Short Breaks Fund and Better Breaks Fund Grants Advisory Panels
More biographies to follow:
Ruth Christie - Better Breaks Fund: Senior Policy Adviser Disabled Children and Young People. I currently work in the Children and Families Directorate of Scottish Government, where I am responsible for policy about disabled children and young people, this includes supporting work on short breaks, and a variety of other projects to improve services and experiences of disabled children and their families. Previously I worked in the Health Directorate on a piece of legislation about patients' rights, and prior to that in the Equality Unit where I was involved in disability equality policy and British Sign Language and linguistic access issues.
Mary Craig OBE - Better Breaks Fund: Chief Executive, Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland
Mary joined the Savings Bank as a teller and progressed to become a Senior Manager in Lloyds TSB Scotland, having responsibility for a cluster of 20 branches in the central belt. Mary left the Bank and joined the Foundation in 1997 as an Assessor and was appointed Deputy Chief Executive in July 2000. In January 2009 she was appointed Chief Executive.
She is Convenor of Evaluation Support Scotland and Convenor of the Scotland Funders’ Forum. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland, a Fellow of the RSA and in the 2010 New Year's Honours List Mary was awarded an OBE for services to the Voluntary Sector.
Harriet Dempster - Better Breaks Fund: Harriet chaired The National Review of Services for Disabled Children in Scotland and remains the chair of the implementation group. She was previously the Director of Social Work Services for the Highland Council and President of ADSW.
Tom Gorrie - Short Breaks Fund: Tom Gorrie is a Management Accountant who spent 35 years in the Scotch whisky industry with Allied Domecq and latterly as Head of Systems and Logistics with Burn Stewart Distillers where his role was the management of the customer service and information technology departments, and the development of finance and manufacturing control systems. Tom’s younger daughter, Carol Anne, had profound learning disabilities caused by a lack of oxygen at birth. Tom, with Dr Brian Venters was a founder member of Share Scotland in 1984 and a campaigner for care in the community for those with profound and complex disabilities. Share Scotland now employs 150 people and provides support to adults with profound learning disabilities throughout central Scotland.
Margaret Hume - Short Breaks Fund: As a former (now retired) social worker, and present carer I have some awareness of the effects of caring and the impact upon those being cared for. The SBF affords a great opportunity to make a difference. By effective and judicious use of the funds available the volume, range and types of short breaks will be significantly extended. As a consequence of this the quality of life of many will be enhanced and those who are supported will be able to live longer in their homes and communities.
Jacqueline Law - Better Breaks Fund: As mum to a 15 year old girl with complex needs I know from first hand how challenging life can be, and what a difference having a break can be. My work experience has changed with my personal life. From being in a Managerial role in the Retail Sector I moved to Trading Standards Department. With the birth of my lovely girl I had to leave work. I became a volunteer representative with Contact a Family Scotland. I helped form Parents Inclusion Network in Dumfries and Galloway and remained in a line managerial role on that Board. I was also a Director of a Direct Payments support service and worked for Contact a Family as the Co-Ordinator for Parent Volunteers in Scotland. I know how vital breaks are and how getting it right can, literally, be the difference between a family being able to cope or not. I strongly believe the Panel’s role is to see that the grants go to organisations who can ensure Better Breaks will mean Better Lives.
John Leggate - Short Breaks Fund: I am a former community development worker, and was the National Development Officer at Shared Care Scotland between 1993 and 2003. I'm now retired, and Chair the committee of the Princess Royal Trust for Carers Centre in Perth.
Meg Lindsay - Better Breaks Fund: As a social worker, Meg has had a varied career within health, social work services, voluntary and private sectors and academia, as well as six years on the Board of the Care Commission. She set up and managed both residential and family based short breaks services for children and adults, piloting new approaches. In 1994, she authored the ‘Patchwork Quilt’ report on short breaks services, which resulted in a sea-change in policy and pushed development forward. As Director of the Centre for Residential Child Care, she worked nationally and internationally to improve children’s services. Meg now provides consultancy and training in Britain and Ireland through her organisation ‘Managing Care Safely’
Dr Eleanor Logan (advisory): My career has been centred round supporting the voluntary and public sector in Scotland in being more effective and active. In doing so I have worked at grass roots level, supporting change and development in disability led organisations, health related charities, environmental organisations and those providing services to children and social enterprises.
Fiona Lovett – Short Breaks Fund & Better Breaks Fund: As a Mum to 2 teenage children I know how challenging life can be especially when complex additional support needs are added to the mix! Since my sons birth I have been battling to ensure that he receives the help and support required to live a full and happy childhood just like his sister. I am the Vice Chair of for Scotland’s Disabled Children Coalition July 2011 and I am currently co-authoring a text book about visual impairment. As a teenager I cared for my Mum through her battle with terminal cancer and recognise that a lot of the issues I face as a carer today are the same issues I faced as a young carer and I understand the massive difference that appropriate short breaks can make. I am keen to ensure that organisations offer a wide variety of short breaks which meet the needs of the individual as well as those they care for.
Brigitte Matthews - Short Breaks Fund & Better Breaks Fund: I gained a good understanding of the voluntary sector from my experience as a director of a CVS, a manager of a volunteer centre, and from working for a range of local and national voluntary sector organisations over the last 20 years. I have a degree in Social Work and my knowledge of the importance of short breaks and respite in supporting carers and those they care for derives from working with people with disabilities, with older people and their carers, and also from personal experience.As a member of the SBF Advisory Panel, I am pleased to be able to contribute to enabling better access to short breaks and respite opportunities, and to share lessons learned with carers, those they care for, short breaks and respite care providers, local and national government.
Catherine Montgomery - Short Breaks Fund: I have worked with children, young people and adults with learning disabilities their parents and carers for over 30 years in both a voluntary and professional capacity. I am a trained social worker and have worked in a range of settings. I have always had a passion for trying to help people and have realised over the years that short breaks are one of the best ways to offer support to individuals and there families. With the introduction of Direct Payments and Self-Directed Care people can now have more choice about what suits them best. I am really excited about being a part of the Grant Advisory Body and having the opprotunity to contribute towards providing appropriate and meaningful Short Breaks.
Suzanne Munday - Short Breaks Fund & Better Breaks Fund: I have worked in Edinburgh’s voluntary sector for 20 years, the last 10 of which as the Director of MECOPP (Minority Ethnic Carers of Older People Project). I am passionately committed towards ensuring that equalities and human rights are at the heart of health and social care in Scotland. More and more we are seeing hard evidence of the progress that has been made in supporting BME carers. The availability of appropriate and accessible short breaks and respite is essential to the health of the carer and person in receipt of care. This is as true for BME carers as it is for all carers. I am delighted to have been asked to participate on the Grants Advisory Panel and to have the opportunity to contribute to the development of new and innovative short breaks provision.
Moira Oliphant - Short Breaks Fund:(Head of Carers Policy, Scottish Government)
Audrey Peacocke - Short Breaks Fund: I am Head of Service for Edinburgh Young Carers Project and I am delighted to be a member of the Grants Advisory Panel for the distribution of awards for the Short Breaks Fund. I hope that I can provide a fair and representative view for all Carers and the people they care for, whilst also providing a voice for Young Carers and hoping that the distribution of funds will bring some much needed respite for both Adult and Young Carers across Scotland.
Margaret Petherbridge - Short Breaks Fund: My experience has been working within Community Care Services and in particular the implementation of Direct Payments Policy and managing a Short Breaks Bureau which arranges breaks for adults with disabilities and older people. I am currently chair of the ADSW (Association of Directors of Social Work) Self Directed Support Group. As part of this role I participate in the Scottish Government Self Directed Support Strategy Implementation Group. As a trained nurse I also have many years of experience of working within health.
Jessie Roberts - Better Breaks Fund: Jessie Roberts worked for eighteen years for PAMIS, a voluntary sector organisation based in Scotland working in partnership with children and adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities and their families. As senior co-ordinator, she provided the Family Support Service in Fife over the last 10 years, offering families one-to-one support, training, information and the opportunity to campaign for better services and facilities, both nationally and locally.
Jessie's background is in social work, and she has worked in hospitals and in the community. She has personal experience of being a carer.
Having retired from PAMIS in July 2011, she is now a full time student in horticulture at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.
Penny Stafford - Better Breaks Fund: Penny lives in Edinburgh, and joins the GAP with a wealth of experience as a family carer and of involvement with the voluntary sector. She has a 19 year old disabled son with multiple support needs and also has experience of being a carer for family members affected by dementia, mental health and addiction issues. She has over 25 years of experience of working and volunteering within the third sector with a particular interest in advocacy and carer and service user involvement in policy and service development.
Kirsten Stalker - Short Breaks Fund: I’m currently Interim Policy Manager of fSDC (for Scotland’s Disabled Children) Liaison Project, seconded from my post as professor in the Social Work Section of Strathclyde University. I’ve carried out research on short breaks for disabled children north and south of the border. I used to sit on the Big Lottery Social Research Panel. I’m keen to see the SBF support schemes designed to provide a positive experience for the ‘cared for’ person as well as the carer and, through the Learning Exchange, promote good practice in short breaks across Scotland.
Staff
Don Williamson (Chief Executive, Shared Care Scotland)
Christina Orr (Short Breaks Fund Manager)
Alison Stevenson (Short Break Fund Manager - Maternity)
Amanda Moffat (Short Break Fund Administrator)
- A company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland SC161033