In addition to his work at the University of Manchester, David Challis is an associate director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Social Care Research and an NIHR senior investigator. His work is focused upon community-based and long-term care mainly for older people. David has established a strong team of researchers working in this area. The research programme has examined effective assessment processes, care coordination, performance measurement, dementia care and mental health services for older people.

His work on care coordination in older people's services has been influential in a number of countries and he has been an adviser on services for older people to the UK government and to the Commonwealth Government of Australia, the governments of Japan and Hong Kong, the Canadian Province of Ontario, the US state government of Wisconsin and the National Assembly for Wales.

David is the author of 21 books and over 180 papers.


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Sue McMillan is the Head of Operational Improvement at the Care Quality Commission and her responsibilities include delivering improvements to inspection practice, national programmes of inspection, and themed inspection (like the Dignity and Nutrition programme).

Prior to taking on this role, Sue was a CQC Regional Director in the Northwest and in Yorkshire and Humber. She was previously Director of Operations and Deputy Chief Executive of the Mental Health Act Commission. Sue has spent 35 years working in health and social care and local government policy, mainly in Cheshire.

Sue began her professional life as a mental health social worker and has managed mental health, learning disability and older people's services. Her policy work has included the local government reorganisation during the 1990s, the development of local strategic partnerships, community consultation and the introduction of overview and scrutiny committees.

Presentation: Understanding needs, respecting rights

This talk will assess how we can best foster a culture of dignity within our care system, turning current examples of best practice into future basic provision, and delivering services that encourage empowerment and respect for people's rights and wishes. How far do the Dignity Code and Dignity Inspections take us in this aim, and what further measures are needed?

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Shaun Webster has been employed at CHANGE since October 2003. He produced the Training the Trainers Course for parents with learning disabilities to train education, health and social care professionals, and was influential in getting the government to produce a good practice guidance for professionals supporting parents with learning disabilities and their children.
Shaun has delivered training across the UK and Eastern Europe on inclusion, good communication and support, and making information accessible. He has also worked with self-advocacy organisations across the UK, supporting them to become more sustainable and stronger.
Using his skills and expertise, Shaun has put the messages about human rights and inclusion for other people with learning disabilities onto an international platform.

Presentation: Self-advocacy: Changing who has all the power and taking notice of what we say

An essential step towards empowerment, respect and equal rights for vulnerable adults is the adoption and growth of self-advocacy initiatives. Both young and older people with physical and learning disabilities, mental health diagnoses and chronic illness should be supported and encouraged to work in partnership with care providers, advocacy groups and other organisations to drive forward improvements in the treatment of vulnerable people. Valuing their unique insights and perspectives has the potential to transform not only care provision, but society as a whole.
This talk will broach – from personal experience – the benefits of adopting such methods: how it feels to be valued in this way, and the excellent work that people with learning disabilities are currently undertaking.

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Martin Routledge is the current programme manager for the Think Local Act Personal Partnership - a national sector wide partnership of health and social care organisations, as well as Head of Operations for the charity In Control. He has been at the heart of the development and delivery of personalised care and support, in particular at the Department of Health for almost ten years in the Valuing People Support Team, Care Services Improvement Partnership and leading the Putting People First programme. He has 30 years experience in health and social care roles and has as a real passion to help effect change in people's lives.

Presentation: Personalisation, co-production and community engagement

Personal budgets were introduced in 1996, and the government had planned to have them available to all eligible service users by 2013. However, only 53% of eligible people currently use them, and many of these receive council-managed budgets rather than direct payments. We need to move towards more 'authentic' personal budgets, providing them in ways that allow people to be active and contributing members of supportive communities and making a real difference to the lives of personal budget holders and their family carers.
This talk will highlight examples of successful personalisation initiatives from across the country, how local authorities and care services can check that personal budgets are working in practice, and the organisational structures needed to make them a success.

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Don Brereton's son Sam was born with Down's Syndrome and he is cared for by Don and his wife. Sam is one of the couple's three grown up children. Over the years Don and his family have fought many battles to ensure the best support for Sam and know first-hand the frustrations facing carers.
Don also brings to Carers UK the benefits of a long and successful career in government with unique experience and insights into how government works. As a civil servant in the Department for Work and Pensions, Don's directorate covered disability rights and policy, and delivery of the key disability and carers' benefits – Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance and Carer's Allowance. Don has recently retired from his job as Director of Motability.

Presentation: Caring for carers: Supporting the wellbeing of Britain's hidden vulnerable

There are around five million people in the UK who care for a friend or family member, over double the number who are employed in the care and support sector. Research published this May has revealed that nearly 60% of this population suffer with mental health problems – over twice the national average prevalence. Many also experience physical problems such as muscular strains, insomnia and exhaustion, with work and finances also suffering. A huge 64% have never accessed services such as counselling, respite or welfare support, instead struggling alone or turning to friends or family for help.
How can health and social care providers successfully identify and engage with new carers in an early intervention capacity to prevent physical and psychological harm? How can existing carers, often 'hidden carers' be delivered the support they need and deserve?

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Claire Crawley is a social worker by background, with nearly 40 years' experience working across all groups and settings. Her last operational job was as a senior manager in Birmingham SSD. She spent two years (1992-94) as Deputy Director of the Social Services Management Unit at the University of Birmingham, then joining the Social Services Inspectorate in London as an inspector. The SSI was at that time a part of the Department of Health. After five years she moved to a policy team in Department of Health as a professional advisor.

Since 2003 Claire has been a 'mainstream' civil servant. She has had a number of lead policy roles that have covered areas such as assessment, care management, commissioning, direct payments, pandemic influenza planning and law reform. Claire currently leads a small team working on adult safeguarding policy.

Presentation: Adult Safeguarding: The current landscape and road ahead

In the light of Paul Burstow's announcement that safeguarding has "gone too far", and the conclusions drawn from the Winterbourne View Report, this talk will look at some of the challenges for developing proportionate and outcome-focused adult safeguarding and its differences from, and overlap with, other areas of responsibility for key partners.

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Robert Templeton is Head of Transforming Adult Social Care and is responsible for SCIE's Personalisation, Dignity in Care, Adult Safeguarding, Mental Capacity Act and Social Work Practice pilot programmes. He has also recently been appointed as a registrant member of the Health Care and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Robert joined SCIE from the Local Government Association where his work included social care improvement and transformation. Prior to this, he was head of joint learning disability services across the London Borough of Greenwich and Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust. Robert has also managed disability services for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and the London Borough of Bexley.
Robert started his career as a residential child care officer working for Cambridgeshire's Education Department. After qualifying, he worked as a social worker in Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, and in the London Borough of Hackney. Robert has also worked as a social worker in Kenya and Slovenia.

Presentation: Working together for protection: Forming successful multi-agency partnerships

How can the main statutory agencies – local authorities, health and care services and police – work successfully with each other and with private and third sector partners to not only promote safer communities to prevent harm and abuse, but also to deal promptly and appropriately with suspected or actual cases?
The Social Care Institute for Excellence has collaborated with the Pan London Adult Safeguarding Editorial Board to produce multi-agency guidelines explaining how agencies and individuals should work together to protect at-risk adults. This talk will provide information about both the guidelines themselves, and the successes and challenges that have been met so far in their implementation.

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Neil Bateman is a nationally renowned expert in the welfare rights field with over 37 years' experience as an adviser, advocate, trainer and author. His written work has been widely published and he has provided strategic advice about the relationship between the benefits system and care services to local authorities, the Local Government Association, the Department for Work and Pensions, housing associations and voluntary bodies. He now works as a consultant in welfare rights, providing welfare rights assistance to services to a wide range of organisations and their service users.

Neil will examine some of the challenges for social care services caused by recent and forthcoming changes to the benefits system such as housing benefit restrictions, changes to benefits for people with a disability and long-term health problems, local council tax support, benefit sanctions and abolition of the social fund.

Presentation: The impact of welfare reform on social care services

From April next year, social services departments within local councils will be taking on a £178m annual budget from the Social Fund. This will see councils taking on a new role in deciding who can access financial relief. How will this - and the wider welfare reforms - affect the work of social workers and their perception by the public?

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Martin is Head of the Funding Reform team in the Department of Health leading work to take forward the work on social care funding reform. Building on the government's progress report on funding reform published in July, Martin is working with stakeholders and colleagues across government to address some of the key questions about how to apply the principles of the Dilnot capped cost model.
Martin has over 15 years experience in strategy and analysis in support of decision makers in the private and public sector. He joined the Department of Health in August from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills where he provided analysis and evidence to support policy development, delivery and corporate effectiveness. Before joining the public sector Martin worked in the defence industry providing evidence and analysis to the Ministry of Defence and defence companies.



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Simon Parkinson has worked at Mencap, a charity that supports people with a learning disability (pwld) in all aspects of their life, for over 10 years in the housing, employment and education services. He has developed a strong background and a wealth of experience in these areas, including social care, having worked for registered social landlords and local authorities.

Simon started his time with Mencap working within the property team of Golden Lane Housing, Mencap's sister charity specialising in providing accommodation for pwld, quickly progressing to the position of national manager and leading the team successfully for a number of years. Simon was then asked to be the operational lead for Mencap's Education, Learning and Work, which included the response to both Work Choices and the Work Programme.

Throughout Simon's career he has gained a number of professional qualifications including a BSc (Hons) in Construction Project Management, along with a Master's in Public Administration (MPA) from Warwick University.



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Cath Murray- Howard takes lead responsibility for the overall business development strategy for Community Integrated Care - one of the UK's largest social care charities, which supports thousands of people with learning disabilities, mental health concerns and age related needs.
She leads the charity's Business Development and Communications and Marketing teams and also plays a key role in helping the charity to develop its partnerships with academic, campaigning and advisory bodies within the social care sector.
Cath has extensive experience in both the third and commercial sectors. Since joining Community Integrated Care in February 2012, she has overseen a period of rapid growth for the charity, enabling the organisation to provide its services to more people. Cath is also playing a key role in the charity's biggest ever period of organisational development and investment, with the aim of launching Community Integrated Care as the UK's leading social care charity.
Cath works closely with commissioners from across England and Scotland, and her colleagues in Operations, HR and Quality, giving her a broad, specialist understanding of the care sector and the issues that both providers and commissioners of care services face. She has a proven track record of supporting the launch of new innovative services and assisting in the remodelling of traditional services to both improve their viability and the overall quality they offer to the people they support.
She is passionate advocate for the third sector and believes that if we are to meet the needs of commissioners and service users in these changing times, all care providers need to be equally ambitious in pioneering both caring values and new innovations.


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Robert Templeton is Head of Transforming Adult Social Care and is responsible for SCIE's Personalisation, Dignity in Care, Adult Safeguarding, Mental Capacity Act and Social Work Practice pilot programmes. He has also recently been appointed as a registrant member of the Health Care and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Robert joined SCIE from the Local Government Association where his work included social care improvement and transformation. Prior to this, he was head of joint learning disability services across the London Borough of Greenwich and Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust. Robert has also managed disability services for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and the London Borough of Bexley.
Robert started his career as a residential child care officer working for Cambridgeshire's Education Department. After qualifying, he worked as a social worker in Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, and in the London Borough of Hackney. Robert has also worked as a social worker in Kenya and Slovenia.


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