About New DCIL
Between 1988 and 1993 new Government policies transformed relationships between central and local government and voluntary organisations. In cuts resulting from 'Poll Tax capping', DCDP lost funding half way through the 1990/91 year, and DCIL was cut 50% over 1990-1992. Both organisations had to restructure completely, with many fewer jobs. This was done with close trade union scrutiny and a minimum of compulsory redundancies.
Up to 1990 a clear distinction was made between:
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a Coalition of members, committed to campaigning and raising awareness;
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a CIL, developing practical applications of the Coalition's founding principles.
Various changes were going on, however, that led to DCDP and DCIL reviewing their roles:
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Expectations of disabled people were turning more and more towards independent living arrangements and inclusive communities;
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More local organisations run by disabled people were appearing all the time, such as Access Groups;
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The NHS & Community Care Act created new opportunities but gave more control to public service managers, and its 'internal markets' tended to change disabled people from partners to consumers or even market commodities;
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The Welfare State was breaking up, but with no guarantee that what replaced the old paternalism would support disabled people's goals any better;
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Anti-discrimination law began to affect attitudes to disability.
Separate reviews were done in 1995, and in 1996 the whole range of activities of both organisations was reviewed together. The reviews concluded that the best way to safeguard the original wide-ranging objectives and community emphasis was to combine DCDP and DCIL. The decision to move towards this was taken by DCDP Council in August 1996.
The new organisation could be run entirely by its members, because the nature of partnership with public authorities was changing. Local authority representatives on DCIL's General Council could no longer represent both a 'purchaser' authority and a 'provider' organisation. It made sense for them to supervise their funding support in different ways, through service agreements and monitoring procedures. At the same time, the number of public authorities giving support was increasing as Derby City became unitary and some District Councils also made agreements with the organisation.
With all 'stakeholders' in broad agreement on the merger, detail could be worked out for a new Constitution, new working practices, increased focus on active member/user involvement, and new liaison and networking arrangements with other bodies. The new combined Constitution was formally adopted in March 2000, and a new ten-year strategy is taking shape.
DCIL, May 2000