Policy context

In 2005, the Government’s ‘Improving Life Chances of Disabled People’ document recommended that:

By 2010, each locality (defined as the area covered by a Council with social services responsibilities) should have a user-led organisation modelled on existing Centres for Inclusive Living.

To help achieve this recommendation, the Department of Health (DH) established the User-Led Organisation’s Development Fund.

One part of this Development Fund (known as “Category 2”), was to receive proposals from well-established User-Led Organisations (ULOs) which could act as a mentor and foster the development of a ULO in another area.

The Essex Coalition of Disabled People is one such ULO that has operated since 1995. It provides a wide range of services to disabled people in Essex and acts as a voice of disabled people at a local and county-wide level. ECDP’s mission is to improve the every day lives of disabled people in Essex and beyond.

ECDP, with the support of a number of existing Disabled People's Organisations (DPOs) in Cambridgeshire, applied for the Department of Health’s funding and were one of three successful bids in England.

The project formally started in April, when existing organisations and interested disabled people in Cambridgeshire were invited to an event at Over Community & Conference Centre to get involved in the project. Since then, a Project Steering Group has been nominated and is leading the development of the project.