United Response has merged with fellow disability charity Robert Owen Communities (ROC).
The merger, effective from April 1, sees ROC become a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Response with ROC’s CEO David Wilson retiring at the point of merger. ROC will continue to trade under its current name and branding until March 31, 2017, when services will be relaunched under the United Response name.
United Response has been operating for more than 40 years and supports about 2,000 people with disabilities and mental health needs across the country and is a leading provider of person-centred learning disability services. ROC has had a strong presence in Devon and Cornwall for the past 25 years, and supports some 400 people with learning disabilities.
United Response already operates in Cornwall, Bristol and North Somerset and the merger will help to secure the long-term future of existing ROC services at a time when the social care sector continues to experience a reduction in public spending.
Tim Cooper, United Response’s CEO, said: “We are delighted to be joining forces with ROC, an organisation with an excellent track record and which shares our values and approach. This partnership will allow us to continue the outstanding work begun by ROC and to use our combined expertise to develop services that will deliver a secure future for people with learning disabilities in a challenging economic climate.”
Wilson added: “ROC is currently in a good position but we recognise that we will be under pressure in future years. So we wanted to act now to safeguard the future of our support to local people with learning disabilities. We are very pleased to be merging with United Response, which has an excellent track record in providing support to people with learning disabilities and which shares our strong person-centred values.”
