Richard Gutch has been appointed part-time interim chief executive of the Disability Alliance to drive through its merger with Radar and the National Centre for Independent Living.

The three London-based disability charities plan to merge and create a new charity to be called the Disability Rights Partnership.

It will combine the advice services of Disability Alliance, the campaigning work of NCIL and the employment training services of Radar.

Richard Gutch, former Futurebuilders chief executive, was first hired by the charities in early 2009 to advise on the feasibility of a merger. Last month he started in the new interim role heading up the Disability Alliance.

No decision have been made yet about who will be chair and chief executive of the merged operation.

Gutch told Civil Society he hoped the three organisations would be in the same building by early next year and that the full merger would be completed by next June.  It will have a combined income of about £3m.

Since leaving Futurebuilders, Gutch has also been working on the NCVO Funding Commission, writing thinkpieces to inform its final report, and as a consultant for recruitment agency Prospect-Us.