The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is conducting research into the experiences of carers and disabled people using care support, and is looking for individuals who can help with this.

Informal interviews will be held in November at a convenient location for the interviewee. The EHRC will cover expenses for reasonable adjustments and guarantee full confidentiality and anonymity where requested.

Findings from this research will be compiled into a short regional paper and fed into national research to inform the government’s Social Care Strategy.

If you are interested in taking part, please contact Ruth Barnett by email at ruth.barnett@equalityhumanrights.com or call her on 01223 372 572 or 07818 606 435.

Jobs4U - the government's national careers website - is looking for someone to be a case study profile for their website to help promote careers to other people that might be interested in them.

They are looking for a disabled person (preferably under the age of 30, though this isn't crucial) to answer some questions (on the phone or by email) to get an idea of what's involved in their job. At the moment, they are particularly looking for someone who is involved in sales, either as a manager or as a sales rep, but it doesn't matter what job you do!

If you’re interested in getting involved, please contact ECDP and we'll put you in touch.

ECDP is delighted to invite you to ECDP's 11^th Annual General Meeting (AGM), which be held on Wednesday 26 November at the Marconi Club, Chelmsford. The meeting will start at 2.30pm and will include a free buffet. The event will end at 5.30pm at the latest. A full programme (the formal notice) plus copies of all associated items and resolutions is below. 

At the AGM, we will be launching our Strategic Plan for 2008-2012, which outlines what we would like to achieve over the next 4 years before the Olympic and Paralympic Games come to Britain. We would very much like you to be a part of this important occasion for ECDP. 

The venue has a limit on numbers and so you will need to book your attendance with us prior to the event. Please find enclosed a return slip which you will need to complete as soon as possible if you would like to attend. Due to the restrictions on numbers we will be operating a "first come, first serve" policy. If you would rather contact us via email, please respond to agm@ecdp.org.uk. 

Once we hear from you we can then confirm your place and any access requirement required. Please note, ECDP will pay reasonable travel costs for full members to attend the AGM. If you do not intend to attend then please simply disregard this letter. In the meantime if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us via agm@ecdp.org.uk or 01245 392339.

We look forward to welcoming you on the day.

ECDP's 11th AGM, 2007/08 documents:

• Full programme (and formal notice) (Word document)
• Minutes of the 2006/07 AGM (draft)
• 2007/08 accounts (pdf document)
• Appointment of auditors (Word document)
• Election of Directors and Honorary Positions (Word document)
• Special resolution on ECDP's new Memorandum & Articles of Association (Word document)
• ECDP's new Memorandum & Articles of Association (Word document)

If you would like any of these documents in alternative formats, please contact us via agm@ecdp.org.uk or 01245 392339.

ECDP’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) for 2007/08 will be held on Wednesday 26 November 2008. At that AGM, up to six Directors will be elected by ECDP members. The purpose of this notification is therefore to seek nominations for up to six elected Directors.

The nomination form contains all the information you will need to enable you to complete the nomination form. You can download the nomination form and equality monitoring form here:

• Nomination form for Director of ECDP (Word document)
• ECDP equality monitoring form (Word document)

There is currently no formal role description or person specification for Directors of ECDP. Your nomination should therefore include details of how you can support ECDP to achieve its vision of improving the everyday lives of disabled people in Essex and beyond.

Please note : only full members of ECDP can be nominated to fulfil the role of Director. For associate and affiliate members, this nomination form and process is for information only.

The nomination pack is available in alternative formats. If you require this nomination pack in an alternative format, or if you have any questions regarding the nomination form, please contact Rich Watts: contact Rich Watts.

Please note that the closing date for nominations is 5pm on Thursday 23 October 2008.

We look forward to receiving your nominations.

For anyone that might be visiting ECDP at Ivan Peck House over the next few weeks, please note that there will be building works on site.

Due to the growth of ECDP over the last few months and our anticipated growth in the future, we will be making a number of changes to how the office is set up. This will involve a number of tradespeople being on site from Wednesday 24 September until approximately mid-October.

The car park will be reserved for blue badge holders and visitors only. When you enter reception, there will be a flipchat highlighting any work that will be taking place that day and any particular risks that mighe be present.

If you have any questions concerning your visit to ECDP, please feel free to call the person you are intending to visit, or contact Reception (01245 392300) where someone will be happy to help.

Thanks in advance for your understanding during this exciting time for ECDP.