Claire Morgan 07/03/2024 Joe's Soapbox

This is going to be a very busy year for All Wales People First.

This year we hope to complete the work we are doing with the ADSS on an Advocacy Framework for Wales.

The ADSS stands for ‘Associated Directors of Social Services’

We hope this will be finished by March 2024.

This will make proposals to the Welsh Government about how we need to make advocacy services better for people with learning disabilities in Wales.

This work was funded by the Welsh Government after we told them that people with learning disabilities were struggling to get advocacy services.

This includes self-advocacy.

We hope that this framework will help to make things better within advocacy.

All Wales People First are also going to write its new MIRROR Strategy this year.

The MIRROR Strategy is our Business Plan.

The Business Plan will be made up of information from:

• National Council meeting in June.
• North and South Wales strategy days with members and staff from last October.
• The findings from the Advocacy Framework.

The MIRROR Strategy sets out our plan for the next four years.

How we can best serve the members and the local groups across Wales.

It will be presented to the National Council and the Board of Directors this year.

The National Council will have the final say.

They will decide what should go into the MIRROR Strategy and what should not go into it.

This is because we are member led.

All Wales People First are also happy to announce that the final draft of our Human Rights Toolkit is now complete and available to access.

The toolkit was produced in collaboration with the British Institute of Human Rights.

The toolkit tells members how to make human rights claim if a decision that affects their life is unfair.

And how to take a case to court if a human rights challenge isn’t listened to.

It was inspired by our member Jack Cavanagh.

I would like to thank members David Whittle and Richard Redmond for designing the toolkit with us.

And the Chair of the National Council Tracy Austin for presenting the first draft of the toolkit at the House of Lords during Human Rights week last December.

The final toolkit was launched on the 16^{th of} February 2024.

You can find it in the ‘resources’ area of the All Wales People First website.

Please use it.

Please share it and tell as many people as you can about it.