Dear Sir, I am writing to tell you about the proposals we have to transform Guide Dogs so we can provide a much

wider range of mobility services and help more blind and partially sighted people get out and about on their own terms. I first want to explain why I think we need to change. Our research shows that there are at least 180,000 blind and partially sighted people who rarely, if ever, leave home alone. Even though we plan to extend the guide dog service, which will remain at the heart of what we do, we will never reach all of the people who could benefit from mobility support through this service alone. If we want to help more people, we need to offer a greater variety of options - from habilitation services for children, to sighted guiding for older people. To do this we will need to raise more funds, attract more supporters and bring Guide Dogs into the 21st Century. What we propose One of the key changes we are proposing is to set up Mobility Action Centres (MACs), across the UK, in 20 major towns and cities, supported by outreach workers based in other key areas. The changes we are proposing will help us reach more people - both service users and supporters. The MACs will incorporate mobility services, like guide dogs and the My Guide service, but also enjoy fully integrated volunteer support, communications, campaigning and fundraising. We believe this will allow us to be much closer and more visible to the people we serve - both service users and supporters. Because we will be able to connect more

effectively with the local community, we will understand

local issues better and thereby develop more relevant and evidence-led products and services. This should also help us identify many more partnership opportunities with other like-minded charities. We propose that these more resilient MACs will be based in Belfast, Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Luton, Maidstone, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Reading, Shrewsbury and Southampton. The GDMI footprint will remain as it is today they will simply work to a smaller number of (more resilient) administrative offices. We will also have outreach workers based across a much wider geographical area and we will continue to work directly with our service users and supporters. We want to develop current collaborative working arrangements and also seek new opportunities particularly in those locations where some of staff are currently based, such as Bristol, Forfar, Guildford, Helsby, Preston, Redbridge, Stokesley, Sheffield and Worcester. These locations are proposed at this stage and could change, particularly if there is a good opportunity to colocate with other organisations. It will take time to establish all 20 MACs, so we are taking a phased approach to be implemented over a four year period. Our new MAC in Reading will also be the new base for our Central Office staff. This will give our support staff a much better understanding of the people we serve and will also be in much more accessible location than our current Hillfields Head Office. And it almost goes without saying that, with our continued focus on growing the guide dog service, those locations that are core to the production of the dogs themselves our four Guide Dog Training Schools in Redbridge, Leamington, Forfar and Atherton, and our very new

National Breeding Centre in Warwickshire will continue to operate, and will continue to rely on the support from volunteers that they currently enjoy. The proposals do mean that some of our staff may need to work from a different base and may have different responsibilities as part of a bigger team. Our aim is to retain as many of our staff as possible because we want to keep their valuable knowledge and experience within the Guide Dogs family. However, we do accept that some of our staff may not want to complete the journey with us. Needless to say we will offer all of our staff full support as we go through this necessary transformation. Your Service We believe that you will receive a service of the same or even a higher standard. The larger MAT structure should provide greater resilience and provide you with more focused support. The increase in local campaigning and communications will also have a positive effect on levels of public awareness about the issues and barriers you encounter on a daily basis. Our plans to expand the guide dog service, combined with a review of the training process, should lead to a greater supply of dogs and shorter training times. This in turn should have a positive effect on our waiting times. Our District Team Managers will be meeting with DCRs this week to discuss the proposals and any concerns there may be. As some of you will be aware some DCRs are helping us, through the Representation Transition Group (RTG), to revise and update our service user representation as part of the changes and this will be considered by Council in November. The RTG will also receive a full presentation about the changes at their meeting on 9 August. As part of the proposals service user representation at the corporate level will be supported within a new Strategy and Research Team. This is the best team to do this in the

proposed structure because it will be focused on listening and responding to our customers, understanding what they require, how we can improve their mobility and what they think of our existing services. Our new MAT managers will be responsible for service user relations at the local level. In conclusion All of these changes will allow us to support more blind and partially sighted people in getting where they want to be. We will begin implementing these plans in the New Year. As we celebrate our 80th birthday, I would like to assure you that our intention is to build on all the amazing work we have achieved in Guide Dogs to date. Having the power to help blind and partially sighted people achieve the same freedom of movement as everyone else is an incredible privilege and, not surprisingly, we are hungry to do more. What we are proposing to do should lead to more services, more supporters and help us to enable thousands more blind and partially sighted people to play a full part in their community. If you would like this information in a different format or if you know of any fellow service users who have not heard by letter or email about the changes and need to, please contact your local office. In any case, if you have any questions, please refer them to your DCR who will be able to help. Yours sincerely, Richard Leaman Chief Executive Guide Dogs