October 2003

Client User Guide on the Web
Matthew Harrison
Customer Services Officer

The Independent Living Funds have produced a Client User Guide, which consists of a comprehensive set of leaflets detailing the majority of aspects regarding the Funds. The pack consists of 14 leaflets, which are distributed to clients after either their initial visit or their review visit. It is now possible to access the Client User Guide through our website at www.ilf.org.uk, under General Information, User Guide (Information Leaflets)

Information & Services Directorate
Trevor Chapman
Information & Service Director

On 13 October we created a new Information and Service Directorate within the Funds. For the past two and a half years I have been Operations Director. This post, with responsibility for registration, casework, the review programme and policy development is now in the capable hands of James Sanderson, who was previously our Communications Development Manager.
In my new role as Information and Service Director I will be responsible for customer service, communications and relations with local authorities, all our publications, leaflets and forms, telephones, the content of our website, our publication scheme (Freedom of Information Act, available from February 2004), complaints and reviews, relations with other organisations, our user group and other consultation with users and our race equality scheme.

My aim is to provide a seamless, focused and consistent service. I hope that you will begin to see improvements very soon. Through this newsletter we will keep you up to date with major developments.

In the meantime feel free to contact me if you have any questions, ideas or suggestions on 0115 945 0814; Trevor.Chapman@ilf.org.uk

Contact Officer Information Days
Matthew Harrison
Customer Services Officer

The Customer Services team are in the process of organising Contact Officer Information Days to take place from April 2004. For those of you who have attended one of these before we hope you found it a useful forum to exchange ideas and meet staff from the Funds. Newly recruited Contact Officers will have the opportunity to learn more about the ILF and meet fellow Contact Officers. The information days are restricted to Contact Officers only, or people acting on their behalf, as these days are intended for people to discuss some of the more complex issues relevant to those who are au fait with ILF packages and procedures.

The venues that were used last time were carefully selected to ensure that most Contact Officers did not have to travel more than 50 miles to attend. It is our intention to use the same or equivalent venues; if the venue you attended last time was difficult for you to get to please contact Robyn Lewis on 0115 9450842 or Matthew Harrison on 0115 9450754 immediately. Please note that any changes in venue must also suit others attending the days.

Further, more detailed information will be sent to you nearer the time.

Information Days will be held at:

Belfast
Aberdeen- Edinburgh- Glasgow
Swansea- Wrexham- Cardiff
Liverpool- Manchester
Newcastle- Leeds
Cambridge- Nottingham
London- Kent
Exeter- Hampshire- Gloucester
Birmingham- Oxford/Northamptonshire

We are in the process of choosing either Oxford or Northamptonshire. If you are a Contact Officer in that area please let me know your preference by 30 November 2003.

Local Authority Input and ILF Eligibility
Keith Turner
93 Fund Section Manager

The ILF will normally only be involved in the package when the LA is also providing funding.

The 93 Fund has received several applications from LA’s for clients who are either at, or intending to go to university. The completed SSD 1000 often states that the client attends university 30 weeks a year, but want to average this input over 52 weeks.

This is not acceptable, as the ILF will only be looking at the “eligible” 30 weeks, so the LA input should only be counted for those 30 weeks.

If there were a request for ILF funding during the holidays, the LA would be expected to put in some funding in those weeks as well.

In this case, the LA contribution could be averaged over 52 weeks.

Application forms: a warning from Registry
Jon Duckworth
Registry Manager

Old Application Forms

We are finding that some Care Managers/Social Workers have supplies of the old application forms with our old address on it.

Unfortunately, these are no longer being redirected to us by Royal Mail so some application forms are ending up being returned to the Local Authority or the applicant that sent them, often weeks later - or, worse, sitting in limbo at the sorting office.

We need to get the message out to all CM/SW that applications should come to PO Box 7525, Nottingham NG2 4ZT.

Signatures

Social Workers also need to be aware that the applicant or their benefits appointee must sign part one of the application form. If it is unsigned or if the applicant’s declaration has been signed by anyone other than the applicant or their appointee it will be returned. It is not acceptable for CM/SW to sign the declaration unless they have appointeeship.

Getting things right at the application stage saves a lot of time – so make sure it’s right before you send it.

If you have any queries relating to the application form please phone and ask to speak to the Registry department.

Availability of Application Form
Penny Stevenson
Computer Support Officer

The ILF application form is now available to download from our website www.ilf.org.uk.

It is not yet possible to complete the application form online due to data protection concerns. However, the form is easy to download, just by clicking on the link, and can then be printed out and completed. The form then needs mailing to the ILF at the usual address.

Contact Officer & Emails
Matthew Harrison
Customer Services Officer

Thank you to all those Contact Officers who have sent their email details to the Independent Living Funds, we currently work with 229 Contact Officers, 192 of whom have email addresses.

If you have an email address please do let us know, as it would enable the Funds to send you Newsletters, and other relevant information quickly and efficiently. Receiving information by email is also beneficial to you as you can then disseminate the information to other teams within your Local Authority rapidly.

If you do not have access to email yourself, maybe a colleague has an email address that could be used to receive and disseminate information from the Funds.

Don’t worry too much if you do not have access to email or the web, we will continue to send all newsletters, and other correspondence, through the post.

Professional User Guide
Robyn Lewis
Customer Services Officer

The Professional User Guide, which will replace the ILF Guidance Notes, is in the process of being collated for production in the New Year. Thank you to the 10% of Contact Officers, and the ADSS members, who have given their time to assist with the proof reading of this document. The feedback comments, and suggestions that have been made are being considered for inclusion.

Customer Services News
Matthew Harrison
Customer Services Officer

Hello to everyone - I have recently joined the Customer Services team, and before joining Customer Services I worked for two years as a case holder in the 93 Fund.

I am now involved in assisting with writing and producing the Contact Officer Newsletter, organising the Contact Officer Information Days, and updating our Contact Officer Database.

Future correspondence from yourselves can be directed to
Robyn Lewis 0115 945 0842 or robyn.lewis@ilf.org.uk
and
Matthew Harrison 0115 945 0754 or matthew.harrison@ilf.org.uk

Independent Living Funds
P O Box 7525
Nottingham
NG2 4ZT

Tel: 0845 601 8815
Fax: 0115 945 0948

Email: funds@ilf.org.uk
Website: www.ilf.org.uk