UK disability equality news

(See pats previous post)

They were shocked because they thought we wouldn’t speak up, but they were wrong: activists across the board have united in challenging them on this disastrous attack on disability benefits.

For far too long, the government thought they could do what they liked to us. Now we are speaking up as one, the government is closing the debate down by extraordinary measures, so that we still feel unheard. If the government closes debate down, we believe we could all use Pat’s Petition to make sure we open it up again. It is a petition that will hopefully lead to a Peoples Debate.

So far, the petition has reached over 28,000 signatures to be number 15 out of over 11,000 petitions on the government e-petition site. It did that in its first three months. We know it can get to 100,000 if we continue working together. That gives us the opportunity for debate.

Being an electronic petition, this means every one putting the link to Pat’s Petition  in newsletters, on websites, in mail outs, social media sites – every where you can. Ask people to sign themselves, and also to ask friends and family and people on their networks to sign. Please encourage everyone to be proactive in this – if each of the current signatories got just 4 other people to sign, the target would be reached.

In the age of social media – we can do this.

Pat’s Petition is for all of us. For every one who is angry about the way the government is treating disabled people and their families.

Support Pat’s Petition and take the debate right back to Westminster where they have to hear us.

If you can help raise awareness further please do contact me at  - patspetition@gmail.com 

The list of supporters is growing and includes –

Disabled People Against the Cuts, Greater; Manchester Coalition of Disabled People; Disability Equality (NW); SWAN – Social Work Action Network ; NAVCA

Tags: cuts, petition, pat, welfare-reform

 

Due to the widespread protest about the impact that removing the component would have on the 78,000 disabledpeople living in statefunded residential care (and their families), in February the Government

announced it would conduct an internal review of the proposal.  However, concerns that the Government's review was taking place behind closed doors prompted leading disability charities Mencap and Leonard Cheshire Disability to ask DA President Lord Low to conduct a review to create an opportunity for an independent, public and comprehensive examination of the issue.

 

The Government’s u-turn on its mobility component reform came a few weeks after the publication of Lord Low’s Review which concluded that:

• the DLA mobility component and its successor under PIP should be retained by care home residents as its removal would lead to a loss of independence for disabled people;
• there is no evidence of a duplication of funding in relation to the mobility needs being met by local authorities and the mobility needs being met by DLA mobility; and
• there needs to be greater clarity of local authorities’ responsibilities for funding mobility needs and the role played by DLA.

In addition, Lord Low advocated that the Department of Health (and the Scottish and Welsh Governments) should:

• develop a peer led initiative encouraging and supporting disabled people living in residential care to directly manage their Personal Independence Payment mobility component;
• revise the Charging for Residential Accommodation Guide (CRAG) to make clear that the mobility component is to be completely disregardedby local authorities, both in means testing and in establishing how to meet assessed needs; and
• write to all local authorities drawing their attention to the revised CRAG, emphasising the requirement for local authorities to meet all assessed mobility needs.

Welcoming the findings of Lord Low’s Review and the Government’s u-turn, DA Director of Policy Neil Coyle said:

“Lord Low’s independent review of Government plans was published 3rd November. It appears to have already been influential as the Government has now announced a u-turn on cutting the £160 million funding 78,000 disabled care home residents. We are pleased the strong campaign by disabled people and organizations like ours hasbeen successful.

However, DWP has acknowledged that it must now fund this cut elsewhere. With over £1.3 billion to be lost a year from general DLA expenditure by 2015/16 a further £160 million represents 44,000 disabled people losing average DLA payments.  We remain concerned that the Government has failed to adequately impact assess broader DLA cuts. The rationale for DLA cuts has been exposed as false for care home residents and remains just as poor for DLA overall”.

 

The Low Review: Personal Mobility in State-Funded Residential Care is available via the link below.

 

The Low Review

Dear Colleagues,

We are writing to you as you because we urgently need your help with a very quick and easy action. 

The Welfare Reform Bill is making its way through the final stages in Parliament. The next month provides us with our last real opportunity as a sector to influence the bill and we need to make our next action BIG and LOUD.

A giant Christmas card has been organised by the Hardest Hit campaign group (DBC (Disability Benefits Consortium). The famous cartoonist and illustrator, Gerald Scarfe, is illustrating the card. We have 2 weeks(deadline 6 December) to gather 10,000 signatures before the card is presented to the Government in early December.

The action is timed for WRB reaching Report Stage in the House of Lords and aims to increase political pressure on the Government by demonstrating mass concern over how disabled people will be affected by proposals within the Welfare Reform Bill, particularly the time-limit on ESA and PIP proposals.

Text of the card follows:

"Dear David Cameron and Nick Clegg, While we don't expect gifts this Christmas, we do want our basic rightsprotected and the support to enable us to live independently and with dignity. Please make the New Year something disabled people can look forward to

by:

*Not bringing in an arbitrary time-limit on Employment and Support Allowance for those who've paid into the system and still need support.

*Making sure that those who rely on Disability Living Allowance continue to receive the financial support they need through Personal Independence Payment"

This is the link where you can sign the card:

http://www.e-activist.com/ea-action/widget?widgetId=752

Please do promote this action to your friends, family and colleagues.

Those signing the card can also leave a short comment if they wish in the card. 

For those people who do not have access to the internet, off-line signatures can be collected on the attached form. Please send any offline signatures through to our Judd Street campaigns team by telephone on 020 7391 2123 orby email to campaign@rnib.org.uk or by posting the form back to: Campaigns

Team, RNIB, 105 Judd Street, London WC1H 9NE. We will then make sure they are added to those signatures that are being collected online. 

Thank you so much for your help. 

Kind regards

Lindsay

 

Lindsay Armstrong

Regional Campaigns Officer RNIB North West

The Gateway Centre

71 London Road

Liverpool L3 8HY

www.rnib.org.uk/campaign

 

Fair benefits? Act now http://tinyurl.com/765rorx RNIB is supporting the Hardest Hit campaign to protect benefits and services for blind and partially sighted people. Please sign the Christmas card to David Cameron and Nick Clegg asking for a fair benefits system.

To get our latest Parliamentary updates visit RNIB's ePolitix microsite:

http://www.epolitix.com/RNIB

MARCH FOR THE ALTERNATIVE 2

Protest Against the Cuts

Lib-Dem Conference

18^th September 2011 - Birmingham

We are working with the TUC and Right to Work to organise a protest to happen at the same time as the Lib Dem conference in Birmingham on 18^th September.

It is important that disabled people speak out and tell the Lib-Dems what we think.

More information including timings, access information and meeting places to follow.

There will also be an online protest for people who are not able to come in person.

For questions contact: mail@dpac.uk.net  

Disabled People Against Cuts were formed after 3^rd October last year after disabled people came together to protest the Tory Party conference.

Since then we have worked with the unions and others to get the voices of disabled people heard and raise awareness of how the cuts are affecting disabled people.

This government has brought in cuts that attack disabled people, for example:

• Closing the Independent Living Fund
• Taking people off benefits and saying they are fit for work when they are not
• Bringing in plans to get rid of Disability Living AllowanceCutting money for social services support
• Encouraging an idea that disabled people are benefit scroungers
• Pushing disabled children towards special schools

For more information go to: www.dpac.uk.net

 

All patients have now left the premises and Winterbourne View is now closed. CQC undertook a responsive review of Winterbourne View following the abuse uncovered by Panorama. This review found serious concerns about the safety and quality of the service and CQC decided to take enforcement action to remove Winterbourne View from Castlebeck Care’s registration, closing the service permanently. CQC regulatory action in relation to Winterbourne View concludes with the publication of the compliance report today.

CQC has now inspected all Castlebeck Care services in England (23 in total). Individual reports on the findings are being drafted. These reports will be published separately and followed up with appropriate regulatory or enforcement actions where necessary. The final summary report and individual reports will be available on the CQC website by the end of July.

CQC’s own Internal Review is progressing with interviews of staff involved currently taking place. This information will provide the evidence for CQC’s individual management review as part of the Serious Case Review, led by South Gloucestershire Council. The Internal Review is expected to be completed by late summer.

CQC will be carrying out a focused inspection programme which will review care provided for people with learning disabilities by hospitals. The review will be in two phases: 2

• phase one will consist of the inspection of 150 services that provide care for people with learning disabilities;
• phase two will use the learning from phase one to look at a sample of other registered services covering alternative models of provision for people with learning disabilities.

South Gloucestershire Council has appointed Margaret Flynn, chair of the Lancashire Safeguarding Adults Board, as independent chair of the Serious Case Review and the rest of the panel are now in place.

The panel for the NHS Serious Untoward Incident Review has been appointed with members from NHS South West, NHS South Central and NHS West Midlands. The review will be led by Dr Gabriel Scally, South West Regional Director of Public Health.

Arrangements are being put in place for family, carers and self advocate representatives to be involved in the review as part of a reference panel.

The first phase of the review has started. This involves gathering information from all commissioners of care and treatment at Winterbourne View since 2006.

The Department of Health review will be led by Bruce Calderwood, Mental Health and Learning Disability Director. The review will be advised by a panel of experts including Professor Jim Mansell, Mark Goldring and Anne Williams. Its activities will be informed by the views of service user and carer representatives including the National Forum for People with Learning Difficulties, the Challenging Behaviour Foundation and the National Valuing Families Forum.