Independent Lives newsletter |
|
|---|
|
|
It's our Spring 2026 newsletter
At Independent Lives, we’re dedicated to supporting disabled people, older people, and carers to live independent and fulfilling lives. Through this newsletter, we will keep you updated on our training and events, as well as share stories from the organisations and communities we support.
Whether you are looking for advice, or stay informed, we hope you find this newsletter useful. As always, we would love to hear from you, if you have any feedback or stories to share, please get in touch.
We hope you enjoy this Autumn keeping safe and well edition.
Thank you for being part of our community.
|
|
|---|
|
|
Think Local Act Personal - Survey |
|
|---|
|
The Department of Health and Social Care is running a survey to understand the experiences of people who arrange and pay for their own care and support, often called self-funders.
They want to hear from people who have looked for self-funded care for themselves or for someone else.
The survey takes around 10 minutes and closes on Friday 27 March.
Complete the survey
At Think Local Act Personal, we believe everyone should have choice and control over their care and support.
Learning about people’s experiences helps build a better understanding of where change is needed so that care and support works better for everyone.
If you work with self-funders, please share the survey with your networks so more voices are heard.
Best wishes,
Think Local Act Personal
|
|
|---|
|
Employment Rights Act 2025 Changes |
|
|---|
|
|
|
As a result of the Employment Rights Act 2025 there are some significant changes to employment law coming into effect from April 6th 2026:
- Changes to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) –
- Currently employees only receive SSP from the 4th day of sickness, as the first three days are waiting and are unpaid. This has now been removed and from the 6th April 2026, SSP will now be payable from the first full day of sickness.
- The lower earning limit has been taken away to make SSP available to all employees regardless of their weekly earnings. This will now be paid at either 80% of an employees average weekly earnings or statutory flat weekly rate which will be set by the government each year, whichever is the lower amount.
- Changes to Paternity and parental leave –
- Paternity leave will become a right from day one rather than currently having to work for 26 weeks for their employer to qualify.
- Parental leave will also become a right from day one as currently an employee needs to have worked for a year for their employer to qualify.
- There will be no restriction on taking paternity leave after shared parental leave.
- Fair work Agency
- Powers to enforce payment of statutory payments
- Bring employment tribunal claims on behalf of individuals, and provide legal assistance, support or representations where individual have raised a claim themselves.
For more information and advice on these areas either call our helpful Advice and Guidance Team or have a look at our relevant factsheets on PA Pages.
|
|
|---|
|
Improved HR Support for Fish Insurance Customers
|
|
|---|
|
If you have a Care Protect or Healthcare Protect policy with Fish Insurance, there’s an important update to the HR support included with your cover.
From 1 January 2026, Fish Insurance has moved its HR support service from Peninsula Group to Supportis (previously known as MSL). Supportis has over ten years’ experience supporting people who employ personal assistants and carers through direct payments, and the change is designed to offer improved support and better value.
What’s changing?
Customers will now have access to:
- Dedicated HR advisors offering unlimited phone and email support on employment and HR matters.
- Help with employment documents, such as contracts of employment, PA handbooks, job offers and letters of concern, with documents stored securely online.
- Free eLearning and training for employers and their PAs or carers, including accredited courses covering care, employment law, data protection and mental health.
Lower cost
Alongside the improved service, Fish Insurance has also reduced the policy price from £95 to £90, helping to ease financial pressure.
Want to know more?
If you’d like more information about the change or what it means for you, Fish Insurance can talk you through the new service and its benefits. |
|
|---|
|
NHS Sussex News - Extra Urgent Dental Appointments in Sussex |
|
|---|
|
More than 26,500 extra urgent NHS dental appointments in Sussex
The NHS in Sussex is expanding the number of appointments for people who need dental care urgently.
26,546 additional urgent NHS dental appointments are available for people across Sussex, as part of 700,000 extra appointments being rolled out across England – 100,000 of which are in the South East.
These appointments ensure that people experiencing urgent dental problems can access timely care, even if they are not currently registered with a dental practice.
The additional urgent appointments are for dental conditions such as:
- Severe, persistent toothache
- Dental abscess
- Broken or knocked‑out tooth
- Continued bleeding after a dental procedure or injury
- Facial or oral swelling
- Painful fractured, loose or displaced fillings
- Severe soft‑tissue problems affecting cheeks, gums or tongue
Sussex residents who need urgent dental help can call the Sussex Dental Helpline on 0300 123 1663 between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday or NHS 111 outside of these hours.
The Helpline team have access to the latest information on available care from local dentists and can book patients directly into appointments.
You can also contact the dentists who offer urgent dental care appointments directly, during usual opening hours. See where urgent dental care is available across Sussex.
You do not need to be registered with a dental practice to access an urgent appointment. |
|
|---|
|
World Social Workday celebrated in Wiltshire |
|
|---|
|
This week our advisers attended the World Socialwork Day in Wiltshire with the aim to bring together different community groups, services and organisations for both practitioners and customers helping them to connect together and talk.
Organisers sent a heartfelt thanks for our time, enthusiasm, and support at the Social Care Community event. They said our involvement played a huge part in making the event such a great success, and they truly appreciated everything we brought to the day.
Well done team! |
|
|---|
|
Mental Health Support - Sussex |
|
|---|
|
Independent Lives and West Sussex County Council Direct Payments Partnership |
|
|---|
|
We are proud to confirm that we will continue to provide a direct payment support services and information, advice and guidance to West Sussex residents under a new agreement starting in April 2026. There will be no major changes to existing customers we already support so there is no need to worry. You can contact our advice team on 01903 219482 for any guidance or support in relation to your direct payment. |
|
|---|
|
Payroll Newsletter coming soon |
|
|---|
|
Keep a watch out for the Independent Lives Payroll newsletter coming soon, giving information about national minimum wage and payroll and banking updates.
|
|
|---|
|
Independent Lives Conference and 25th Anniversary Celebration - THRIVE |
|
|---|
|
We are excited to be hosting our anniversary birthday conference themed - THRIVE, joining together customer representatives, Friends of Independent Lives members, voluntary sector partners, local authority and independent lives colleagues and a range of community friends. We will provide a summary of this event with photos in our next edition.
|
|
|---|
|
|
|
|
