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Royal British Legion Industries

Hall Road
Aylesford 
Kent
ME20 7NL

01622 795900

Reid Kerr College

Renfrew Road
Paisley
PA3 4DR

Tel: 0141 581 2315
Fax: 0141 581 2204
gsmith@reidkerr.ac.uk
 

Opening Hours: 

Monday – Wednesday 08:30 – 21:00
Thursday – Friday 08:30 – 17:00

St Mary's Community Centre

1 Birkbeck Road
Hornsey
London
N8 7PF

Tel: 020 8347 9657
Fax: 020 8347 8669

info@kurdishadvicecentre.org.uk 

Opening Hours:

Monday – Friday 9:00 – 19:00
Saturday & Sunday 10:00 – 21:00

We deliver classes, activities and events to all communities in North London. Service users are encouraged to suggest new projects and ideas that may enrich them and their communities. We aim to provide a holistic service to the borough of Harringey. 

We provide support and advice in many areas including: 

• Immigration
• Housing
• Health
• Education
• Managing finances
• Support for your children
• Signposting to other services

We also run additional activities and courses such as: 

• Community Cafe
• ICT classes
• Skills for life
• Business advice and start-up
• Employment & Training advice
• Health & Nutrition workshops
• Sexual health workshops
• Self defence classes
• Photography classes

Randall Close Day Centre

2 Randall Close
Battersea
London
SW11 3TG

020 7223 0350
frank.colley@lcdisability.org  

Opening Hours

Monday – Friday 9:00 – 17:00 

The centre offers a range of activities and services to meet individual needs and interests. Some Service Users attend for one day while others use the centre throughout week.  At present we have approximately 100 service users ranging from 18-90 years old. 

WARRINGTON DISABILITY PARTNERSHIP

The Centre for Independent Living
Beaufort Street
Warrington
Cheshire
WA5 1BA

01925 240 064
m.mcpartland@disabilitypartnership.org.uk                                                                            
IT training is available for all abilities on a wide range of topics including:

• Office (IT) skills – to prepare you for work
• Organise your life with IT – a guide to operating on Line
• Shopping online
• Word- PowerPoint- Excel- Publisher
• Government Services Online
• Using Media
• Digital Imaging                                                                                                                                               

The suite also runs courses for members with visual impairment with trained Computer "Buddies". We also have an accessible Activity Room where we do a variety of classes including Picture Framing, Art and our popular " Happy Snappers" Digital Camera Club.

We also work closely with Warrington Collegiate in order to offer a variety of six week courses, such as- Jewellery Making, Floral Design, Guitar and Scrapbooking

Click here to visit Warrington Disability Partnership

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Swansea Vale Resource Centre

Fordd Tregof
Swansea
SA7 0AL

01792 791920
nigel.hayton@lcdisability.org       

Opening Hours

Monday – Friday 9:00 – 17:00

Swansea Discover IT provides accredited IT training courses as well as less formal courses on subjects such as:

• Digital photography
• Job Search Skills
• CV Production
• Web Design
• Research your family tree

If you have a complaint about NHS services you need to contact the NHS directly.

1. Ask your hospital or trust for a copy of their complaints procedure. Your first step will normally involve raising the matter, either in person or in writing, with the practitioner, e.g. the nurse or doctor concerned, or with their organisation’s complaints manager. This is called local resolution and most cases are resolved at this stage.

2. If you’re still unhappy with the outcome, you can then go to the Health Service Ombudsman, who is independent of the NHS and government.

The Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS), Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) or Citizens Advice Bureau can help you with a complaint.

Please see below for more information on the Patient Advice and Liaison Service, and the Independent Complaints Advocacy Service.

The Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS)

There is a Patient Advice and Liaison Service in every NHS trust which can provide further information and discuss options about how a complaint can be resolved. Some complaints can be taken up by PALS on someone’s behalf and resolved to their satisfaction. Other complaints may require an investigation to be carried out, subject to the nature of your complaint. In either case, PALS is a good starting point. You can locate your local PALS through their website:

www.pals.nhs.uk

Complain to your council

If you would like to make a complaint about social care services provided through a local council, you need to contact your local council directly. Your local council is legally required to have a complaints procedure about the social services it provides. Click here to find your local council’s contact details.

The Local Government Ombudsman

The Local Government Ombudsman looks at complaints about councils and some other authorities. It is a free independent service. If you have a problem with a council service, you should, in the first instance, complain to the council. If you are still not satisfied, then you can contact the Local Government Ombudsman.

Tel: 0300 061 0614
  or: 0845 602 1983
Text: ‘call back’ to 0762 480 4299

advice@lgo.org.uk

If you are disabled, or have had a disability, the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) makes it unlawful for you to be discriminated against in:

• employment
• access to goods, facilities and services
• the management, buying or renting of land or property
• education

The DDA was passed in 1995 to introduce new measures aimed at ending the discrimination which many disabled people face in their everyday lives.

Under the DDA, discrimination occurs where:

• a disabled person is treated less favourably than someone else
• the treatment is for a reason relating to the person’s disability
• the treatment cannot be justified

In some situations, less favourable treatment may amount to “direct discrimination” and this cannot be justified.

Discrimination may also occur where there is a failure to make a reasonable adjustment for a disabled person. There are also measures in the DDA covering harassment and victimisation.

Definition of Disability

Based on research, around one in five people of working age are considered by the Government and by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to be “disabled”.

What that means is that they have a disability or a long-term health condition that has an impact on their day to day lives. People in these circumstances and some others (such as people with a facial disfigurement) are likely to have rights under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

It is important that people have rights – people with cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and heart conditions; people who have a hearing or sight impairment or a significant mobility difficulty, caused for example by arthritis, can be treated unfairly. The same is true of people who have mental health conditions or learning difficulties.

People need protection against being treated unfairly. While they might be considered “disabled” according to the Disability Discrimination Act, they don’t need to use that term about themselves – and very many people with rights under the DDA don’t.

For more information on this topic, visit the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s website

In Touch was named Brook UK’s Best Sexual Health Project of the Year at a ceremony in London on Thursday, 4 March 2010.

Leonard Cheshire Disability (supported by GlaxoSmithKline) is delivering an exciting project to give young disabled people greater and easier access to sexual health and relationships information, education and services.Many disabled people report that they are considered ‘asexual’; they do not have sexual feelings, desires or relationship needs; that they are considered too vulnerable and should be protected.  As a result, some disabled people lack confidence in developing relationships or having sex. They tell us that advice, education and services remain inappropriate and, often, inaccessible.Working directly with young disabled people and key partners in education and sexual health support, this groundbreaking project is exploring the suitability of existing service provision and education for disabled people and ways to improve them.Through In Touch, young disabled people are leading on the development of innovative materials and resources that will support them to make informed choices around relationships and their own sexual well-being in the future. These include an accessible website (full of information and links), along with creative products and an interactive online game.We are also developing a comprehensive training pack for use in a variety of training and learning situations including direct SRE delivery with young people, training of SRE teachers, working with parents and carers and the professional development of clinical and non-clinical staff, GPs and primary care workers. It will focus on key issues around sex and sexual health as they specifically affect young disabled people.You can play a part in improving sexual health services and education of young disabled people in the future; visit our website and tell us what you think by taking our survey. Learn about sexual health and wellbeing by playing our interactive game, watching our filmed dramas or visiting our links page! We value your feedback so please email us with your comments.Tel: 08456 717 173  innovation@LCDisability.orgwww.lcdintouch.org

 Identifying the skills you will need to run your business

If you are starting up on your own, more than likely you will initially have to run every aspect of your business. From dealing with customers, clients and suppliers to preparing your accounts. Different sectors require different attributes, however there are some core skills that are essential across all businesses. The positive news about identifying these core skills is that with dedication and nuturing this skill-set can be learnt. Some of the skills you need to develop for running a small business are:

Time Management   

Communication    

Financial Accounts Management

Naming your business

Naming your business can be one of the most fun phases before starting-up. However there are several legal and marketing issues that should be considered before finally settling on your trading name. See the websites below for information and advice on the importance of What’s in a name?!:

Business Link

Entrepreneur.com

Start-ups and naming your business

Patents

If your business involves you inventing something you believe to be unique, you may need to consider applying for a patent in order to protect your right to use it. A patent will give you the right to prevent others from manufacturing, importing, using or selling your invention without your permission for a set period of time in the country or countries in which you hold that patent. The sites below will provide free patent searching, free patent PDF downloading, competitive intelligence alerts along with much more.  They are good resources for patent searching, research and development, and market research.

Business Link

Free Patents Online

Sumo Brain

Running a home-based business

Working from home is often the best business location for people with disabilities. It allows greater flexibility in time management and offers the possibility to manage your health and work with your impairment. However there are still some things to consider before going into business in your lounge room.

Business Link

Now Lets Get Started

Start-ups