A report comparing the North East to the national picture for blind local societies has been produced by Visionary NE, the group of local societies for blind people in the region. Their findings are below:
>>>
We are in the middle of a two year project which seeks to use the national Seeing It My Way outcomes (link) to map existing services and identify priorities for partnership activity.
While undertaking this mapping, the opportunity arose to access the questionnaires completed by some of the local societies in 2013 for the most recent survey of local societies by Visionary nationally.
This has enabled us to produce a report comparing the North East to the national picture for the first time. Although the national survey did not use the Seeing It My Way outcomes, we felt this comparison would be useful. Response rates nationally and regionally from the local societies were broadly similar so the comparison is valid.
The national survey by Visionary of its members (local societies in England, Scotland and Wales) contained questions in the following sections:
§ local sight loss organisations today
§ services provided
§ people involved in member organisations
§ quality assurance and finance
§ eye clinic liaison officers
§ interest in future development
The headline findings from the comparison are:
- Visionary members in the North East are likely to be in touch with lf as many visually impaired people again as those in other parts of England, Scotland and Wales
- They have roughly the same number of trustees and staff as member organisations elsewhere, but have fewer volunteers (an average of 80 compared with 128 each nationally).
- In the North East a greater proportion of trustees, staff and volunteers have visual impairments themselves.
- While societies nationally have average incomes 70% higher and more than five times more reserves than societies in the North East, North East members have not run at a deficit and have more confidence in their future sustainability.
- In general more North East societies are providing particular services than the national average.
- The greatest differences are in advocacy, employment advice, specialist emotional support, and technology.
- However no members in the North East reported providing hospital based services, educational advice, housing or residential care.
- Hospitals in the North East with ECLOs are more likely to have them full time than hospitals nationally
Nationally a total of 56 member organisations reported a joint total income of £25,097,533, an average of £448,170 per organisation. Their annual expenditure totalled £27,586,062, an average of £492,608 per organisation (£44,438 more than their average income). They held reserves totalling £41,792,921, an average of £746,302, which represents 153% of their average annual expenditure
In the North East 3 member organisations reported a joint total income of £1,058,525, an average of £263,381. Their total annual expenditure amounted to £1,022,455, an average of £255,614 per organisation (£7,767 less than their average income). They held reserves totalling £578,378, an average of £144,595, which represents 57% of their average annual expenditure
The full report can be downloaded from:
VONNE