Background  

The Valuing People White Paper 2001 required local authorities to set up Partnership Boards to raise awareness of issues for people with learning disabilities.

New website

We are pleased to announce the launch of the new Valuing People Partnership Board website.

The web site has been created to allow full access to the work of the Partnership Board. On the site you can find out about the work of the Board, including how it works, who is involved, priority areas, useful links and signposts to other sites, news and events.

Vision

York Valuing People Partnership Board aims to break down the barriers for people with learning disabilities to enable them to live as independently as possible.

Aims and objectives

• To make sure that all people with learning disabilities have equal access to all services and facilities
• To make sure that this really means all people with learning disabilities, including people with complex support needs and those from minority ethnic backgrounds
• To work in partnership with other organisations in York to understand the whole picture in the city and identify gaps and opportunities
• To respond to local and national requests for action/information that will help to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities

Joint working arrangements

The York Partnership Board was set up in 2001 following the Government White Paper 'Valuing People: A new Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century'.

The role of the Partnership Board is to ensure the implementation of Valuing People and Valuing People Now,  through effective partnership working between all relevant local agencies

For further information about joint working arrangements please see 'How we work' in the documents to download section on this page.

Valuing People Now

Valuing People Now is a new three-year strategy for people with learning disabilities which was published in January 2009.

The vision remains as set out in Valuing People in 2001: that all people with a learning disability are people first with the right to lead their lives like any others, with the same opportunities and responsibilities, and to be treated with the same dignity and respect.
Key actions for making Valuing People Now happen locally and regionally have been identified for Partnership Boards (2009-12), including:

• Developing an equality scheme
• Reviewing person centred planning strategies
• Ensuring personalisation strategies include person centred planning approaches
• Ensuring that people with learning disabilities and their family carers can act as partners in improving healthcare
• Ensuring that the local Joint Strategic Needs Assessment identifies the housing needs of people with learning disabilities

For information about what the York Valuing People Partnership Board is doing to support people with learning disabilities and their families please see the Partnership Board meeting minutes in the Documents to download section.

Roles and Responsibilities

York's Valuing People Partnership Board is co-chaired by one independent person and one person with a learning disability.

There is a Lead Officer who oversees the administration of the Board and is involved in developing and maintaining links with other appropriate partnerships.

The Operational Group is made up of the co-chairs and the lead officer. It ensures the good management of the business and that the structure operates within the rules. It meets regularly.

There are 5 Priority Groups, each with a lead person and a co-lead who is a person with a learning disability or is a family carer. There are priority groups for: health; housing; personalisation; what people do in the day, on an evening and on a weekend; and involving everyone to make it happen. The priority groups have written action plans for the period 2009 to 2012. The work of the priority groups is reported to and monitored by the Partnership Board.

The Strategy Group includes the 5 Priority Leads, the 5 Co-Priority Leads, and the Operational Group. It defines the work of the Board and influences the Partnership Board agenda. It meets monthly.

Full Partnership Board meetings for all members are held every 2 months. The Partnership Board agrees things like the constitution, changes to the structure, strategies and plans, and whether something falls within the responsibility of the Board. The Board keeps in touch with national issues and considers the local implications of government policy. 

To see who is on the Partnership Board please see our Membership List in the Documents to download section on this page.

This is our first attempt at getting information about York Valuing People Partnership Board onto the internet. We know we need to do some work to make this information more accessible and we will be asking local people to help us with that.

If you require any more information about the York Valuing People Partnership Board, or would like to arrange to observe a Partnership Board meeting, please contact  Rachel Oxtoby (01904) 554001 or email rachel.oxtoby@york.gov.uk