at the meeting to make sure they have a voice
  • making sure simple language is used, no jargon
  • presenters giving time for questions on each slide
  • having support after the meeting to talk through topics

Concerns and complaints

Any concerns or complaints are investigated by the chairs of the Partnership Board.

Email: disabilitycomms@surreycc.gov.uk

Reviewed at Surrey Learning Disability Partnership Board – January 2025

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