Background Information

1. The Origins of the Idea

LCIL has its origins in the work of the Lothian Independent Living Group (LILG), a consumer group of disabled people, and the Lothian Coalition of Disabled People (LCDP), the Lothian wide campaigning organisation for disabled people. Both groups were concerned with equality for disabled people and subscribed to the Independent Living philosophy. In 1989 LILG and LCDP recognised the importance of establishing an organisation that would provide a range of services based on needs directly identified by local disabled people, that would adhere to the social model of disability, and that would be directly accountable to disabled people.

Three people had already convinced Lothian Region Social Work Department that they should be given money directly to employ their own personal assistants, and were operating their own independent living schemes as a pilot. At the same time they (and other people) were inspired by the work of CILs in Hampshire, Derbyshire and abroad, and were determined to set up a similar organisation in Lothian. LCIL would become the first organisation of its kind in Scotland, with a basis firmly rooted in the national and international disability movement.

2. The Operation of LCIL

The Company and the Board

The Lothian Centre for Integrated Living operates as a charitable company with limited liability. There is a membership and an elected Board of Directors. The Board has a maximum number of 13 members. More than half of the Board of Directors must be disabled people.

The Board sets the framework and strategies of operation and development of the Centre. Staff are employees of the company through the Board of Directors.

Key Tasks

LCIL, through its staff and under the guidance of the Board, aims to carry out key tasks in pursuit of its overall objectives. In short, these tasks are:-

1. develop and sustain independent living/direct payment schemes for disabled people in Lothian;
2. devise and provide training opportunities appropriate to disabled people wishing to live independently and employ personal assistants;
3. devise and provide training for people wishing to be employed as personal assistants;
4. operate a payroll service for independent living/direct payment schemes;
5. operate a peer counselling service run by disabled people for disabled people;
6. promote independent living generally;
7. develop and expand volunteering opportunities for disabled people.

Financial Resources

LCIL operates within a budget of approximately £500,000 per year for all its services . It currently receives core funding from the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian and West Lothian Councils for Independent Living, Training and Payroll Services. It also receives funding in the form of smaller grants and on a spot-purchasing basis from Midlothian Council. The Scottish Executive are funding work by the training service from 2006 till 2009. Funding is received from various other trusts.

Please see our Annual Report 2005 (pdf-968kb) and the funding pages.

Human Resources

Nineteen members of staff are employed by LCIL. Trainers, counselling supervisors, personal assistants, readers and scribes are employed as required by the various services.

Location of Services

LCIL's main office is located in Norton Park, a building also housing 22 other voluntary organisations. There are two outreach workers one based in East Lothian the other in West Lothian. Peer Counselling is also provided West Lothian, and in other accessible venues in Edinburgh and Mid Lothian.

3. Services

LCIL provides a range of services information about these can be found in the Services section of the web site.

4. LCIL Organisational Structure

The Board of Directors has overall responsibility.

Manager is responsible for:

Independent Living Co-ordinator
Co-ordinator Capacity Building
Peer Counselling Co-ordinator
Operations Co-ordinator
Training Co-ordinator
Senior Information Officer

The Independent Living Co-ordinator is responsible for:

1 FT Independent Living Officer
4 PT I.L.O.s including 1 in E. Lothian 1 in W.Lothian
1 admin assistant

The Training Co-ordinator is responsible

1Training officer
1 Training Admin assistant

The Capacity Building Co-ordinator is responsible for

The Peer Counselling Co-ordinator is responsible for the

Peer Counselling Service

The Operations Co-ordinator is responsible for:

Payroll

2 Payroll Officers

The Senior Information Worker is responsible for

Grapevine Disability Information Service

1 Information officer

1 pt admin assistant

Last update: Friday, May 18th, 2006 at 11:55:22 AM