Once a year, the board of trustees come together alongside the executive team of Mencap in somewhere outside of London for its annual away days. As Chair of the
Voices Council
The Mencap Voices
Council
A council is also called a
local authority
A local authority is also called a council. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools,
social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it.
(support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live. These include: schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
are a group of 12 people with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
. They share their views and experiences to help Mencap's Board of Trustees make decisions.
, alongside the Vice Chair (Sam Jefferies), we are invited to attend and participate in these important discussions
In the previous couple of years, we have been present at these events in Leeds and Belfast, with this year’s held in Cardiff. Unlike board meetings, the
agenda
An agenda is a list of things to talk about at a meeting.
for the discussions are not about making big decisions but exploring issues that are affecting Mencap and people with a learning disability across the UK.
This year has seen some significant changes in Mencap and its leadership, so the days spent in Cardiff were used as a time to reset the priorities and evaluate how we do when it comes to Quality and the support it offers to people. We were treated to a very broad presentation from the Mencap Cymru team, led by Wayne Crocker, whose team are engaged in personal support, influencing decision makers and capturing the stories of people with lived experience – known as storytelling.
Sam and I enjoyed a discussion on that first day focused on leadership and the culture of Mencap. While the things said in the room are private among those who were there, we emphasised the importance of Mencap listening to its colleagues and being in the corner of people with learning disabilities when decisions/policies impact our lives.
When we visited the Chepstow Mencap oral history exhibition in the evening and listening to Welsh
Parliament
Parliament is a group of people who make laws and check what the government is doing.
member, Julie Moragn, who is the Deputy Minister for Social Services, it was clear that there was a strong connection to improving the lives of people with a learning disability. There were a number of challenging questions, including the pace of change on improving services and cutbacks to local transport that were having a severe impact on those with learning disabilities being able to participate in their communities.
On the second day, Sam and I were fortunate enough to be invited to a special media workshop hosted at the offices of ITV Wales, where alongside some other people supported by Mencap we got a taste into the word of news and weather presenting.
Unsurprisingly, Sam and I had travelled the furthest in this case! Led by one of their presenters, Rob Osbone and Elin Llŷr, Public Affairs
Manager
A manager is a boss at work. They tell you what you need to do and give you support if you need it.
for ITV Wales, we experienced what it was like to face questions when on camera. We were also joined by their weather forecaster, Ruth Dodsworth, who explained that telling people about the weather is much more difficult and skilled when we practiced at the green screen.
It was a hugely enjoyable morning and a big achievement for the Mencap Cymru team who have been working closely with the ITV team over the last year to bring more representation of people with a learning disability on camera.
The days in Cardiff were, sadly, the last where Sam and I will be Chair and Vice Chair of the Voices Council. We look forward to passing the torch to our successors (more on that soon!) in the next year and also hearing the voices of two new trustees with a leaning disability to contribute their lived experience to the decision making of the charity. Whatever else happens at Mencap, that is always essential.
- Jack Welch