Chair of West Lancs Peer Support
Les has a son with a learning disability and has been involved in developing support mechanisms since 2000 when his family and three others first received Direct Payments. At that time the local authority offered no support, so the four families decided to design their own support system.
Since then Les has been involved in assisting others to form their own groups in the UK, where he has worked on Direct Payments and Peer Support. He has also spent 4 weeks per annum for the last 5 years in Australia, assisting and advising those in need of support services.
Les served on the National Task Force (until it’s closure by the previous government). He has also served on the National Valuing Families Forum, and is a graduate of Partners in Policymaking. Les has given presentations on Direct Payments and Peer Support nationally and in Australia.
Recently, Les has decided to give up his committee work to concentrate on developing Peer Support nationally. Les believes that by having personal budgets, those with disabilities will be able to enjoy a better quality of life, and Peer Support can play a major role in helping to acheive this.
