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DIAL UK is the National Organisation for a network of 135 Independent Disability Information and Advice Centres based throughout the UK. We are a registered Charity, set up in 1981, our Charity No is 1059530, we are also a Company Limited by Guarantee Registration No: 2031829.
Find a Dial Contact in your region by clicking on the link below:
http://www.dialuk.info/findadial/index.asp
We are governed by a management committee of 7 people and employ 4 full time and 5 volunteer members of staff.
DIAL UK’s primary aim is to support and empower disabled people to overcome the social and economic disadvantages they face.
We aim to combat the poverty and social exclusion faced by disabled people and to promote their full participation in society through having access to specialist information and advice services.
We are Britain’s only disability support service, providing specialist services to disability information and advice centres. This service is essential to the effective working and management of the network.
DIAL UK also provides strategic leadership to the network in order to foster the development of DIAL group services to disabled people. As that strategic leader we also ensure that the voice and interest of people with disabilities is heard where it matters most amongst opinion formers and decision makers.
We provide support and practical help to enable our member groups to reach and maintain acceptable standards to satisfy the Legal Service Commissions Quality Mark and DIAL UK’s own Quality Standards.
We also represent disabled people in a number of National Projects run by and with our colleagues from other national networks.
DIAL UK and our member groups are run by and for disabled people therefore we do truly represent the voice of disabled people.
DIAL’s offer a one-stop source of information and advice and help to assist disabled people through the often-bureaucratic maze to access their needs.
Each centre provides free and confidential information and advice on all aspects of living with a disability.
A typical DIAL group consists of a manager, paid by means of grants from a charitable trust(s) or under a service contract with the local authority.
DIAL groups vary greatly in size. Some are entirely volunteer-run organisations operating on an annual income of under £5,000, others are large multifaceted disability resource centres with up to 20 paid staff. The average DIAL may have one or two paid members of staff with a team of 10-15 volunteers.
DIAL groups help disabled people on issues such as independent living, benefits and finance, access issues and signposting people to appropriate organisations and services.
The organisation will be a registered charity with a management committee that provides strategic oversight of all the activities of the group. A condition of membership of the DIAL network is that
a majority of the members of the committee, like advisers and volunteers, are themselves disabled.
The strength of the DIAL network is participation at all levels with disabled people, resulting in services that are responsive, unique and accessible.
The DIAL network is made up of 135 local disability advice centres split into 12 geographical regions throughout the UK. DIAL groups assist over 421,000 disabled people per year.
Local DIAL’s are run by and for disabled people, service users receive high quality information and advice from advisors with a personal experience of disability and who have the expertise and experience to deliver these services.
40% of disabled people have incomes below the national average and a further 40% need help with practical tasks, however only 15% of these people get the help they require.
Advisers come to our rights team for expert help with a benefit or employment query or issues, via telephone or e-mail.
Our development team offer management support to our members and audit and support DIALs to achieve the DIAL UK Quality Standards.
Our information team support our members with the latest up to date disability information, via mailings and our national database, and our award winning website: www.dialuk.info which has a members area with a host of supporting features. Disabled people can go to our website to find the contact details of a DIAL in their local area.
Our development team offer training to the DIAL advisers on a whole range of skills, they also run a training advisory service finding courses for groups provided by other training providers.
