My weekend at the NFTMO Conference

I would be surprised if many on here has heard of the NFTMO - National Federation of Tenant Management Organisations. Tenant Management organisations are council estates or blocks where the residents run their own services instead of the council. They have a management agreement with the local council and an allowance to allow them to manage their properties and estates.

Kensington and Chelsea is the largest TMO with over 9,000 homes, the smallest I have heard off was 24 flats in one block. Leather Market TMO was the first TMO to take over all the council functions

While there are some risks, and some have folded, in general TMOs out perform their councils on services and do so cheaper. Some TMOs are former sink estates that no one wanted to live on with high criime, drug dealing and other issues. Since the TMOs took over they have become some of the most sought after areas to live in.

Despite cross part support they have also become victims to many of the changes in recent years. With councils having to sell their most expensive homes to subsidise right to acquire for housing association tenants. Many of which are on TMOs.

The conferences each year show one simple truth, many of the people driving these changes in their communities are disabled people.One thing I did find out is that many of these communities are now employing benefit advisers directly to work with their residents helping them with claiming benefits and supporting them in appealing decisions bringing in thousands of pounds and improving lives and their local economies.

People who Ian Duncon Smith described as skivers and scroungers who have achieved around England what governments have failed to do despite spending millions. Who outperform the professionals.

IDS once pointed out that the Good Samaritan became famous because he had money to help his enemy. At the time I pointed out that someone needed to teach him about the Widow's Mite. Often when things are done in this country it is by those with the least to offer who make the biggest changes in their communities. Single mothers who provide things for local youngsters to do, elderly who look out for their neighbours and friends who have become housebound, disabled people who volunteer their time for a wide range of causes.

One of the questions Scope is now asking is how we can gain equality in mainstream society, one way to achieve this is to blow our own trumpet, tell the story of what disabled people are doing every day to make life in Britain better for others. Not just the elite athletes or those who achieve greatness. Scope has started this discourse with its blogs, but over time I have learned that there are many untold stories, many not so grand or 'newsworthy' but makes life for a few so much better.