About Us
Who we are
VODG is an umbrella body of leading voluntary sector disability organisations, working to influence and develop national policy, and keeping members up-to-date on changes in regulation.
Current members include: Adepta, Aspire, Camphill Village Trust, Canterbury Oast Trust, Crossroads, The Disabilities Trust, Guide Dogs, HFT, Jewish Care, KeyRing, Leonard Cheshire Disability, Livability, MacIntyre, MCCH, Mencap, Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy, The National Society for Epilepsy, Norwood, The Papworth Trust, Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People, RNIB, RNID, Scope, SeeAbility, Sense, Sign Health, St. Elizabeth’s Centre, Sue Ryder Care, TACT, Thomas Pocklington Trust, United Response, and Vitalise.
Aims and objectives
As an umbrella group of voluntary sector providers of social care support to disabled people, the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG) aims to facilitate and promote an environment in which its membership can provide high quality services based on the prime motivation of promoting the independence of disabled people.
The VODG:
- seeks to address with Government those issues that affect its members’ ability to deliver high quality services to disabled people, using the breadth of members’ experience and exposure to illustrate issues pragmatically;
- offers Government and other bodies a means by which the providers of support services to disabled people can be consulted in a structured way;
- seeks to lead the sector both in terms of the quality of the services that its members provide and through the strength of their coherent voice;
- promote, conduct and engage in research to the benefit of its members and disabled people
Current Priorities
Campaigning Priorities
- Ordinary Residence: The VODG is lobbying for revised guidance to Local Authorities on resolving Ordinary Residence disputes and an update to LAC(93)7. We believe there needs to be a clear (nationally applied) structure to ensure that funding follows the individual.
- VAT on Agency Staff: The VODG is opposed to the sudden introduction of VAT on agency staff and calls for a review of the impact of this change.
- 0% Uplift: The VODG is concerned about the increasing tendency of funders to attempt to enforce 0% uplifts in fees. The VODG believes this is in breach of the Compact.
- The LD National Costing Tool: The VODG feels that the Care Funding Calculator (the device for calculating the cost of learning disability social care packages) has a number of weaknesses in its underpinning cost assumptions. We believe that fee levels can only be fairly calculated by working closely with providers, and are opposed to fee levels being driven downwards at the cost of quality outcomes for service users. We are currently working to introduce a national protocol to inform use of the costing tool by commissioners.
Research Priorities
- Rising Eligibility Criteria and the impact on younger disabled people
- Pre-tendering administrative burdens and opportunities re-use share data
Monitoring Priorities
- The future regulation of health and adult social care in England
- Valuing People Now and the long-term funding of services for people with learning disabilities
Ongoing Work
- Building constructive and progressive relationships with ADASS & CSCI
- Keeping members well informed around CRB, IV&B and regulatory changes
- Supporting members' campaign objectives
- Joint hosting with Community Care Magazine of a major conference on eligibility criteria
Meetings
We usually have four meetings a year, lasting 2 to 3 hours each, with a high profile speaker at each meeting - often a Government Minister. At one of the meetings each year we also have an annual dinner with a speaker and VIP guests - this is always a pleasant and convivial evening. There is also an away day held in the summer to discuss major topics of the day. Normally the Chief Executive attends on behalf of member organisations.
Governance
At present VODG is a company limited by guarantee and in the process of becoming a registered charity. Current Honorary Officer positions are as follows:
Chair: Bill Mumford, MacIntyre
Vice-Chair: Graham Faulkner, National Society for Epilepsy
Vice-Chair: Mary Bishop, Livability
Treasurer: Brian Perowne, HFT
Trustee without Portfolio: Lucy Hurst-Brown, Brandon Trust
Briefings
VODG members receive regular e-briefings covering current news, developments in government policy, consultations and up-coming events. These provide a brief outline to save busy members from being presented with an overwhelming amount of information, but include useful links to further information.
Occasional briefings on areas of specific interest, such as new legislation or Hepatitis B immunisation rules, or pandemic influenza are sent out on an ad hoc basis. These e-briefings are popular with members who tend to cascade them through out their organisations.
Consultations
The VODG presents a corporate response to all relevant consultations, and works to ensure that these reflect the view of all members. We have recently commented on, and been instrumental in drafting, the draft KLORA (CSCI) and the NHS Continuing Care proposals.
Networking
VODG provides a ready made network of senior social care professionals who are actively engaged with users/clients and with local and national government. This allows members to share best practice, on topics as diverse as staff retention to accessing new funding streams.
Special interest groups
There are areas of special interest such as CSCI, the CRB, Constructing for Social Care, Ordinary Residence and sharing 'back-office' functions. Many of these topics have working groups established.
The staff team
VODG was for a long while entirely volunteer run. Whilst it remains volunteer led, It has now appointed a part time General Secretary, and a full time Policy Officer. Both are funded through the Big Lottery Fund on three year contracts, expiring towards the end of 2009.
Fees
Membership subscriptions are based on levels of contractual income, with a discount available in the first year:
| Contractual income | VODG Subscription Fee |
|---|
| £0 - £5m | £750 |
| £6m - £10m | £1k |
| £11m - £20m | £1.5k |
| £21m - £30m | £2k |
| £31m - £40m | £3k |
| £41m - £50m | £4k |
| £50m | £5k |
Contacts
John Adams, General Secretary,
info@vodg.org.uk or 07917 670 509
Samuel Thomas, Policy Officer,
policy@vodg.org.uk or 07857 886134
The Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG) works with 700,000 disabled people living throughout the UK – providing services that promote independence, choice and control. VODG members share common values and have a combined annual turnover in excess of £1 billion.
