British Council of Disabled People
Who we are?
Established in 1981, The British Council of Disabled People (BCODP) acts as a co-ordinating and representative body for disabled people and organisations controlled by disabled people. We now have 130 member groups and many hundreds of individual members covering about 400,000 disabled people in all. We are the genuinely representative voice of disabled people in the United Kingdom.
Community of people.[d]Why was BCODP set up?
- To support and promote the Social Model of Disability.
- To promote full equality and inclusion of all Disabled People in society.
- To support the development of organisations of Disabled People.
- To act as the national voice of its member groups.
- To represent the British Disabled People's Movement world-wide
Person standing by 'Our Rights' banner.[d]Our Mission
To secure by all democratic means, our full and equal human and civil rights as disabled people in the United Kingdom.
What we do
BCODP works in several ways:
- To lobby and campaign on issues of concern to disabled people nationally.
- To advise and train government, companies and other bodies that serve disabled people
- To provide support and information to disabled people, their organisations and those who work with them.
Group of people talking.[d]Committees
The National Council is BCODP's governing body and a number of policy committees help us to develop work in such areas as:
- Independent Living
- International
- Research
These committees are all run by disabled volunteers
Application Information.[d]Membership
Full membership is open to organisations that are run by disabled people, and individual disabled people can join too. Other organisations which support our goals can join as affiliate members, and non-disabled people can join us as supporters. Membership fees vary depending on the type of membership.
Money.[d]Current Support
BCODP receives some regular core funding from the Department of Health and the Platinum Trust. We also receive funding to undertake project work.
Why we need more support
BCODP is the only really representative voice of disabled people in the United Kingdom. We want to involve all disabled people in all aspects of our work. There are 8.6 million disabled people in the United Kingdom with a range of access needs and we want every one of them to be able to take part in what we do. All that costs money, as we need to provide facilities like:
- Transcription - e.g. Braille and audio tape;
- Easy words and picture formatting;
- Support staff/personal assistants;
- Travel expenses;
- Loop and Infra Red systems;
- Interpretation - e.g. British Sign Language, Palantype.
Logo of the United Kingdom Disabled Peoples Parliament.[d]Our Plans
BCODP is always developing.
In order to strengthen the voice of disabled people at national level, we are setting up the United Kingdom Disabled People's Parliament. Up to 200 disabled people will be elected by disabled people from right across the United Kingdom to become members of the Disabled People's Parliament (MDPPs), to meet together and to represent disabled people's views to government. This will be a high profile means for every disabled person to get their views represented at national level.
Personal computer with internet access.[d]As a disabled Person, how can you get involved?
We need people like you to join the disabled people's movement. There are three ways you could do this. The best way is to join your local BCODP member group. There is a full list of our members on our website. If there is not a group in your area, then you can join BCODP as an individual member. Or you could set up a new group of disabled people and get the group to join BCODP.
As a non-disabled person, what can you do to help?
We need people like you to join us as supporters by making a donation. Any contribution you can make - in the form of a regular monthly cash donation - will help us continue our important work of enabling disabled people to get their voice heard. As a supporter we will send you our newsletter "Activate".
Printed, audio and visual information sources.[d]How can we help you?
If there is any aspect of our work you would like to discuss please do not hesitate to contact us.
If there is anything we can offer any organisation you are concerned with advice on disability issues, Disability Equality Training - please get in touch. Our nationwide network of organisations has experts on most disability-related subjects.
Contact details
The British Council of Disabled People
Litchurch Plaza
Litchurch Lane
Derby
DE24 8AA
Tel: 01332 295551
Fax: 01332 295580
Minicom: 01332 295581
Email: info@bcodp.org.uk
Web: www.bcodp.org.uk and www.disabilityinformation.com