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About The Council The Southern Health and Social Services Council was established in 1991 as an independent consumer organisation. The Council has a duty to represent the public's views and interests, to review the work of health and social services and to recommend any improvements needed. It is one of four Health and Social Services Councils in Northern Ireland. We have a legal right to:
Our Structure The Council has 24 members who are appointed by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS). Ten of our members are representatives from the five local Councils covering the Southern Board's area. There are two representatives from Armagh City and District Council, one from Banbridge District Council, three from Craigavon Borough Council, one from Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council and three from Newry and Mourne District Council. The remaining representatives come from voluntary organisations with an interest in the services in our area or are independent representatives with an interest in health and social care issues. Our Membership Representatives, except those from local Councils, are appointed under the Nolan principles - public appointments on merit through advertising. Representatives are usually appointed for four years, but this can be extended to eight years. We have five full-time staff and our Chief Officer is the senior full-time official. Our Responsibility to the Public Every month (except July and August) we meet in public. The meetings are normally held on the third Tuesday of the month at 10.00 am and two meetings per year are held in the evening. We give the details of coming meetings by issue of a press release to all local newspapers. Meetings tend to be held in our offices but we have plans to hold 3 meetings per year in alternative venues across the Southern Board's area and all will be advertised through voluntary and community groups. If a member of the public wishes to speak on any agenda item this can be arranged by contacting the Council's offices directly. Normally two days notice is required and every effort is made to facilitate the contributor. We can also make arrangements for people with sight or hearing problems if we are asked to do so and given enough notice. By law we must publish and distribute an annual
report which gives details of our performance during the previous
year. Copies of our annual report are issued to the voluntary and
public sectors, and to community organisations. Copies are available
from public libraries and can be provided in large print, on disk,on
audio tape and in other languages on request. Our annual report
and all other publications are available free of charge. We must keep to a Code of Practice on Openness in the HPSS (issued in October 1996). Our members must also keep to a Code of Conduct for Health and Social Services Council Members (issued December 1996). This code covers matters such as impartiality, financial accountability, confidentiality, discrimination, casual gifts, hospitality and declaring of interests. We keep an up-to-date list of our members' interests and the public may inspect that list. We have a procedure which allows members
of the public to complain about us. A copy of our leaflet Our Obligations Under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 When carrying out all our functions, duties and powers we must, under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, promote equal opportunities to all regardless of age, sex, disability, religious belief, political opinion, racial group, age, marital status, sexual orientation or any other personal or social circumstance. We must also promote good relations between people with different religious beliefs, political opinions or from different racial groups when carrying out all our functions, duties and powers relating to Northern Ireland. We are committed to meeting our obligations under Section 75. Overall, responsibility lies with the Chief Officer who is responsible for introducing arrangements for making sure we meet our obligations when carrying out our duties. She is also our point of contact for the Equality Commission and she has a responsibility to liaise with the Commission to ensure progress is made in implementing the commitments given in our Equality Scheme. Funding We are funded by the DHSSPS. For the 2003/2004 tax year we have a total budget of £203,000. Over 80% of our budget is spent on salaries and premises costs. Any increase in our budget must be negotiated with the DHSSPS. Southern Health and Social Services
Council, Quaker Buildings, High Street, Lurgan, Co. Armagh, BT66 8BB
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