It soon became apparent that both staff and carers felt that a basic sitting service was not adequate and that there was a need to take care receivers out during the respite period so that they could engage in various activities. However, as we were not funded to do this, a fund-raising project was started in order to pay for the costs involved in providing this additional service.

During this year MERCA changed its name to Essex Respite and Care Association (ERCA) reflecting the support provided to those without carers. In November 2011 ERCA was given formal notice that the funding agreement would not be renewed by Essex County Council. From 1 April 2012 clients needed to apply for direct funding from ECC and then decide which services they wished to purchase. Due to delays in client’s applications being processed, during 2011-12 client numbers reduced dramatically resulting in an enormous drain on our finances.