The letter (image of letter-heading below) from the DWP regarding my Personal Independence (PIP) claim arrived whilst I was in Barcelona.
I have been granted the "enhanced rate" for both mobility AND daily living needs. Furthermore, I have been given a rare (per benefitsandwork site) "ongoing" status - which I have now determined means I am "unlikely to get either better or worse" in the future.
However, apparently DWP can randomly decide to check whenever they wish - so it is hardly re-assuring and is certainly not giving me any sense of settled stability. So it looks as if I shall be on the anti-anxiety meds until such time as the DWP is reformed or the PIP laws are altered to be less intrusive & menacing.
Oh, I have just found a section which states that they will check me again after 22nd May 2027. To all intents & purposes knowing such still makes no difference, due to the we-can-check-on-you-at-any-time catch-all clause.
I was awarded 28 points for daily living (12 points needed to get enhanced rate) and 16 points for mobility (also 12 points needed to get enhanced rate). I disagree with some of the points given; but there is little point in arguing as it would make no material difference and would simply delay payments being made to me.
The decision-maker's conclusion reads:
I made my decision using information about your health condition or disability including details of any treatment, medication, test results and symptoms. This information is the best we have available and enough to decide how much help you need without aface to face consultation.As your needs vary, my decision is based on the help you need most days.The information shows your health condition or disability causes you great difficulty with Daily Living activities.The information shows your health condition or disability causes you great difficulty planning and following journeys and moving around.This is consistent with your medical history, the available evidence and the information you provided about how your disability affects you. (sic)
The award letter is ten pages long. After three read-throughs I think I have grasped it and that the above are the pertinent points.
In conclusion I ought to feel happy & relieved; but I feel no sense of satisfaction and still very much unsettled by it all.
Thank you for your recent communication, in which you expressed concerns regarding your application for Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
An investigation will now take place into the issues you have raised and we aim to complete our investigation within 20 working days. However, if the investigation takes longer than anticipated I will continue to update you of our progress.
Should you have any queries in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact our customer service team on the above telephone number or myself at the address below.
Dear Mr Hunter Thank you for your email, in which you express your concerns with regard to your application for Personal Independence Payment (PIP). As part of Atos Healthcare’s commitment to provide a service of the highest standard, it is important that we continue to be open and receptive to the views of those whose lives are affected by the service that we provide. I am, therefore, grateful for your feedback. I understand from your correspondence that after you received a letter for a face to face assessment you contacted the Customer Service Centre and the Agent requested a Home Consultation (HC) which unfortunately was denied. Home Consultations (HC) are reserved for claimants who do not leave their properties for any reason due to their conditions. In some instances, exceptions can be made to this rule providing that certain criteria can been met. Upon review of your questionnaire, it was established that you were able to travel abroad therefore could attend an Assessment Centre (AC), however you have explained the circumstances behind this and a Paper Based Review (PBR) has been completed after Atos Healthcare spoke with health professionals involved in your care. I am pleased to tell you that the report has now been completed and returned to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), for a decision to be made. For any further update the DWP can be contacted on 0345 850 33 22. This concludes the investigation carried out in regards to your complaint. I understand you feel we have not met your expectations during this time and I would like to apologise for any distress or upset caused; I can assure you this is never our intention. I do hope that any future dealings you may have with our service will not cause you any further concern. Yours sincerely, Annmarie Cowley
Apparently: "Home Consultations (HC) are reserved for claimants who do
not leave their properties for any reason due to their conditions."
What an absurd position!
You can get to a hospital appointment - no HC You can get to your GP's - no HC
You can get to the dentist - no HC
You can get to the optician - no HC
You can get to the podiatrist - no HC
You can get to the physiotherapist - no HC
You can be wheeled out for a breath of fresh air - no HC
Such absolutist stances are disablist and contrary to common-sense. No account is taken of fluctuating conditions; the need for medication
prior to, during and post appointments, nor their effects on one's
mental capabilities; the ability or not to travel over distance; the
amount of stress, whether physical &/or emotional; the need for
support to attend appointments; the ability to travel on
public-transport; and so on.
And note: I only got somewhere because I had the gumption to stand up for myself and wrote back to ATOS pointing out the stupidity of their position. Most folk would probably have done as instructed, i.e. refer back to the DWP. At the point where I raised the possibility that attending a medical examination centre would not be possible, ATOS ought then to have acted pro-actively and contacted my medics for their medical opinions. I had to press them to do so.
Health is not black and white: if x then y.It is innumerable shades of grey: if a then b or c or d or…
ATOS' standard of healthcare is illogical, unreasonable and contrary to common-sense and additionally costs the tax-payers of the country each time they carry out a review. As I stated previously, if ATOS returns cases to the DWP, they can then claim a further payment for a further review.
Scotland is getting rid of private contractors from the social security system. It's about time England followed suite!
I can hardly believe it: my blog has passed half-a-million (500,000) views in a little under five years, averaging out at about one-hundred-thousand (100,000) viewings per year!
[Image description: stats list showing views at 12.53 BST were 500,025]
A couple of Chester University chums (thanks Annette, Louise & Jon) persuaded me that I had plenty to say and that folk would want to read it. I half-heartedly said I should give it a go, without actually believing blogging was for me. As it happens, my blog has given me a place where I can vent my spleen about how disabled and chronically-sick folk are treated in the United Kingdom (UK) as well as share my dining experiences at eateries across Europe - so far these have included Austria, England, Germany, Greece, Scotland, Spain & Switzerland. I have discovered new countries with ties to Europe and that European disabled peoples are faring badly across the Continent, alas in some cases worse than here in UK.
I do not know how long I shall be able to continue the blog. My aphasia has deteriorated which means my reasoning, thinking and my ability to express myself are all pejorated. My physical stamina is also much reduced due to the myalgic encephalomyelitis. Much of this may be due to the on-going stresses I am under in relation to my thus far unresolved Personal Independence Payment (PIP; UK disability benefit) and my continuing lack of care from my local council Trafford due to the national social care crisis.
This I hope explains why there have been so few posts this year. However, I do have a blog-post ready-ish for tomorrow's International M.E. Awareness Day. It's on a taboo subject, so may or might be considered #nsfw.
To my seven loyal followers and to all readers (occasional or regular): THANK YOU. <3
Since prior to my housemate finding new employment, I have been trying to obtain a formal statement of need from my local social services. I had one but being socially minded, I chose to let my housemate look after me whilst he was unemployed, thus saving the Council money in paying for formal carers. A social worker got involved this time, instead of the usual council assessors. The assistance was requested in October, and only just before this bank holiday weekend did the social worker contact me with her assessment, which completely ignores my known needs as backed by my own G.P. (family doctor). This will now of course require me to appeal, further delaying the assistance I need to eat, take medications and deal with my personal care. My housemate now is so fed up of it all, that he has decided to throw his hat in the ring and advise Trafford Council that they either come up with an appropriate care package, or he will refuse any caring for me. This of course will then mean the council and social services will have to provide a much more expensive package as well as the cost of more frequent visits from the social worker and other bureaucrats. There is a social care crisis in England & Wales: tens of thousands of elderly, disabled and sick folk cannot obtain a care plan and thus the care they need just to stay alive.
I was assaulted and injured in December by an acquaintance who knew full well I am disabled and could not fight back. Because he is dating one of my good friends I feel constrained about reporting it to the police, as he would end up with a criminal record and the likelihood is that he would lose his livelihood. This then would likely put inordinate pressures on my friend’s affinity. The evidence is mixed, but the general consensus is that disability hate crimes have been on the increase since 2010. A report by the EHRC was misreported as stating that there had been no increase; but the agency swiftly issued a clarification. Unfortunately, by then the media was reporting the non-increase in hate crime...
In January I finally received my electronic Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claim-form from the UK’s notorious Department for Work & Pensions (DWP). It was necessary to get my Member of Parliament (MP) involved as the DWP were very reluctant to assist me with a non-paper form and provide me with one that could be completed via computer. This is a legal requirement of UK anti-disability discrimination legislation. However the DWP regularly fails to issue forms appropriate to inter alia blind & partially-sighted folk, for example, so is constantly breaching the Law. They also do not publicise the email address from which one can request accessible format forms. I only found it out due to having connections from my disability rights activism. (Ultimately I hope to lodge this issue with the Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Unfortunately, the UK government has cut this body’s funding to the bare minimum, so that it is now very difficult for them to fulfil their statutory obligations.) Due to arthritides writing for me is exceptionally difficult if at all possible. The form is actually a forty-plus A4 page booklet. I have cognitive difficulties at the best of times; but during the winter months my (progressive) aphasia is at its worst. Thankfully, I dealt with a very understanding civil servant who permitted an extension, so I had sufficient time to fully answer all the questions. It is now more than two months since the DWP received my claim and I have still had no decision.
Very large numbers of disabled individuals have been losing their disability payments as they are moved from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) the UK’s previous, far from generous, top-up payment for the extra costs incurred by those with impairments and disabilities. Losing this extra cash is not the only ramification of being found ineligible for PIP. It is an access payment to other social security benefits, such as housing benefit and the Motability scheme, whereby one is entitled to an adapted vehicle, electric wheelchair &/or mobility-scooter. Tens of thousands of disabled folk have had their adapted transport confiscated and are now trapped in their homes, many also have lost their jobs as they are unable to access public transport. The Citizens’ Advice Bureaux (CAB) network has calculated that some half a million disabled will lose out under the UK government’s cuts to benefit payments.
[*TRIGGER WARNING* Please do not continue reading if discussion of death/suicide may upset the reader!]
One of the most under-recorded and under-shared issues occurring in the UK is the sheer huge numbers of disabled people who are being “nudged” to commit suicide or are dying due to lack of food, appropriate medicines, accommodation that means they can lead independent lives, etc. The UK has gone from being one of the better countries supporting disability rights globally, to a pariah state quietly killing off its disabled & chronically sick populace. The mass media all but refuses to report on these issues, due to being in the main controlled by supporters of the ruling party. Only a few weeks ago one of these right-wingers suggested that it was appropriate that disabled folk and poor folk committed suicide in order to reduce the burden on the country’s economy - sounds similar to the polemic of 1930’s Europe and the USA, when it was euphemistically called eugenics and which led ultimately to the deaths of millions, a genocide. Currently the numbers dying due to the failures of the UK state are in the tens of thousands. This is termed ‘democide’. But when does democide become genocide?
The United Nations (UN) has already published three reports heavily critical of the UK’s approach towards the vulnerable in British society. A fourth report is due after the snap election, so too late to have any real effect on the electorate - assuming, of course, the media actually reports on the findings.
Europe has been asked by several disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) to investigate the deaths of we disablies. Up to now they have refused to do so. The UN can only write report after report. Meanwhile more disabled folk die needlessly each and every day. The relevant European Commissioner appears to have made no public statement about what is occurring in Britain. The European Union (EU) also appears completely unprepared for the tsunami of disabled/chronically sick people who will flood into Europe once BREXIT is complete, if not beforehand.
My academic background means I should have preferred to publish this blog completely annotated with supporting links to documentation, reports, statistical analyses, etc. Alas, I am not well enough to do so. However, my long-term readers know I do not exaggerate. Please do your own searches to check the facts.
The United Kingdom IS KILLING disabled &/or chronically sick individuals: family members, friends, neighbours, community members…… NO-ONE is lifting a finger to support us. I can only hope that this blog will survive to record what is happening here and that historians will once again record that the world stood by why innocents were killed by an uncaring state.
Please stand witness with me & my ilk!
*
This blog-post is published as part of Blogging Against Disablism Day 2017 (#BADD2017). For this year's articles and previous years' archives, please see here.
It's been a hard few months for me. Nearly six months down the road, and I still have NO care plan due to the national social care crisis. However, even if my toilette is not regularly seen to, I am now eating more regularly and taking the vast majority of my meds and at the appropriate times. Still awaiting after nearly two months to hear from DWP about PIP decision, after taking me six weeks to complete the claim-form (forty-plus page booklet!). My state of health remains poor and my cognitive abilities weak. There has thus been a dearth of blog-posts. My apologies therefor.
[Image description: white background, black triangle to the left; to the right the slogan -
Fiona has very kindly given me permission to reblog the post in full. Please read and share either the original or my reblog, but please share it as widely as possible on any social media platform the reader happens to use. Fiona's writing is concise and lucid and makes the arguments way better than I could.
If a state "nudges" folk to suicide, then that state is guilty of murder. This IS what has been happening in the UK since 2010 due to deliberate policies of our elected government, policies that have been criticised by the United Nations.
We disablies and our carers & supporters need to let the British populace know that if they vote for the Conservatives they will be complicit in, depending on numbers, democide or genocide.
[Image description: blue background, EU ring of stars to the right; to the left the slogan -
Voting Tory in #GE17 is a vote to kill people like me, and you need to know why
Disability activist and writer Fiona Robertson says the UK's most vulnerable are screaming for help
IT IS to their credit, and to our collective doom, that the Conservative Party are masters of controlling narrative. Although, much of the groundwork was done during Tony Blair’s days of
rhetorical tricks and language manipulation to sow doubt about the
veracity of a person’s disability, to seed suspicion and harden
attitudes. It is these linguistic and narrative tricks which have been
used to make people think of the tens of thousands of deaths under
austerity as a sad but necessary evil, or to make people ignore them
completely.
They speak as if what they say is reality, and we usually just go along with it until it is.
Theresa May’s General Election announcement
included a lot of these narrative devices, accusing anyone who doesn’t
agree with her of treating politics as a game, and framing the vote as
entirely a vote regarding Brexit and the mandate she needs in order to
negotiate from a place of strength. We cannot, under any circumstances, allow the Tories to reframe the concept of a General Election.
This is not just a vote on Brexit, it is a vote on their entire
manifesto and a judgement on their policies on everything from crime to
social care to housing to international relations. Voting for the Tories
may well be a vote for Brexit, but it is also unquestionably a vote for
certain death for some, and permanent damage to the health of tens of thousands of disabled people. Never, ever forget that. When I and my fellow disability activists woke up on the morning
after the last General Election, we spent an unrelenting few days tag
teaming as we tried to keep people in our community alive. We were not
always successful. Over and over, hour after hour, we saw iterations of
the same message: "I do not think I will survive this government."
The day of the election, we had all taken a few moments to remember
the people who were not there to vote because of the actions of the
coalition government. We took a moment to think of the people who would
not make it to the next election if we lost. Amid the elation so many in Scotland felt at the sweep of SNP seats,
we disabled people also felt utterly betrayed and hopeless, because the
population of the UK had voted to enforce extreme, frequently lethal,
damage to our health.
If you do it again, if you do this to us again, we will never forgive
you. You can't pretend you don't know, you can't pretend that other
things are more important, that it’s not the killing of disabled people
you’re voting for really; it’s the other stuff. The point of civic nationalism is that we have to take responsibility
for the choices we make as part of a society. We cannot tick a box and
say 'I didn’t know', or 'I care about this bit but not the other bits'.
We have to weigh our decisions, weigh our actions and inactions, and
live with the results. We have to accept responsibility, and we have to
ensure that others accept their responsibility. We have to not look
away. There were 30,000 extra deaths
in England and Wales in 2015 as a result of cuts to health and social
care, according to research by Oxford University. There were hundreds of suicides
by the very lowest estimates, though we who spend our days working with
people who are struggling to survive this government know there are
more which aren’t counted; that there are many, many deaths because the
stress and fear and pain and malnutrition and isolation exacerbated a
person’s condition to the point of lethality. More than 50,000 people have lost their motability vehicles
and become chronically isolated. Every one of those is someone who was
considered disabled enough to require high mobility care until the
Tories changed the narrative of who deserved assistance, against all the
evidence from expert organisations who responded to the consultation.
There has been "almost universal" deterioration in and frequently permanent damage to the mental health of people going through the Work Capability Assessment.
We have to be completely clear to the people we speak to. We can no
longer afford to mince words or be neutral because, again, the narrative
is that neutrality is rationality. In situations like this, anger and
bluntness are the only rational responses.
BREXIT is not as yet a fait accompli: it can still be stopped. The rights of disabled family members, friends, neighbours and disabled folk in the wider community can only be safe-guarded for the long-term within the EU and under the Council of Europe. At the moment the UK government blithely ignores international laws and treaties. Outside Europe it will be at liberty to do as it wishes with disabled and chronically sick folk. Please support us.
I have lost the credit for the above poster, however the creator stated that she was happy for it to be used and shared.
Last week, in a surge of anger I went on to twitter and vented my spleen at anyone I thought might listen at how dilatory Trafford Council have been. Then I slept through the following two days totally exhausted from a combination of the DWP's PIP claim-process and expressing my frustration. I have been physically and emotionally drained ever since, until I woke up this morning with a supply of energy.
Today, I have written to my social worker who had decided to go with two thirty minute slots, one at lunch-time and one at tea-time, but missing out bed-time. [A breakfast call is not suitable for me and is thus not included.] I responded:
Dear [name of social worker],
Thanks for the update.
However,
you are wasting your time. Please refer back to the correspondence with
yourself, with [name of social care assessor], and my suggested care plan. Your
suggestion will mean some 20 mins wasted of a morning session and no
assistance for bed-time, with the result I would continue to miss my
night-time meds.
The lack of meds over the past few months has meant some of my symptoms have deteriorated sharply.
The
fact that neither you, Re-ablement nor the social care assessment team
have ensured that you have put in place carers even for the previously
assessed needs (Sept 2016), mean Trafford Council has seriously let me
down over the past four months. I continue to miss two out of three sets
of meds most days and some days all meds. I continue to miss one of the
two meals a day I need each and every working day and any day that [name], my housemate, is away at the weekend. During most weeks I am
lucky to get one shower/bath now. The situation is outrageous.
Please immediately devise a plan to ensure I am supported appropriately to my needs.
Please immediately sort out some care.
Please
immediately forward details of the complaints procedure - although the
situation is so egregious, I am considering whether I ought to pursue
legal action.
Yours,
Colin
I sent some fifty tweets to media outlets, politicos, disability organisations, etc. I received back just two responses: one from the council asking me to ring them - which I cannot as I do not use telephones due to disability - and the other a link from the CAB abut moving into a new area - yes!?!
So here I am still not being fed (except by housemate of an evening), still missing out on most of my medications and still not receiving the personal care the local authority has already stated and assessed - per their own document - that I need.
Throwing my hands up in the air in total exasperation! Any suggestions?
I am not supposed to get myself stressed: but my heart is pounding, my blood-pressure is up, my temples are throbbing and I think I may need to have a nap.
Disability Rights UK are running aseries of meetings around the countries to obtain feed-back from people with disabilities and their carers about the issues that concern us in order to feed into the United Nations's review of the application here of UNCRPD (which we ratified in June 2009).
Naturally many if not most of us cannot attend these sessions, so DRUK (logo below) have set up a two page survey: the first page is contact details; the second the issues each of us considers to be important. The answers here can be as short or as long as you require.
I have detailed my responses below, as this might prompt your own responses.
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What
are the priority issues that you believe should be included in our
report to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?
i) financial support issues, especially removal of benefits from those with disabilities; ii) accessibility issues (transport, buildings, websites, new products); iii) onerous re-assessments (WCA/ESA/PIP) for those who are not going to ameliorate (based on dogma, not efficiency savings); iv) excessive bureaucracy - need one system that can be used by NHS, social services & DWP; v) countering anti-disability rhetoric & polemic - law to prevent MSM & politicos from inciting hatred; law to ensure balance of views on MSM, so that free speech is protected but not to the detriment of disabled & other minority groupings; jurisprudence system must take issues seriously & rigourously use appropriate laws for prosecustions & sentencing; vi) independent ODI at arms-length from Govt., but given appropriate powers and funding to investigate disability issues both for the individuals concerned & whole of society; vii) separation of disability issues from EHRC and re-establishment of a truly independent DRC (if indy ODI not poss), as the former has failed (as predicted) to rigorously pursue disability issues, but given appropriate powers and funding to investigate disability issues both for the individuals concerned & whole of society.
Only since approximately 2010 have I felt fearful of my own government & fellow countrymen. I used to regularly go out & about in my mobility-scooter, but after the co-alition govt. took power the politicos & MSM launched frequent attacks against disabled folk, with much press being given to "scroungers" and defrauders. I stopped going out in my scooter and sold it last year, as I received abuse every time I went out, from students at the local college and from traffic passing me on the main road. I am now on anti-anxiety medication. Strangers now (contrary to previous British reservedness) approach one and believe it their right to question one about one's condition, disabilities and right to receive social security payments.
Evidence: i) Plenty of examples of hardship and even death due to DWP's sanctions régime have appeared in press, websites and via activist groups. ii) The DDA was introduced in 1995, but still inaccessible buildings, road-crossings, & other structures are built. Local Authorities ought to be obliged to factor in access issues at the planning-approval stage, rather than the onus being on disabled folk to sue once a structure has been constructed. iii) I have severe ME as defined by NICE and my NHS consultant. There is NO scientific evidence that folk in said category ameliorate. Yet DWP still re-assesses periodically. This is detrimental to my & many others' health, as stress pejorates our illness. The assessment régime is thus making us worse. This also wastes public money. There is already a clause that every benefit-recipient has to sign confirming that we will notify DWP of any amelioration/pejoration. A sytem based on trust would be much more cost-effective. Therefore one has to conclude that the system is deliberately antagonistic for dogmatic reasons. iv) Forms have to be completed for every single agency, much of the information requested is the same. So the booklets (c. 40 pages so not mere forms) for ESA and PIP have much overlap; as do the ones for social services; then the care agencies want the same info again. I imagine that much of this info would also be useful for the NHS - reducing bed-blocking, ensuring continuity of care, etc. v) There was some research done into bias in MSM - sure you know of it. However some mainstream TV channels still produce voyeuristic programming into the lives of folk dependent on social security. There has been some evidence that the CPS and the courts are failing to use current laws, although the former recently announced an increase in the past year of prosecutions. Judges appear unwilling to use the law that permits extra sentencing where a disability hate aspect occurred. vi) The ODI is a vassal of the DWP. I have covered on my own blog the annual failure of this department to support UN Enable's "International Day of Persons with Disabilities" and the pertinent issues raised each year (http://crippledqueeranglo-europeanranter.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/international-day-of-persons-with.html ; http://crippledqueeranglo-europeanranter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/international-day-of-persons-with.html ; http://crippledqueeranglo-europeanranter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/international-day-of-persons-with.html). vii) The EHRC published a list of questions it wanted answered by the Govt. in 2014, nearly five-and-a-half years after UNCRPD was ratified by UK - in the meantime disabled folk were starving, commiting suicide and dying due to UK govt. policies (http://crippledqueeranglo-europeanranter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/monitoring-uncrpd-in-uk.html). I feel certain a dedicated DRC would have acted much faster seeing the toll of suffering my fellow disablies were experiencing.
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Please do respond if you are able, as the more of us that do so, the better DRUK's response to the UN. Cheers!
Today is the United Nation's International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD2015). United Nation's Perspective According to the UN's webpage: Theme for 2015: Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities
The estimated one billion people living with disabilities worldwide face many barriers to inclusion in many key aspects of society. As a result, people with disabilities do not enjoy access to society on an equal basis with others, which includes areas of transportation, employment, and education as well as social and political participation.
The right to participate in public life is essential to create stable democracies, active citizenship and reduce inequalities in society.
By promoting empowerment, real opportunities for people are created. This enhances their own capacities and supports them in setting their own priorities. Empowerment involves investing in people - in jobs, health, nutrition, education, and social protection. When people are empowered they are better prepared to take advantage of opportunities, they become agents of change and can more readily embrace their civic responsibilities.
The sub-themes for the 2015 observance of the International Day are:
Making cities inclusive and accessible for all
Improving disability data and statistics
Including persons with invisible disabilities in society and development
More information about the International Day and the UN Enable programme is available at UN Enable.
Retrogression of Rights
Wonderful aspirations to be sure. After the United Kingdom signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and in the preceding few years, matters were ameliorating little by little. Unfortunately since the ConDem co-alition from 2010-2015 and the Conservative government elected this year until 2020, our gains have been disappearing at an alarming rate. Search my blog or the internet for fuller details. However, I list a few examples below:
* The restriction in the number of benefit awards via tightening of eligibility criteria as people are re-assessed for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which is replacing Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for adults, and Employment & Support Allowance (ESA), which replaces Incapacity Benefit (IB).
*The introduction of a "Bedroom Tax", the Under-Occupancy Penalty, which massively & disproportionately effects families with a disabled member - two-thirds of those effected!
*The reduction in local councils' budgets has had a concomitant knock-on effect in the amount spent on social care, with many more folk unable to access help with toileting, bathing, cooking, etc. The English Law has even ruled that care can be removed from individuals as long as they are placed into adult nappies, whether or not the individual concerned is in/continent!
*The reduction in access to Motability vehicles, due to the reduction in the amount of disability benefits paid out, the benefits that were handed over to the charity in exchange for the lease of a car or motorised wheelchair. This effects tens of thousand of disabled people, some of whom have thus had to give up working!
*The reduction in access to justice in the jurisprudence system via Legal Aid, due to drastic cuts to its budget and eligibility criteria.
*The closure of the vast majority of Remploy factories, places where disabled workers could work in a supported environment. At last count most of the employees had not found alternative employment despite government's promises of every assistance being made available.
*The removal of part of ESA benefit to those classified as NOT being fit for work, but able to work in the future, so that they are paid the same as job-seekers - this group includes groups with cancer, degenerative diseases, fluctuating conditions and even folk with issues such as cystic fibrosis - which will NEVER go away nor ameliorate, save for a miracle or wonder-drug!
*The reduction of Access to Work grants, despite government insisting that they want and that disabled folk ought to work.
*The abolition of the Independent Living Fund (ILF) which supported the most severely disabled to live &/or work as independently as possible.
*The removal of the obligation to conduct impact assessments, which determine whether a proposed or planned action will be advantageous/neutral/detrimental to various groupings, one of which is people with disabilities.
* The removal of assistance to support prospective, disabled MPs, in order to increase the woefully tiny number of MPs with disabilities.
Cumulative Impact Assessment
There have been so many changes that disabled people and their carers & supporters gained over one-hundred-thousand signatures for the WoWPetition to request a cumulative impact assessment (cia) of all the cuts and changes. The government refuses to do so, despite other organisations having done the best they could without access to governmental data. One of those is the Centre for Welfare Reform. In the following four-minute video, "Counting the Cuts", Dr. Simon Duffy gives a brief overview.
Localism
In a single example of how the changes in the UK have effected me this year, my local town ran a survey to determine residents, workers & visitors' attitudes and desires for the run-downtown-centre, nationally embarrassed in the media for same. I replied as a disabled person, expressing concerns for others like myself and also for the elderly with whom there is a commonality of needs, such as seating and toilets. I also contacted my local council and requested under FOI for details of what account, if any, had been taken of the disabled/elderly needs & requirements. Despite two requests they refused to respond. Alterations have gone ahead, including the removal of parking, and replacing conventional paving with cobbles. I now can no longer visit parts of the town centre due to my inability to walk very far. I, and presumably those in a similar position to myself, have lost amenities. Only yesterday I read that Southampton is planning on removing ALL its disabled-parking spaces. Ay - overt disability discrimination!
Legal Perspective
The UK Parliament's Human Rights Joint Committee, in their report "Implementation of the Right of Disabled People to Independent Living", stated:
The impact of current reforms
While we recognise the exceptional economic circumstances facing the UK, we conclude that there is a risk of retrogression of the UK's obligations under Article 19 as a result of the cumulative impact of spending cuts and reforms. There has been particular concern about the effects of reductions in funding for local authorities, changes to Disability Living Allowance under the Welfare Reform Bill, caps on housing benefit and the closure of the Independent Living Fund, and the way in which these might interact to restrict enjoyment of the right to independent living.
Many local authorities are restricting eligibility criteria for social care support. We argue that this risks breach of Article 19. We recommend that the Government's forthcoming Disability Strategy includes measures to monitor the impact of restrictions on eligibility for adult social care on disabled people's access to independent living.
Since the aforementioned report, matters have pejorated for those of us with disabilities.
Governmental Attitude to IDPD2015
The government seems not to care, but obdurately continues steadfastly with its dogma of permanent austerity. It is therefore unsurprising to view the government's disdain for even acknowledging IDPD2015. Today is the United Nation's International Day of Persons with Disabilities Day. I shall iterate, as they cannot be bothered. The UK government, as per previous years (see relevant blog-posts), appears to be ignoring it as per usual. Below is today's page from the Office for Disability Issues (ODI):
Apparently broad issuesfor folk with disabilities on access & empowerment across all levels and areas of society are of no concern to the agency supposedly looking out for disabled people interests.
Is it any wonder that the UN is investigating the UK for serious breaches of UNCRPD?
On Saturday 21st June the No More Austerity demonstration marched and rallied through London. It was organised by the People's Assembly. The links are to inactualfact.org.uk, click on 'source' for more information.
Here is a glossary of abbreviations in case the reader is unfamiliar with any of them.
ConDems is an ironic abbreviation (punning on 'condemn') for the Conservative (senior partner) and Liberal Democrat (junior partner) UK co-alition government.
Daily Heil refers to the UK newspaper Daily Mail, which in the 1930's supported fascism.
DLA stands for Disability Living Allowance, a social security payment made to seriously disabled &/or chronically sick folk. It is paid whether or not one is in employment. It is supposed to recompense for the extra costs disabled/sick people incur in daily living.
DWP is the standard abbreviation for Department of Work & Pensions, the agency charged with administering social security (welfare) payments.
ESA stands for Employment & Support Allowance, the replacement for Incapacity Benefit.
HMRC is the UK's tax authority, Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs.
IB = Incapacity Benefit
IDS = Ian Duncan Smith, widely reported as a serial teller of untruths/misstatements.
JRF is the acronym for the respected think-tank Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
JSA is Jobseekers Allowance, the name for the UK's unemployment benefit.
PIP, Personal Independence Payment, is the new benefit meant to replace DLA; but it has encountered numerous problems and is seriously behind schedule.
VAT is a European-wide sales tax, Value Added Tax.
WCA stands for the Work Capability Assessment, a notorious check developed by DWP in conjunction with the US insurance company UNUM. It has an exceptionally high failure rate.
