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3 March, 2010
The documentary Sticks and Stones will be aired as part of Channel 4’s First Cut strand, which showcases original documentaries by up-and-coming directors.
Hannah Murphy’s film features a string of interviews with disabled people from across Britain who have experienced disability hate crime.
One young disabled woman tells how she is too scared to go into her own garden or leave her house because of a campaign of harassment.
Paul and Janet Williams, from Leeds, describe how they have to avoid walking past the local takeaway shops and pubs because of the abuse they have received.
Ian Margerison, from Bradford, says he is too scared to leave his house because of thugs who bang on the door, throw eggs against his windows, spit at him and shout abuse.
And Keith Shortman, from London, tells how he was kicked and punched by a gang of boys and girls.
The documentary also includes an interview with the sister and son of Patricia Grainger, a disabled woman from Sheffield who was sexually assaulted, beaten, strangled and repeatedly stabbed 12 years ago in a possible disability hate crime. Her murderer has never been found.
Murphy said she had been determined to hear from disabled people themselves about their experiences of disability hate crime.
This followed the media interest in the death of Fiona Pilkington, who killed herself and her disabled daughter Francecca after they were the victims of a sustained hate campaign by a local gang.
Murphy said she was “shocked” by what she heard from disabled people. “Many of the victims told me the insults, harassment, rejection, funny looks, kicks, punches, exploitation was something they had lived with all their lives.”
She found that the investigation, monitoring and prosecution of disability hate crime varied from area to area, as did the support offered to disabled people to report hate crimes.
She said several subjects had “repeatedly asked for help and nothing was done”, seemingly because of a lack of communication and co-operation between agencies.
But Murphy said it was the small disabled people’s organisations that were “the most effective and pro-active” at providing support and “making a real difference”, despite their funding struggles.
The film, narrated through verse written by the poet and artist Subhadassi, will be shown on Channel 4 at 7.30pm on Friday (5 March).
News provided by John Pring
3 March, 2010
With thousands of products being exhibited by over 360 companies, the event gives visitors, including trade representatives, healthcare professionals, parents, carers and teachers, the chance to test, touch and compare the most innovative new products to aid independent living
Unlike some events, Naidex is free to enter to members of the public, trade and healthcare professionals and is looking forward to welcoming more visitors than ever before.
In addition to 1000s of products, visitors to Naidex 2010 will benefit from several new features, the Car Zone, Communication Village, and Sensory Garden . Additionally visitors will have the chance to ‘Meet the OT’. Visitors to the stand E56 will be able to speak to an Occupational Therapist and benefit from their comprehensive knowledge and expertise. The OTs can answer questions regarding daily living, mobility, work and leisure related activities, as well as discussing the potential options available.
As in previous years, there will be a free comprehensive Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and seminar programme, along with the New Product of the Year Award and New Product showcase where you can vote for your favourite.
New for 2010 is the Naidex Charity of the Year with ‘When you Wish upon a Star’ as the chosen charity. The charity grants the wishes of children suffering from life threatening illnesses and will be on stand E4.
So put 20th -22nd April 2010 in your diary now to ensure you don’t miss Naidex!
For further details email: naidex@emap.com or visit www.naidex.co.uk where you can register for free quoting priority code E309 and get the latest news about the show.
3 March, 2010
It’s common for many people to go to University as soon as they finish college but my life has been a bit of a roller coaster.
When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a dancer and manage my own dance school. But then at fourteen my FSH Muscular Dystrophy restricted my mobility so strenuously that it resulted in me being permanently wheelchair-bound. Now I’m not going to go into the whole palaver of my disability because that’s another story and one I wish to dismiss for the sake of unwanted pities.
Anyway, at fourteen my life changed dramatically, I had a tough time adapting but gradually I accepted it. For the first time ever I detected a disabled toilet sign, which made me a little irritated with myself. Why didn’t I notice before? How many other things didn’t I notice? It’s inevitable that we simply take life for granted and when it’s radically altered, only then do we fathom exactly how precious it is.
And so life goes on. I completed my A levels at college and it was after this period that my life came to a bit of a standstill.
I actually hated college and was determined that it was the last of any academic subjects for me. No one really expected anything of me so I was ambivalent and often questioned, ’what am I doing? Where am I going?’ Ironically my life has a funny habit of working itself out.
In the following few years I came across a Writer’s Bureau comprehensive writing course and I knew that I loved to write. The pen was always my voice. So I enrolled and considered it to be most incredible thing I’ve accomplished. As a Writer, it enabled my confidence to soar and definitely led to bigger and better things.
I knew I had the fervour and capacity to write well but I never dreamed I would ever see my work in print. Soon as my writing started to become published, I knew I’d found my niche. You see I didn’t feel totally lost or useless now; I was achieving what some only dream of. As the course ended, I found myself lost again, ‘where next?’
So as life turns out, one day, a friend influenced me to take my ‘talent’ further by doing a Creative Writing degree at university. However the prospect of university was never endearing, it was never something I desired. I must admit that I perceived it as just a piece of paper that illustrated how intelligent you are. A paper that I didn’t want but now it’s the exact paper I’m ardently working towards.
In the year 2007 at the age of twenty-three I did it. I applied to Derby University for a BA Joint Honours degree course in Creative Writing and Media Writing. I was informed that the support for disabled students was really good so that department of my worries was eased.
Half of me was hoping I’d get accepted and the other half was hoping for rejection. Why? Well if I got rejected then I wouldn’t have to conquer this new mission alone. Being able bodied you’re always nervy of new experiences and new surroundings but imagine being in a wheelchair and the thought of studying in another town, where you know absolutely no one. Imagine the apprehension.
I got accepted and clearly recall my first day. On arrival, the instant anxiety escalated, my hands were clammy, my stomach was contorted and the nausea was persistent. Thankfully I overcame it. I don’t know how but somehow I found the strength and courage to get through it.
Admittedly some of the students don’t exactly make you feel ‘normal’ but perhaps they’re afraid of the unknown so to them the best thing to do is be ignorant. The way I observed it was, I had my fabulous friends in Leicester and I wasn’t here to make friends. I was purely here to get my degree and continue on with embracing the next direction in life.
I have to say that going to university is the best thing I ever did. Not only have I been able to fuel my potential but I’ve also been lucky in having several doors opened to me. The skills and knowledge I’ve gained over the last few years at university are owed to the solicitous guidance of some amazing tutors. They have empowered me to do what I love, to continue writing and getting published.
I am now in my final year at university and time sure does fly by. There are only less than four months left before I finish and I’m having a bit of a chaotic and emotional time thinking about it. Some days I’m content with the direction that my life is taking and other days I’m disconcerted and think ‘oh my god, it’s my final year at uni!’ I have regularly been keeping a diary of this final year, and maybe… just maybe after I’ve graduated and I’ve embarked on my next unknown adventure, I’ll look back and wonder why I worried about my life so much. Until then I live in hope.
3 March, 2010
The free online access guide, funded by Hounslow council, went live on Tuesday 2nd February, and covers more than 1000 different venues giving objective information about access to both residents and visitors.
Hounslow council and DisabledGo have worked with many shops, pubs, restaurants, theatres and other public venues, so that DisabledGo – Hounslow, can provide access details for a large number of goods and service providers.
By logging on to www.disabledgo.com people will be able to check whether a pub is accessible to a wheelchair user, whether a cinema can offer a hearing loop, whether a hotel offers adapted rooms, and whether a restaurant offers menus in large print or Braille. This information can make a huge difference for people with hearing, vision or mobility related access concerns. The guide may also be useful for older people and those with pushchairs.
The council’s Executive Member for Adult Social Services and Health, Cllr Pam Fisher, said:
“We are delighted to be sponsoring this new web directory.
"Disabled-Go will allow Hounslow’s residents and visitors with a disability, to look up the facilities available for them when visiting local businesses and amenities. This should lead to a greater sense of inclusion for disabled people, and at the same time attract more custom to those establishments with improved accessibility.”
“The project will also help to raise awareness among local businesses that a large number of people are affected by access issues, and that becoming more accessible will provide a better service to more customers.”
Commenting in advance of the access guide going live the founder of DisabledGo, wheelchair user Dr. Gregory Burke said:
“Disabled people are no small minority. One in six of the British population is disabled and disabled people have an annual spend of £80 billion. Those are numbers that any business or service provider should take seriously.
“I’m immensely grateful to Hounslow Council for the support they have given us, and I hope that this guide will open up all that Hounslow has to offer to everyone.”
The DisabledGo – Hounslow guide is now available to use completely free of charge on www.DisabledGo.com
For further information on the guide please contact Vicky Taylor, Partnership Manager, DisabledGo, vicky.taylor@disabledgo.com or 01438 842 710.
3 March, 2010
IFI London, a unique partnership between the LDA, London Sports Forum for Disabled People and the national Inclusive Fitness Initiative will support a further 150 fitness facilities across the capital to achieve the IFI Mark accreditation, ensuring that they are accessible to and inclusive of disabled people.
The IFI Mark is the nationally recognised standard of inclusion within the fitness industry, awarded to fitness facilities that are inclusive of disabled and non-disabled people. The accreditation process involves the creation of accessible facilities to meet current best practice and legislation, and the provision of inclusive fitness equipment within the facilities. This is accompanied by the training of staff throughout the facility, providing disabled people with a safe, effective and value for money experience and the implementation of inclusive marketing strategies to ensure that disabled people are aware of the opportunities available. To date there are 25 IFI Mark accredited facilities in London catering for all impairments and providing a quality experience for disabled people.
David Croisdale-Appleby, Chair of the Inclusive Fitness Initiative commented "This is a new and very exciting partnership, it is the first regional project of its kind and the IFI are looking forward to working closely with London Sports Forum for Disabled People and the London Development Agency. This is a significant development for the IFI and provides another major step towards achieving one thousand inclusive fitness facilities throughout the UK by 2012.”
The LDA’s four year funding commitment will enable IFI London to build on the current foundations and expand provision across the capital. By increasing the number of IFI Mark accredited fitness facilities in London, this project will create more opportunities for disabled people to participate in physical activity and in addition, capture the true inclusive nature of London in the run up to and post the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Alex Gibbons, Project Manager of IFI London said “IFI London is a fantastic project to provide more opportunities for disabled people across the capital. We will work with London based facilities, and partners on both a regional and national level to increase the number of IFI Mark accredited fitness facilities in London. IFI London will promote and embed a fully inclusive environment for disabled people in London.”
If you are a fitness facility based in London and want to find out how you can get involved in IFI London and get IFI Mark accredited please contact:
Project Manager - Alex Gibbons alexgibbons@londonsportsforum.org.uk
Project Officer - Gideon Feldman gideon@londonsportsforum.org.uk
1 March, 2010
The call came as Rethink laid out the policies it would like to see in parties’ manifestos at the general election.
Its own manifesto includes policies covering stigma, employment, the criminal justice system, carers and treatment.
Among the policies, it wants the next government to combat mental health stigma by funding an awareness-raising campaign.
And it says the government should help public sector employers to “lead by example” in their employment of people affected by mental health conditions.
The manifesto’s strong focus on the criminal justice system comes three months after a government action plan promised to reduce the number of people with mental health conditions in prison.
Paul Jenkins, Rethink’s chief executive, has warned that “aspirations to change the system aren’t enough” and has called for action to ensure the “positive words” in the action plan “actually happen”.
In its manifesto, Rethink says those affected by mental illness should be given community-based treatment instead of prison.
And it wants all criminal justice professionals to receive mental health awareness training, as recommended in Lord Bradley’s review of how people with mental health conditions and learning difficulties are treated in the criminal justice system.
The government has committed to delivering awareness training for all frontline staff, but Rethink wants this to be a “higher priority”.
Rethink also wants ring-fenced funding so people with mental health conditions can access psychological therapies, a treatment recommended by the government advice body NICE.
Rethink is writing to party leaders to ask for their views on the manifesto, and inviting them to take part in a web chat with members.
In the run-up to the election, it will also collect signatures for a petition that focuses on several of the pledges.
And it will encourage voters to contact their prospective parliamentary candidates to ask them to pledge to champion mental health issues if elected.
Jenkins said: “We need the next government to build on the strong foundations laid over the past few years and to recognise the importance of prioritising mental health.
“We want to see more investment in services, improved access to employment, and changes to the criminal justice system so that people who are mentally ill can be treated in the community rather than in prisons.”
News provided by John Pring
28 February, 2010
The MS Society became the latest disability organisation to publish a manifesto of policies it would like to see adopted by political parties in the run-up to the general election.
In its manifesto, the charity lays out 10 policies covering independence, support and healthcare.
It says reform of the social care system should ensure people have “equal access to high quality, responsive, personalised care and support when they need it, wherever they live”.
It also calls for improvements to wheelchair and community equipment services and assistive technology.
And it adds its voice to calls from other disability organisations for improvements to the new work capability assessment, introduced by the government to test those applying for employment and support allowance, the new out-of-work disability benefit.
It says that “many people with MS are disadvantaged by the current assessment process and left without the support they need” because of the fluctuating nature of their condition.
Among other polices outlined in the manifesto, the charity calls on the current government to fulfil its pledge to provide free prescriptions for those living with long-term conditions in England – prescriptions are already free for everyone in Wales and charges for those in Scotland and Northern Ireland will be phased out by 2011.
It also calls for government strategies to ensure access to high quality, person-centred palliative and end-of-life care for all people with MS who need it.
Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the MS Society, welcomed the “remarkable improvements in the drugs, treatments and support available to people affected by MS” over the last ten years.
But he said there were still “huge inequalities in access to drugs, treatments and support to live independently across the country”.
The charity wants its supporters to sign a petition backing its manifesto on the Number 10 website and to lobby local prospective parliamentary candidates.
News provided by John Pring
27 February, 2010
Disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) have also criticised local authorities for a lack of openness and transparency.
And one DPO has said some councils could even be using the move towards personalisation of services as a cover for cutting spending on care and support.
The new fears came as the Audit Commission, the public spending watchdog, warned in a report into the financial challenges for councils of an ageing population, that local authorities would have to find billions of pounds of extra savings over the next three years.
Sue Bott, director of the National Centre for Independent Living, said she believed there was a “process of nibbling here and there” at disabled people’s support packages.
She said local authorities were reviewing people’s support packages but were “not being up front about it” and that it was “almost as if they feel they have to be secretive about cutbacks”.
She said she believed some councils were “ever so slightly...ratcheting up” their interpretation of the eligibility criteria for care as part of efforts to cut costs.
She said: “Care packages are completely inadequate and a lot of people are in fear about what is going to happen.
“Any time they are approached by anyone from a local authority the assumption is, ‘They are going to cut back on my care package.’”
In Norfolk, the county council has announced a £115 million funding gap that it will have to fill over the next three years.
Mark Harrison, chief executive of Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People, said it was a “huge amount of money to be saved” and he feared it would fall “disproportionately” on social services and disabled people.
In Norfolk, only those with substantial or critical needs and who cannot afford to pay for their own care receive support from the council, he said.
He is concerned that the council could soon have to reduce support only to those with critical needs.
And Harrison said he was worried that some councils could be using the process of personalisation as a cover for funding cuts.
He said: “What we know from our members is that direct payments are better than direct care services.
“Our members do talk about it being a liberating experience. What worries me is that other things are undermining personalisation.”
Tricia Nicoll, a leading independent consultant, who also works for In Control, a charity which supports councils to deliver self-directed support, said she was hearing anecdotally that adult social care budgets around the country were tightening.
She said: “Despite the financial problems they are facing, it is important for local authorities to keep their eye on the ultimate goal, which is choice and control for disabled people.”
And Claire Glasman, a volunteer with WinVisible, the national disabled women’s organisation, said: “We think it’s getting worse. All we know is that it is very, very difficult to get enough hours for what you need.”
She said she believed that some councils were using procedures such as annual reviews as cover for cutting support packages.
She said: “It is very tough to get enough hours when people have their annual review and that is being used as a way to cut down hours.”
As the Audit Commission published its new report, its chairman, Michael O’Higgins, emphasised the benefits of personalised services and said they could help councils cope with the “huge financial pressures” they faced.
He said: “Most older people live at home, not in care homes. And the longer they do, the happier they are and the less they cost the taxpayer.
“Innovative, personalised services mean older people stay independent longer, saving public money.”
News provided by John Pring
26 February, 2010
The High Court ruling came in a case taken by the Equality and Human Rights Commission against the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), which delivers prison and probation services in England and Wales.
The EHRC launched the judicial review after NOMS implemented a new policy of transferring foreign prisoners between prisons, but failed to consider its impact on disabled or ethnic minority prisoners.
Public bodies such as prisons are legally required to carry out assessments of how their policies will affect disabled people, ethnic minorities and women.
The EHRC said the failure took place despite “widespread documentation” by the prisons inspectorate of “significant discrimination and disadvantage” faced by disabled and ethnic minority foreign prisoners.
The court found NOMS failed to carry out any formal assessments, and described its reasons for failing to do so as “unconvincing”.
After the EHRC started legal proceedings, NOMS carried out retrospective equality impact assessments, which the court said satisfied the law.
EHRC commissioner Kay Carberry said the ruling sent “a clear message” to all public bodies, which should “take the lead in this area and not wait for legal action before seeking to comply with the law”.
She added: “We expect the prison authority to monitor the impact of the policy to make sure that foreign national prisoners are treated in the same way and have the same access to support and rehabilitation courses as all other prisoners.”
The disability charity RADAR welcomed the ruling and said transfers can have a “major impact” upon disabled prisoners, as many of Britain’s prisons are “elderly institutions”.
Last May, RADAR condemned the treatment of two disabled prisoners at HMP Parkhurst, who were left without proper washing facilities for months because of inaccessible bathrooms.
Liz Sayce, chief executive of RADAR, said: “I hope this judgment will go a considerable way towards preventing any further unequal or inhuman treatment of disabled prisoners.”
But a Prison Service spokesman said: “We regret the fact that the EHRC chose to challenge a policy designed to improve services provided to foreign national prisoners.”
He said the policy – designed to locate foreign prisoners in fewer prisons – remained in place, but could not say whether the government would appeal.
He said the policy was “not a blanket process and individual circumstances will be taken into account before any prisoner is allocated or otherwise moved between jails”.
News provided by John Pring
25 February, 2010
The NHS Norfolk policy sets out “nine conditions relating to clinical risk and cost” which would have to be met for it to provide healthcare at home.
One condition is that the cost of providing healthcare in a person’s home must not be more than 20 per cent more than a nursing home placement. If it is, they could be forced into an institution.
This could affect some of the 23 people in the area with the most “complex health needs” who already receive care at home, if their care has become “financially unsustainable”.
And it also seems likely that it would affect nearly every new recipient of continuing healthcare, as NHS Norfolk says the average cost of home care is nearly £8,000 a month, while the average monthly cost of a nursing home is just over £4,000.
Mark Harrison, chief executive of Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People, said the new policy was “not acceptable” and promised protests if NHS Norfolk attempted to move disabled people out of their homes and into institutions as a way of cutting costs.
He said such a move was “turning the clock back” and seemed to “fly in the face” of government guidance around personalisation.
He said: “We are going to get conflict if they try to move disabled people out of their home against their will because of the cost-cutting exercise. We are on a collision course.”
David Stonehouse, NHS Norfolk’s deputy chief executive, said the policy was based “entirely on the need for clinical safety” but that “it would be wrong for us not to address the secondary financial issues in a public consultation”.
He said: “We are pro-actively working to ensure as many patients as possible can be treated in primary care – at home or within their local community – rather than in hospitals or nursing homes and we have put in place and continue to innovate ways to keep people living independently.”
The controversy came as health secretary Andy Burnham laid out plans to carry out more dialysis in people’s homes and more chemotherapy in the community.
Burnham said the time had come “for the NHS to make a decisive shift in providing more care out of hospitals and in the patient’s community and home”.
A Department of Health (DH) spokeswoman said there was a “general wish” to have people cared for more in their own homes but “we do realise there are clinical circumstances why that might not be appropriate”.
She said NHS Norfolk would “need to defend” their plan “locally” and added: “There can be local circumstances that make it difficult to comment from a national perspective.”
Meanwhile, two disabled people have been forced to drop their court battle to force their local primary care trusts (PCTs) to allow them to use direct payments to manage their own long-term healthcare at home.
Valerie Garnham, from Islington, north London, and Steven Harrison, from Yorkshire, had argued that health secretary Andy Burnham acted unlawfully and breached their human rights by denying them the ability to manage their continuing healthcare through direct payments.
But they had to drop their appeal when the DH said that new laws under the Health Act 2009 – which will only allow direct payments for healthcare through official pilot schemes – would come into force the day before their case was due to be heard.
Disability Law Service (DLS), which was representing Garnham, said she and many other disabled people would now have to rely on their PCTs going through the “lengthy process” of applying to pilot healthcare direct payments.
A DLS spokesman said Garnham, Harrison and “a vast number of disabled people across Britain” would now be “liable to be stripped of their independence and human rights to manage their own care”.
Garnham said she was “devastated” by the thought of losing the right to use direct payments, but still hoped there might be a way to take a case against the government under the Human Rights Act.
She said: “Obviously not everybody wants direct payments, especially people on continuing care, but people should have a choice. It’s as simple as that.”
News provided by John Pring
24 February, 2010
The conference was announced by health secretary Andy Burnham, following heated public discussions over possible government plans for a new inheritance tax to help fund adult social care.
Secret discussions aimed at building consensus between the three main parties broke down, with the Conservatives and Labour accusing each other of wrecking the talks, and the Conservatives launching an advertising campaign featuring a gravestone with the inscription “R.I.P. OFF”.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said Burnham had called the conference to “try and find a way forward, to build a consensus”.
In a letter to delegates, Burnham said there was a “growing recognition” that the current system was “unsustainable and unfair”.
He said there was “broad agreement” among the three parties that a new system should feature “national entitlements to replace the lottery of local eligibility rules” and “maximum” personalisation, and should not be funded entirely through general taxation but “through a partnership between the individual and the state”.
But he said one of the “difficult decisions” they faced was “to what extent should we reform disability benefits for older people into a single care and support system”.
Disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) have fiercely criticised plans to abolish attendance allowance and disability living allowance for those over 65 and “integrate” the savings into council budgets to help pay for means-tested social care.
DPOs invited to the conference included the National Centre for Independent Living and RADAR, while Burnham also invited Baroness [Jane] Campbell, who has campaigned in the Lords for disabled people to have greater choice and control over their support.
Disability charities invited included Mencap, Leonard Cheshire Disability, Mind and Rethink.
One prominent disability organisation that was not invited was Disability Alliance, which has played a leading role in discussions with the government over reform and chairs the Coalition on Charging.
Neil Coyle, director of policy for Disability Alliance, said they were “very disappointed” not to be included as a “key stakeholder” in the debate.
He said the inheritance tax proposals could be a “step towards a free National Care Service delivered on the same terms as the NHS”.
But he added: “We believe there is a lot more that could be done with existing taxation and the existing social services budget.
“How it is funded is of lesser importance than securing outcomes for individual disabled people.”
News provided by John Pring
23 February, 2010
But the survey by more than 550 disabled supporters of the Baywatch campaign also found levels of abuse in two of the big four supermarket chains had increased since the previous survey in 2007.
And the new survey found some disabled shoppers were experiencing threats and verbal abuse when they challenged motorists who were misusing accessible spaces.
The best performer in the survey was Sainsbury’s, with nearly half of surveyors who visited their carparks last September reporting no abuse of any accessible bays.
More than half of those who visited Sainsbury’s also reported seeing signs warning that people using accessible bays without displaying a blue badge would be fined.
Although 16 per cent of Sainsbury’s total spaces surveyed were being used by a vehicle that was not displaying a blue badge, this was an improvement of two percentage points since the 2007 survey.
A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said: “Last year we introduced a nationwide scheme of monitors to help keep our disabled bays open for those who need them. It is great to hear that they are having a real impact.”
The worst performer was Tesco, with nearly one in four bays abused, a slight increase in misuse since 2007.
According to Baywatch, Tesco has started to enforce bays at some of its supermarkets, but “only a measly 10 per cent of people reported any sign of this”.
Asda – the first supermarket to introduce widespread fining for abuse in 2008 – saw misuse of its bays fall from 23 per cent in 2007 to 19 per cent.
But Morrisons, which failed to follow Asda’s lead on fining, saw abuse rise from 13 to 17 per cent of bays.
Helen Smith, director of policy and campaigns for the disabled motorists’ charity Mobilise, which runs the Baywatch campaign with the British Polio Fellowship and Disability Now magazine, said the survey showed that fining bay abusers works.
She added: “In order to see real improvements for their disabled customers, supermarkets need to do more than just put up signs – they need to practice active enforcement as well.
“It’s not acceptable for supermarkets to pass the buck on to their disabled customers by refusing to monitor their bays.
“Instead, supermarkets should ensure that disabled customers can come in and shop – without fear of intimidation.”
News provided by John Pring
23 February, 2010
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show the number of people who say they are “economically inactive” – neither in work nor available for work – has risen to 8.08 million, its highest ever level.
And the number giving “long-term sickness” as the reason for being economically inactive has risen in one year by 25,000 to 2.01 million, while those giving “temporary sickness” as a reason has risen by 8,000 to 177,000.
Mark Baker, policy chair of the Disability Benefits Consortium, said these figures could have been boosted by disabled people who fail the work capability assessment (WCA) and so do not qualify for employment and support allowance (ESA), the new out-of-work disability benefit.
He believes many then decide not to apply for jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) because they cannot cope with its tougher regime and stricter conditions.
He said: “The JSA regime just alienates people. They will just want to survive on disability living allowance.
“JSA is a much tougher regime and it simply wasn’t designed for disabled people.”
He said there were serious concerns that many disabled people were being “left in the space between work and welfare”.
He added: “We are extremely worried about it and our suspicion is that many of the people are just falling out of the system.”
Citizens Advice said it was “very concerned” at the large numbers of disabled people and those with serious illnesses being found fit for work after taking the WCA.
A Citizens Advice spokeswoman said: “By being found ineligible for ESA, some move onto JSA, which offers considerably less support. Others are moved off benefits altogether, with no support at all.
“We had understood that the aim of ESA was to move people into work, not simply off benefits.
“Both of these groups are being let down by the system and find themselves much further away from a situation where they may be able to return to sustainable work in the future.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman insisted that those who move to JSA after failing the WCA receive “immediate back to work support”.
He said disabled claimants and those with health conditions can discuss limitations on their availability.
Their condition or impairment is also taken into account “when discussing and agreeing jobsearch activities”, while Jobcentre Plus offers additional support through disability employment advisers.
But he could not say whether the government believed more disabled people were becoming “economically inactive” because of concerns about the JSA regime.
News provided by John Pring
23 February, 2010
The BBC has boasted that it will offer 160 hours of TV coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, which last until 28 February.
But it has no plans for any live TV coverage or daily highlights programmes on its four channels during the Paralympic Winter Games – taking place between March 12 and March 21 at the same venues.
The only live coverage planned is through its website and the digital TV “red button” – and only if the British wheelchair curling team makes it through to the medal rounds – despite genuine British medal contenders in both ski-ing and curling.
There will also be a one-hour highlights programme the day after the Games end, on BBC Two.
Gordon Neale, director of events for the English Federation of Disability Sport, said the BBC’s decision was “absolutely ridiculous” and called for it to change its plans.
Dan Burden, head of public affairs for the Spinal Injuries Association, also criticised the BBC and said the decision was a missed opportunity to encourage disabled people to take up winter sports.
He said: “It’s a great opportunity to showcase that wheelchair sports or disabled sports are not just limited to the marathon and that they are as diverse as non-disabled sports.”
John Stone, coach for the Welsh Wheelchair Curling Association, whose organisation had hoped to win new members through TV coverage, said he was disappointed by the BBC’s decision.
He said: “We were certainly hoping to pick up prospective wheelchair curlers from the publicity we were hoping to get from TV.”
Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, who won 12 Paralympic athletics gold medals, and has worked for the BBC as a commentator, was also “disappointed”.
She said she understood the BBC’s decision because of the costs, but added: “It doesn’t make it right.”
And she suggested that members of Britain’s winter Paralympic squad should link up with their summer colleagues to find out how they managed to improve TV coverage.
She said: “For me it is about how we raise the profile of the winter athletes through the year.”
The BBC has blamed “budget restrictions and the time zone factor” for its decision, but this week refused to comment further, despite the mounting criticism.
News provided by John Pring
22 February, 2010
The Handbook for Disabled Employers and their Personal Assistants is published by Being the Boss, a company set up by Anne Pridmore, who has campaigned for nearly 20 years on independent living and personalisation.
The guide is based on her 19 years’ experience of employing people in her own home and includes a computer disc with templates for all the forms a disabled employer of PAs might need, such as time sheets, holiday rotas or wages forms.
It also includes advice on issues such as how to interview potential PAs, setting employment terms and conditions, and disciplinary and grievance procedures.
The handbook’s publication has been supported by the social entrepreneurship charity UnLtd, the learning difficulties charity Choice Support and Nottinghamshire County Council.
Pridmore said: “It includes anything any employer needs to employ someone, but with a particular slant on disabled employers who employ their own PAs.”
She said the relationship between disabled people and the PAs they employ to work in their own homes is “unique”.
A lot of disabled people are “frightened” by the thought of starting a disciplinary procedure against a PA “when in the next breath you might need to ask them to do some personal care for you”, she added.
The guide also discusses the importance of regular supervision of staff, so issues can be tackled before they escalate, with Pridmore keen to persuade more local authorities to fund such supervision, so they do not “set disabled people up to fail” when employing their own PAs.
Standard print and easy-read copies of the guide are available from www.beingtheboss.co.uk at £10 each.
News provided by John Pring
21 February, 2010
A new work and pensions committee report says the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) should also investigate complaints about the computerised assessment process used by the company, ATOS Healthcare.
The committee “received many complaints about the medical assessment process”, along with “widespread concerns” that those making benefits decisions in the DWP “appear to give excessive weight” to the medical assessments over other evidence provided by claimants.
The report, Decision-Making and Appeals in the Benefits System, calls on the government to set up a welfare commission to examine how to make a “fair but simpler” benefits system.
Citizens Advice told the committee that decisions become “increasingly complex” for disability benefits such as incapacity benefit (IB), employment and support allowance (ESA) and disability living allowance (DLA).
And Dr Mark Baker, head of social research and policy at RNID, told the committee that many people found the 58-page DLA claim form “utterly mystifying”.
The report says that the quality of decision-making on claims for DLA and attendance allowance is “a cause for concern” because of this complexity.
It also raises concerns about cuts in welfare rights advice in some parts of the country.
Campaigners also told the committee of their concerns about the work capability assessment (WCA), the test for those claiming ESA, the new out-of-work disability benefit. The report calls on DWP to say when it will publish its internal review of the assessment.
And it says DWP should ensure terminally-ill ESA claimants are no longer forced to undertake work-focused interviews.
It concludes that an “increased focus on the quality of decision-making” to match the DWP’s “successful focus on fraud” could have a “very significant effect” in reducing the cost of benefits appeals.
A DWP spokesman said it would give its full response to the report “in due course”, but added: “We’re pleased that the committee has recognised that every day the vast, vast majority of our claimants are getting the right benefits on time.
“But we know there is more to do and we are making strides to simplify the benefits system.”
And he said the government would publish its review of the WCA once it had considered its recommendations.
News provided by John Pring
20 February, 2010
Dame Tanni said she was “very proud” and “very excited” by the “enormous challenge” ahead of her, following the announcement of her peerage by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
When asked which areas she will focus on in the Lords, she named three: sport, disability rights and the health service.
She said: “Something that is very important to me is getting an appropriate level of service (in the NHS).”
And she said there was still “so much to do in terms of achieving equality for disabled people”.
She appeared keen to work on disability rights issues in the Lords with other disabled peers such as Baroness Campbell, Lord Low and Baroness Masham, who all come from “incredibly different backgrounds”.
She added: “I think we are quite fortunate that there are a significant number of disabled people in the Lords.”
She is likely to be “introduced” to the Lords in April. As a crossbench peer, she said she was looking forward to being able to form her own opinions, rather than being forced to vote on party lines.
She already looks set to position herself alongside three other disabled peers, Baroness Campbell, Baroness Masham and Baroness Wilkins, in opposing continued efforts to weaken the law on assisted suicide.
Dame Tanni made it clear that she had “huge concerns” about the campaign to legalise assisted suicide and the “emotive” portrayal of disability in the media around the issue.
She said that such campaigns “reinforce the view that being a disabled person is so bad that you might want to kill yourself”.
She admits that she was not approved by the appointments commission when first interviewed in 2008, as its members felt then that she “wasn’t ready” to join the Lords.
She said: “I think I was really nervous the first time and it gave me the opportunity to think if it was something I would like to do if I had the opportunity.”
Following that first interview, she joined Transport for London’s board and now chairs its corporate governance committee, and also became a member of the Youth Citizenship Commission.
Even before those appointments, she was never “just an athlete”, and sat on both the Sports Council for Wales and UK Sport during her stellar career as a professional athlete, in which she won 12 Paralympic gold medals and broke 30 world records.
She is also a board member of UK Athletics and led its review of anti-doping policy in sport, and is vice-chair of the athletes committee of the organising committee for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
She studied politics at university and said she has always been fascinated by the machinery of government and parliament and “how things work”, even though she “always joked at university that I would never get involved in politics”.
But before Dame Tanni takes her place in the Lords, she has to decide on her title. She said she was “very proud” of her Welsh roots but is conscious that she has not lived in Wales for many years.
She said: “I feel quite a lot of pressure on that from people who have literally stopped me in the street. There is more expectation about what I am going to be called then what I am going to do.”
News provided by John Pring
19 February, 2010
The draft strategy on self-directed support says those who use care and support services should be seen “as equal citizens with rights and responsibilities”.
The strategy aims to address barriers to greater take-up of direct payments, including “assumptions and attitudes” about those who might benefit, limitations on the use of the money they are given, and “a vested interest in the status quo” by some professionals.
The document says there is “significant scope” to increase the number of people receiving direct payments, which should be “available to all but imposed on no-one”.
But it warns that guidance on eligibility for free personal care in Scotland had found evidence of reduced services to those with lower-level needs, and suggests a review of the use of eligibility criteria.
The Scottish government will also work with social care and health training and qualification bodies to integrate teaching of self-directed support into their courses, according to the strategy.
And it will meet with Department for Work and Pensions officials to find ways to fit the strategy and the benefits system together.
It will also discuss how to include disabled students’ allowance and other education funds in self-directed support packages.
The Scottish government will consult this year on the need for a self-directed support bill to “address some of the gaps in eligibility”.
The draft strategy says that by 2015 there should be a better quality of life for individuals, a “radical increase” in uptake of self-directed support, and a shift away from more traditional services.
Jim Elder-Woodward, convenor of Independent Living in Scotland (ILiS), an organisation of disabled people set up to develop the independent living movement in Scotland, said it was too early to give a “definitive” response.
But he said he was “hopeful” the movement would welcome the proposals, such as making self-directed support “the default position within social care provision”.
And he said there was a “great need” to make the principles and practices of independent living – and not just self-directed care - a fundamental part of education in social administration and social work.
ILiS will host a conference on 5 March to help it and other disabled people’s organisations prepare their responses to the draft strategy.
A consultation on the strategy lasts until 7 May. For more information, visit: www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations
News provided by John Pring
18 February, 2010
The call from the Care Quality Commission came in its first annual report to parliament on the state of health and adult social care in England.
The report says there have been steady improvements in social care and health, despite “pockets of poor practice”.
But the CQC is concerned that disabled people’s needs in many areas have to be “substantial” before they can receive social care support from the council.
The proportion of adult social care services rated as good or excellent rose from 69 per cent in 2008 to 77 per cent in 2009, but there was still “unacceptable variation”, with a small number of providers failing to meet minimum standards of safety and quality.
And although spending on direct payments in 2008/09 increased by nearly a third on the previous year, this was still only four per cent of councils’ overall spending on care.
The report also calls for a “real acceleration in joining up health and social care and centring it on people’s needs”.
And it points to three particular areas of concern, with performance on safety, safeguarding and staff training varying widely across both social care and health care, “despite overall improvement in recent years”.
Dame Jo Williams, CQC’s acting chair, warned that “trends such as increasing demand and rising expectations will be exacerbated by pressure on finances”.
This meant a need for “radical changes” in organisation and delivery of services, “shifting the culture away from a one-size-fits-all approach to care that puts the needs of individuals and carers at the centre of everything”.
Care services minister Phil Hope said the report “recognises the major improvements that have been made across health and social care services”.
He pointed to government plans to bring in new laws on safeguarding adults, and he said the government would “shortly” publish its care and support white paper, with plans for a “simple, fair and more affordable” national care service, while its personal care at home bill would help those with the highest needs.
The CQC has also released a new five-year strategy.
Its five priorities will be: ensuring care is centred on people’s needs and protects their rights; “championing” joined up care; “acting swiftly” to help eliminate poor quality care; promoting high quality care; and effective regulation.
News provided by John Pring
17 February, 2010
Livability, which provides services such as care homes and supported living, reviewed more than 100 local authorities across England and found nearly half of their websites contained no information on personal budgets – which allow people to take control of their own social care funding.
Almost half of telephone enquiries about personal budgets were misdirected and almost a quarter of the councils could not provide any information on personal budgets at all.
Fewer than one in 30 local authorities were able to recommend additional sources of information.
Only two councils, the City of London and Portsmouth City Council, scored ten out of ten for the information they provided.
Meanwhile, a survey commissioned by Livability of more than 500 disabled young adults found nearly nine in ten had never heard of personal budgets.
A Livability spokeswoman said councils themselves seemed to be confused about terminology, and often confused personal budgets, individual budgets (another form of self-directed support piloted by the government, which included different funding streams besides adult social care) and direct payments.
Mary Bishop, chief executive of Livability, said the results were “extremely worrying”.
She said: “Personal budgets have the potential to transform the lives of disabled people by giving them choice and control and yet awareness of them is woefully inadequate.”
Mark Harper, the Conservative shadow minister for disabled people, said it was clear there was “still a great deal more to do to ensure that disabled people up and down the country can take advantage of personal budgets”.
He said the government should “show more leadership” and “impress upon local authorities the importance of making these opportunities available for disabled people”.
Livability called on the government to run a national awareness-raising campaign aimed at disabled people.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “Personal budgets offer people choice and control over their care and support.
“Councils have been running local pilots and 30 have already started rolling out personal budgets across their areas.
“We expect the others to follow over the next six months. We are supporting councils to achieve this transformation by offering guidance and a £500 million investment over three years.
“We expect councils to provide information and advice on personal budgets as the roll-out takes place.”
News provided by John Pring
16 February, 2010
Maria Eagle, an equalities minister and former minister for disabled people, told the communities and local government committee two weeks ago that it was illegal to reserve posts under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and would remain so under the equality bill.
She has now been forced to write to the committee, after it wrote to her “seeking clarification” of her comments.
During questioning from the committee about the equality bill, Eagle said that “positive action” – favouring the disabled person when faced with two equally qualified job candidates – was legal and would stay legal under the bill.
But she also said that only allowing disabled applicants to apply for a particular job was illegal and would remain so in the new bill.
Reserving posts for disabled people is a widespread practice, both by disabled people’s organisations and across the disability sector, and campaigners were left bemused by her comments.
A Government Equalities Office spokeswoman said: “Everybody has the right to be treated fairly and employers are not allowed to discriminate when hiring staff.
“However, there is an exemption where a particular characteristic is a requirement of the job – for example, an organisation providing counselling services for young deaf people might require its counsellors to be deaf in order to share life experiences and use British Sign Language with their clients.
“This is the case under the DDA and the equality bill will not change this. Maria Eagle has written to the select committee to make this clear.”
But the spokeswoman declined to comment when asked whether Eagle was admitting she had made a mistake, or whether she stood by her evidence.
News provided by John Pring
15 February, 2010
News of the research emerged after a man was jailed for trying to sell his disabled sister, who has learning difficulties, into a forced marriage.
Michael Wright, 22, from Swindon, was arrested by officers from the UK Border Agency as he arrived with his sister for the ceremony at Reading Register Office with would-be groom Ligang Qiao last August.
Wright had agreed to let Qiao marry his sister – in exchange for £8,000 – to aid his application to stay in the UK once his visa ran out.
Wright pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to assisting unlawful entry into the UK, and perjury, and was jailed this week for four years. Qiao and two other Chinese nationals were jailed for between 15 months and two years each, and will be deported at the end of their sentences.
Detective Inspector Andy Cummins, of the UK Border Agency, said it was a “despicable crime” and Wright had “attempted to exploit a member of his own family for his own financial gain”, while the other gang members “sought to take advantage of a vulnerable woman”.
A Foreign Office spokesman said its Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) – run jointly with the Home Office – had seen “a number” of cases where disabled people were forced into marriage, either by families trying to provide a disabled relative with a long-term carer or for visa reasons.
He said: “Accurate statistics for forced marriage are very difficult to compile, given its often-clandestine nature, but the incidence among people with disabilities has been the subject of increasing concern over recent years.
“The FMU are funding research to look into this area, and to compare best practice in responses. The findings will inform the unit’s future work.”
Meanwhile, the Equality and Human Rights Commission is preparing to investigate the problem of disabled women who are forced into marriage.
The EHRC’s disability committee will look at the issue as part of the commission’s Violence Against Women programme.
Anyone who is worried that they might be forced into marriage or is worried about a friend or relative can call the Forced Marriage Unit in confidence on 020 7008 0151.
15 February, 2010
The new amendment to the government’s equality bill was proposed by the disabled peer Baroness Wilkins and backed by a string of fellow peers – and accepted by the government – during the bill’s committee stage.
The amendment will mean that local authorities that have introduced policies to control taxi numbers will not be able to refuse a licence for a wheelchair-accessible vehicle if the area does not have enough accessible taxis.
Baroness Wilkins, a wheelchair-user herself, said provision of accessible transport was “essential for equality of opportunity” but councils with “quantity-control policies” and relatively few or no accessible taxis can refuse licence applications for wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
She said this can leave wheelchair-users who travel to such areas by train “stranded” once they arrive.
She added: “One must also think what it means for those living in the area when they need to get to an urgent appointment or visit friends and have a social life.”
For the government, Baroness Thornton said: “It is unacceptable that a licensing authority which controls taxi numbers can routinely refuse applications for wheelchair-accessible taxis when it has very few wheelchair-accessible taxis in the district or, indeed, none at all.
“This new clause provides an ideal means of enhancing accessible taxi provision in these areas.”
She said the government would consult before deciding on the minimum proportion of taxis in a local authority area that should be wheelchair-accessible.
Geraldine Des Moulins, chief officer of Brighton and Hove Federation of Disabled People, welcomed the amendment and said it should make it easier for wheelchair-users to find taxis.
She said researchers had found that a wheelchair-user in Brighton waits four times as long as a non-disabled person for a taxi.
Her organisation persuaded Brighton and Hove City Council to announce a review of taxi services for disabled people last month.
Des Moulins said: “We have disabled people who will not go out because they do not know if they will get a taxi to get home again.”
She said the new laws would help, but there also needed to be a “culture shift within the taxi trade”, with drivers often refusing to pick up wheelchair-users.
The equality bill has now completed its committee stage in the Lords, with the report stage due to begin on 2 March.
News provided by John Pring
14 February, 2010
They spoke out after the Conservatives published their draft education policy, three months before the likely date of the general election.
The draft manifesto states: “Because the most vulnerable children deserve the very highest quality of care, we will call a moratorium on the ideologically-driven closure of special schools and end the bias towards the inclusion of children with special needs in mainstream schools.”
Simone Aspis, campaigns and policy co-ordinator for the Alliance for Inclusive Education, said she was “absolutely shocked” by the “tone and hostility” of the policy, as well as its content.
She said such a policy would “turn the clock back” to the 1970s, when the idea of segregating children was acceptable.
She said: “What surprises us is the attack on the ideology of inclusion.
“It undermines people’s clear human and civil rights to participate not only in education but also in society as a whole.
“What does it say in 2010 if we are moving disabled children out of mainstream society and into segregated provision?
“The more you segregate disabled children, the less people understand disabled people as complete human beings.”
Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, said: “A key plank of any progressive education policy must be to work towards all schools being willing and able to include, value, support, care for and respect all children in their diversity, including kids with complex, high support needs and serious health conditions.
“Human difference is a strength and a great learning resource – it shouldn’t be the basis for segregation and exclusion.”
She said the challenge was to transform mainstream provision so as to realise the right to inclusive education in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
She said there had been a “major step forward” with new rights for pupils to auxiliary aids and services now included in the equality bill, and there were “some fantastic examples of real inclusion happening on the ground”.
And she said RADAR believed the Conservatives would not be able to “turn back the tide”.
News provided by John Pring
13 February, 2010
Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons all pledged to act after a survey for BBC Breakfast suggested that about two-thirds of the large stores that imposed strict time limits could be breaching the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
Under the DDA, the stores should make reasonable adjustments for disabled shoppers, which would probably include giving them more time to do their shopping.
But BBC Breakfast contacted 200 large supermarkets from the four chains and found 124 had time restrictions – often two hours. Of those 124, 81 supermarkets told them disabled people were not allowed extra time to do their shopping.
Sainsbury’s said there should be no time limits for blue badge holders in any of its carparks, but a spokesman said they would look into any “signage issues”, and added: “It’s disappointing that a small number of the stores contacted were unaware of the adjustments we make for disabled customers and we’ll make sure they have the correct information for the future.”
Morrisons said the research had “highlighted the need to communicate our provisions more clearly” and they were taking steps to improve information provided to shoppers and to staff, but a spokesman added: “Where parking time limits are in place, if customers with a disability require extra time to shop, our in-store team is on hand to help – concessions are available.”
Tesco said some staff had not been aware that disabled shoppers should be given more time to shop, and that it was “looking into the issue of signage and the DDA and will take appropriate action if necessary”, but a spokesman added: “We would like to make very clear that customers with disabilities are not fined if they exceed parking limits in our stores.”
Asda also said it was “rebriefing” staff across all its stores that disabled customers were allowed more time, and was also looking into providing more information to shoppers on what to do if they needed longer to do their shopping.
Helen Smith, director of policy and campaigns for the disabled motorists’ charity Mobilise, said: “Supermarkets should do what is reasonable and if a disabled customer needs longer than the time limit, they should do their best to acknowledge their needs.”
But she said that in her three years at Mobilise she had not heard of a single case of a disabled person being fined for breaching the time limit in a supermarket carpark.
News provided by John Pring
13 February, 2010
Two of them – Baroness [Rosalie] Wilkins and Lord [Colin] Low – voted for a motion to delay the next stage of the bill, which will introduce free personal care at home for disabled people with the highest needs.
Baroness [Jane] Campbell welcomed the “principle” of free personal care, which “demonstrates the government’s commitment to enabling people with high support needs to stay in their own homes” and would “make it easier for the NHS and local authorities to work together”.
But she said she was concerned that some people with critical needs would miss out on free care, putting “a financial premium on proving how incapable you are” rather than promoting independence.
She concluded: “I welcome some of the fundamental principles behind the bill, but, for now, it throws up more questions than answers.”
Baroness Masham questioned whether the bill’s “aspirations” would be spread fairly across the country as equipment services – including wheelchair services – needed to improve to prevent it becoming “a postcode lottery”.
She also raised concerns that the assessment process would be confusing and overly bureaucratic.
The Labour peer Baroness Wilkins said the bill failed to mention the need for a system of “fast, effective provision of home adaptations”, which is “sorely lacking in many parts of the country”.
She said some councils have reduced their budgets for disabled facilities grants, with more expected to do so this year – despite an increased government grant – because they were no longer legally obliged to match government funding.
Lord Low was particularly critical of the bill and said its cost would be “substantial”, with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) estimating councils would need to find double the £250 million a year from efficiency savings estimated by the government.
He said: “In practice, the money will have to be found, in whole or in part, through service cuts or, possibly, charges.”
Baroness Thornton, for the government, said the bill would provide “real help to some of those with the highest care needs”, and act as a stepping-stone “towards a greater reform”.
She disputed the ADASS figures but accepted there were “legitimate” concerns about the bureaucracy of the assessment process.
The motion to delay the committee stage until the government had provided more information on implementation was defeated, despite support from Lord Low and Baroness Wilkins.
The Lords committee stage is due to begin on 22 February.
News provided by John Pring
12 February, 2010
The draft equal treatment directive would extend protection from discrimination on the grounds of disability, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief to the provision of goods and services across the EU.
Currently, the UK’s Disability Discrimination Act does not force manufacturers or designers of goods to make reasonable adjustments for different access needs, and neither will the new equality bill.
But campaigners are lobbying the government to push for such a measure to be included in the EU directive.
Baroness [Jane] Campbell and Labour MP Roger Berry – co-chairs of the all-party parliamentary disability group – have written to the government, asking it to back calls for manufactured goods to be included.
But at a meeting of the group this week, Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, said: “We have had a rather unsatisfactory response from Jonathan Shaw (minister for disabled people) saying the government view is regulation is not the way forward. We beg to differ.”
The Equality and Human Rights Commission and Leonard Cheshire Disability are among other organisations to back the inclusion of manufactured goods, according to a new government report that summarises responses to a consultation on the directive.
The report says evidence submitted to the consultation pointed to current access problems such as the lack of DVDs with subtitles, instruction leaflets that were difficult to understand, and inaccessible LCD screens on an increasing number of white goods such as washing machines and microwaves.
In its submission, Disability Law Service said new laws to ensure goods were as accessible as possible have a “significant impact” on enabling disabled people to “truly participate in society”.
But the government said many respondents had “grave concerns” about the proposal.
It said the CBI, the business lobby organisation, “was just one organisation to argue that not only would the cost be too huge a burden to bear for manufacturers, but that it would also do disproportionate damage to UK competitiveness”.
The government has not published its conclusions about the consultation responses because of the risk of “compromising” EU negotiations.
12 February, 2010
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) – which regulates health and adult social care in England – said the review of “unmet need” in social care would examine the impact of funding cuts on eligibility for services.
In a report last December, the commission found three out of 148 councils were restricting eligibility for care services to only those with “critical” needs, while a further 103 had set their threshold at “substantial”, the second-highest of the four categories.
The CQC said then that it was “concerned” that some councils could raise eligibility criteria further as public spending was squeezed in future years.
The review is just one of 13 possible reviews and studies the commission is considering undertaking in 2010-11, all of which are in areas where there is “evidence of poor quality, or risk within the system”.
The others include: the health and social care needs of offenders, domiciliary care, services for people with dementia, and services for those with long-term neurological conditions
But the commission said it would not have the resources to begin work on all 13, and is asking for views on which topics were most urgent.
The list was released as part of a public consultation launched this week on the CQC’s new plans for assessing the quality of care provided by councils, NHS trusts and adult social care providers.
In its consultation report, the CQC says it will “focus much more” on the views of service-users and “hold those who provide and commission services to account for the quality and value for money of those services”.
The CQC said that existing systems for gathering the views of service-users “need significant development”.
The new plans would see “a move away” from an overall score for councils and primary care trusts as commissioners of care, and instead provide separate scores in specific areas.
But it will continue to use quality ratings for providers of social care because they “act as a useful guide to assist people who use services when making decisions about choosing their care”.
Cynthia Bower, the CQC’s chief executive, said: “We will listen carefully to what people who use services tell us about their care, and will hold those in charge accountable when that care falls below par.”
The consultation closes on 27 April. For more information, visit www.cqc.org.uk/getinvolved/consultations.cfm
News provided by John Pring
11 February, 2010
A review by Ofsted of 21 of the best providers of the Workstep programme found they promoted the skills the disabled person would bring to the job, rather than encouraging employers to believe they were doing them a favour.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) commissioned the review to find the best strategies for moving participants in Workstep – which provides support for disabled people “facing complex barriers to getting and keeping a job” – into unsupported employment.
Most participants have supported placements with mainstream employers, while some work within supported employment businesses.
In its Improving Progression to Unsupported Employment report, Ofsted says the best providers made sure the people they supported knew they were moving towards unsupported jobs.
Participants were monitored closely and given realistic targets, received support that was carefully matched to their needs and developed their personal skills to match the needs of local employers.
The best providers also develop long-term strategies to move participants from sheltered workshops into sustainable jobs, which was “beginning to have some impact”.
But Ofsted said those disabled people who needed to improve their literacy, numeracy and language skills did not always receive the necessary training or encouragement.
And among the 12 local authority providers visited, there was “poor” awareness of Workstep across the council, with too few departments offering suitable job or placement opportunities, and participants not given a high enough profile when new businesses came into the area.
Ofsted also pointed out that, “although the proportion of participants progressing into sustained, unsupported employment is improving, it remains far too low”.
The proportion who moved into sustained, unsupported employment rose from 4.1 per cent of Workstep participants in 2004 to 9.8 per cent in 2007-08.
Steve Cairns, director of employment at disability charity Scope, one of the providers reviewed by Ofsted, said: “Good providers take the time to identify participants’ individual goals early on and look at support they need.
“Disabled people should be in charge of this process and choosing and leading their own career development.”
Although Workstep will be replaced by the new Work Choice programme in October, the DWP welcomed the report and said it would “help shape” the new programme.
News provided by John Pring
11 February, 2010
Jaspal Dhani, chief executive of the United Kingdom Disabled People’s Council (UKDPC), said other disabled people’s organisations were backing its bid to play a major part in assessing how the convention is affecting disabled people’s daily lives.
He is due to meet officials from the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) on Tuesday (9 February) to discuss the UKDPC proposal.
Dhani said: “We want to position various DPOs up and down the country to become reporting houses so people can report their issues to them to build up the picture of how life is changing, or not changing.
“The principle is that these issues should be placed in the hands of disabled people.”
UKDPC would work alongside the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the government, which both have monitoring roles under the convention.
Dhani said UKDPC also wanted to use the convention to help boost the rights of disabled people globally, through sharing ideas and good practice with other countries.
His comments came after Neil Crowther, the EHRC’s disability programme director, told a parliamentary meeting that the convention would have “great significance” for the future of disability rights in Britain.
Crowther told the all-party parliamentary disability group that it was vital to raise awareness of the convention among disabled people.
The EHRC has commissioned RADAR and the British Institute of Human Rights to produce practical guidance to show disabled people and their organisations how to use the convention to fight for their rights.
The EHRC is the independent body chosen by the government – alongside fellow commissions in Scotland and Northern Ireland – to promote, protect and monitor implementation.
Crowther said the EHRC could decide later this year to hold an inquiry if it believes there is “particular resistance” to implementing the convention among government departments or public bodies.
It is also planning further work to challenge the government’s four “reservations” in the areas of education, immigration, defence and benefits.
James Wolfe, the ODI’s deputy director, said the convention was “a uniquely powerful instrument”, and the ODI’s role was to link it to disabled people’s experiences of public services.
He said he and Jonathan Shaw, the minister for disabled people, expected a “robust debate” about the government’s reservations and associated policies.
News provided by John Pring
10 February, 2010
Baroness [Jane] Campbell was speaking in the latest Lords debate, in which the Labour peer Lord Warner called for an independent inquiry into a possible change in the law.
The debate came two days after the author Sir Terry Pratchett delivered the annual Richard Dimbleby Lecture on BBC One, in which he called on the government to set up assisted suicide tribunals that could give people legal permission to end their lives.
Lord Warner said “survey after survey for a decade or more” had shown public support for a change in the law and that Parliament “lags behind public opinion on this issue”.
But Baroness Campbell said Sir Terry’s views were “at odds with that of thousands of other terminally-ill and disabled people, who want Parliament to concentrate on better support to live, not to die”.
She said that, although the majority of the population may share his views, Sir Terry “did not speak for disabled and terminally-ill people”.
And she told peers that not one organisation of or for disabled and terminally-ill people supported a change in the law.
Baroness Campbell said the campaign for legalisation was being “waged by people fearful of disability and terminal illness” and mostly by those who were not disabled or terminally-ill themselves.
And she said the “relentless pressing for a change in the law” sent the message to those newly diagnosed that they would not be able to cope or adjust and would “enter a living hell” and “should consider a premature death”.
She added: “The ignorance of that approach astounds me.”
The pro-life crossbench peer Lord Alton said a change in the law would “endanger public safety and put disabled people at risk”, and “the right to die would rapidly become the duty to die”.
Lord Joffe, who has previously introduced his own assisted suicide bill in the Lords, said “the 80 per cent of society in our democracy who consistently support assisted dying” were “entitled” to the inquiry, so the issue could be “calmly and objectively considered, based on research and evidence, rather than on conjecture and speculation about what might happen by those who hope that it will not”.
But Lord Bach, the junior justice minister, said there was “little prospect” of the government setting up an independent inquiry during the final months of this parliament and it had “made clear” that any change to the law was “an issue of individual conscience” for peers and MPs.
9 February, 2010
Three months ago, the Student Loans Company (SLC) apologised and launched an internal review after completing only 2,500 of the 14,000 disabled students’ allowance (DSA) applications it had received by late October.
But figures unearthed by the Conservative Party, through a Freedom of Information request, show no improvement in the delays and backlogs.
Of 19,006 eligible applications received, only 6,507 have been fully processed and approved by SLC.
Figures from 28 October showed SLC had yet to begin processing 2,000 applications. This fell to 1,361 by 25 January.
But the 28 October figures also showed 1,000 applications that had been returned after independent assessments and were waiting for SLC to complete the application process. This number has now risen to 1,662.
Barbara Waters, chief executive of Skill, the disabled students’ charity, said she was “appalled” at the latest figures.
Skill now plans to ask the Commons business, innovation and skills (BIS) committee to investigate, and will seek a meeting with BIS secretary Lord Mandelson.
The British Dyslexia Association said it was “dismayed” to learn of the “severe delays”, which it said could cause many disabled students to drop out of their courses and could have a “serious impact” on their future careers.
Shadow universities and skills secretary David Willetts said the figures were “truly shocking”.
He said: “Almost four months after term started, and two months after the government said the problems were being fixed, thousands of disabled students are still waiting for the funding they need to pay for vital equipment.
“Twice as many disabled students have not been paid their grants as have been paid them.”
An SLC spokeswoman said they were reviewing procedures and would be “improving the training of specialist advisors”.
She added: “We do recognise there is a problem. We are working as quickly as we can to resolve this issue. We have said and continue to say we are sorry to students who have experienced difficulties.”
A BIS spokeswoman said processing DSA applications was “inherently complex” and many students “choose not to apply” until after they start their course.
She said SLC had received more than 5,000 DSA applications since the start of November and was “taking action to deal with these as quickly as possible”.
News provided by John Pring
8 February, 2010
The BBC is boasting that it will offer its “most comprehensive coverage in Winter Olympic history” of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, which last from 12 to 28 February, including 160 hours of TV coverage.
But the BBC has no plans for live TV coverage on its four channels of the tenth Paralympic Winter Games– taking place between March 12 and March 21 at the same venues in Canada.
A BBC Sport spokesman said it had “provisional” plans to “stream” the Paralympic curling live through the BBC Sport website and the digital TV “red button”, but only if the British team make it through to the medal rounds.
And there will be a one-hour highlights programme the day after the Games end, on BBC Two.
The BBC spokesman blamed “budget restrictions and the time zone factor” for the decision.
A ParalympicsGB spokeswoman said the Games would receive more coverage than the Turin Games four years ago, and that “any questions over the amount of coverage should be directed to the BBC”.
When asked whether ParalympicsGB was happy with the BBC’s plans, she declined to comment.
Meanwhile, ParalympicsGB has announced a 12-strong team for the Games, with six sit-skiers, a visually-impaired skier and five wheelchair curlers set to compete alongside about 600 other athletes from 44 countries.
The Games will feature wheelchair curling, alpine skiing, nordic skiing (biathlon and cross-country skiing) and ice-sledge hockey, although the British team will only compete in alpine ski-ing and curling.
Despite finishing fifth in last year’s world championships, the wheelchair curling team of Michael McCreadie, Tom Killin, Angie Malone, Aileen Neilson and Jim Sellar have a strong chance of a medal. McCreadie, Killin and Malone were part of the team that won silver at the last Games in Turin.
McCreadie, who will skipper the side, said he would lead a “truly world class” team that had “worked extremely hard to get back into winning ways”.
Britain can also boast a genuine medal prospect in alpine ski-ing, with Sean Rose winning downhill gold at the first World Cup event of the year last weekend.
Rose said: “My first Paralympics in Turin were a great experience and it is fantastic now to be going to Whistler (the Olympic and Paralympic ski-ing venue) with real medal potential.
“All the hard work in the summer has paid off. I had a great start to the season, am on good form, and I’m really looking forward to the main event.”
The other sit-skiers are two-time Paralympian Russell Docker, and four newcomers: Talan Skeels-Piggins, Anna Turney, Jane Sowerby and Tim Farr.
The skiing team is completed by another Paralympic debutant, Kelly Gallagher, who is visually-impaired and will compete with her guide, Claire Robb.
News provided by John Pring
8 February, 2010
Equality 2025 was set up in 2006 to advise the government on achieving equality for disabled people by 2025.
But the government is cutting its membership from a maximum of 25 to just eight, and plans to turn it into a “high-level advisory group”.
Anne Novis, a disabled advisor to the Metropolitan police and the Home Office, said such an advisory group would never be able to represent disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) and she did not believe Equality 2025 would “actually make a difference or ensure equality by 2025”.
She added: “I may be wrong but as this group does not feed back on its work and what it has achieved so far it does not have the confidence of disabled people’s organisations and communities.”
Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, also raised concerns. She said: “I would like to see a body within government that can stop government in its tracks occasionally.
“There is a very strong case for having a well-resourced, representative, diverse group that can really help government mainstream effectively.
“I think Rowen Jade (chair of Equality 2025) is brilliant. I would just like to see it having more of a profile and given more clout.”
Jaspal Dhani, chief executive of the United Kingdom Disabled People’s Council, said the lack of communication about its work meant Equality 2025 risked becoming “invisible”, making it difficult for disabled people and DPOs to trust.
Jade stressed that Equality 2025 had never claimed to represent DPOs and that although many of its members had been grassroots campaigners, it was a non-departmental public body whose role was to advise government.
She said much of their work had to remain confidential to protect relationships with the government departments they advised on developing policies.
Another member of Equality 2025 said the need for confidentiality was “very frustrating” because “it looks like we do nothing, when in fact we have given vital advice to government on really key issues”.
Equality 2025 is advising the government on plans to set up a “network of networks” of disabled people to monitor the implementation of its independent living strategy, which Jade hoped would play a part in bringing about change.
She said a smaller Equality 2025 would mean the loss of “some very good thinkers and communicators” but was “confident that the quality of the advice that we give to government will not be downgraded in any way”.
She added: “If I didn’t believe in the work that Equality 2025 was doing I would be the first to resign.
“But I believe that our remit and that the work that we are doing is very definitely in the best interests of the majority of disabled people.”
News provided by John Pring
5 February, 2010
As demand increases within the leisure and fitness industry for accessible products to meet the legislative requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (1995 & 2005), Deaf Alerter® PLC’s DA2000 System is the first product to receive Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) Recognised Product status.
IFI Recognised Products is an exciting new opportunity for suppliers to showcase their accessibly designed products, identifying them as market leaders of quality and inclusion within the UK sport & fitness market. The IFI are working closely with the industry to recognise many different types of access products from gripping aids to gym mats, lockers to lifts and water coolers to wheelchair ramps to name a few. Deaf Alerter® has been identified as the very first IFI Recognised Product and will be listed under Fire Evacuation Safety Products within the IFI Recognsied Products portfolio which will be available on-line, free of charge.
One in seven (9 million) of the UK’s population experience some degree of hearing loss; many of these people are unable to hear fire alarms or public address announcements.
IFI Recognised Products status has acknowledged the unique and original design of the Deaf Alerter® system and the benefits it provides to both Deaf people and leisure operators in reducing the time spent evacuating a facility.
In achieving this recognition, Deaf Alerter® has met all of the specific IFI Recognised Products Specification criteria focusing on the inclusive aspects of a fire alert system for Deaf and hard of hearing people.
Liz Parslow, Marketing Director of Deaf Alerter® comments
“Deaf Alerter plc is very proud that our DA2000 fire alarm warning and messaging system is the first product to achieve IFI Recognised Product status; we consider life safety to be of the utmost priority.
By installing the DA2000 system, facilities seeking IFI Mark Accreditation will be taking extra precautions to ensure that vital evacuation procedures are at their best. Inclusive fitness also needs an inclusive environment.”
With increasing demand from IFI Mark accredited fitness facilities and the growing numbers of both public & private facilities that are working towards meeting the requirements of the IFI Mark standards it is anticipated that the portfolio of IFI Recognised Products will provide a fast, effective and trusted resource which facilities will refer to in order to source access products and enhancements.
The IFI now boasts an extensive network of IFI Mark accredited facilities throughout England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The IFI’s strategy ‘Inclusion Works Out’ has identified a target to accredit 1000 fitness facilities throughout the UK by 2012. Leisure providers are already acknowledging IFI Recognised Products as a fantastic and welcomed addition to the support available in creating accessible and inclusive environments.
Further information about IFI Recognised Products is available at www.inclusivefitness.org
4 February, 2010
The Commons energy and climate change committee announced last week that it was holding a short inquiry into the government’s efforts to tackle fuel poverty.
The committee’s acting chair, Labour MP Paddy Tipping, said this week that he wanted to hear evidence on fuel poverty – when at least 10 per cent of household income is spent on heating bills – from disabled people and disability organisations.
He said he was “particularly keen to have a look at people with a long-term illness and disability” as part of the inquiry.
Tipping said he was concerned that only 14 per cent of the £2.7 billion spent on winter fuel allowances for those over 60 went to those in fuel poverty, while the government was not meeting its own fuel poverty targets.
Tipping said: “If we are spending £2.7 billion and only 14 per cent are in fuel poverty, it raises questions about the effectiveness of it.
“There is a case for other groups of people, people with disabilities, with long-term illnesses maybe (receiving it).”
The government has consistently refused to extend winter fuel payments to severely disabled people under 60.
Dan Burden, head of public affairs for the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA), which plans to submit evidence to the committee, welcomed the inquiry and said the issue of fuel poverty was “very important”.
The charity has heard from people with spinal cord injuries who regular miss out on a daily hot meal in order to keep their heating on.
SIA wants winter fuel payments extended to people with spinal cord injury, because their condition means they need to keep their homes warmer.
Burden said many other disabled people under 60 with mobility impairments faced a similar need for winter fuel payments.
An energy bill that has reached its Commons report stage will include proposals to force fuel companies to reduce the bills of “vulnerable” people, replacing a voluntary agreement which runs out in 2011.
The agreement has reduced the bills of more than a million “vulnerable” households, about half of which include a disabled person or someone with a limiting long-term illness.
Last July, figures from the government’s own Fuel Poverty Advisory Group suggested that more than a million extra disabled people had fallen into fuel poverty in the four years between 2004 and 2008.
The deadline for submitting written evidence is 15 February.
For more information, visit www.parliament.uk/
News provided by John Pring
4 February, 2010
Maria Eagle, a minister in the Government Equalities Office (GEO), said the EHRC had had a “tough” and “rocky start” over its first 27 months.
She told MPs on the Commons communities and local government committee: “I think it would be fair to say they have had a rocky start but that they are looking to the future with some confidence.”
She said the EHRC had “plenty of public money with which to deliver” and the government would want to see “some value for money”.
She added: “I think they have had a tough start and I think they could do better and I think they will do better.”
She said she hoped the new board of commissioners – including eight new members appointed in December – would be “a good solid team that will hold the officers and the staff to account in terms of delivery”.
Eagle avoided giving EHRC chair Trevor Phillips her full backing when asked if the government was right to re-appoint him last summer, replying instead that she was “confident” the troubles could be “firmly placed behind them”.
When pushed on whether Phillips was the person to lead them in this, she replied: “He is now in post to do that and he will be held to account by this committee and others and by the GEO to ensure that he does.”
Her comments, during a one-off evidence session on the work of the GEO, follow a difficult year for the commission.
Last summer, its two disabled commissioners, Baroness [Jane] Campbell and Sir Bert Massie, resigned over concerns about Phillips’s leadership.
The EHRC also had to change its structure after the government said it needed to put more emphasis on the individual equality “strands” such as disability and race.
And it was criticised by the National Audit Office over consultancy fees paid following its launch in October 2007.
An EHRC spokeswoman said Eagle’s comments related to historic issues that had been “well and truly discussed” in the past, while the commission was “progressing forward” with a “great body of work around disability”.
Mike Smith, the new chair of the EHRC’s disability committee, said this work included its inquiry into disability-related harassment, taking important legal cases, successfully lobbying for changes to the equality bill, and an initiative to improve job opportunities for disabled people.
News provided by John Pring
3 February, 2010
This year’s Mobility Roadshow moves to the East of England Showground at Peterborough on 1st, 2nd and 3rd July. For many disabled and older people this is the ‘not to be missed’ annual diary date: the UK’s premier mobility event with hundreds of products to try out in an impartial environment, as well as a wealth of information to be gleaned - all to help us on the go.
As always there will be a great line-up of vehicles from major motor manufacturers to test drive (don’t forget to take your licence), accessible touring caravans and motorhomes to view, conversions and adaptations to consider, wheelchairs (including all-terrain models) and scooters to assess and compare, as well as specialist holiday, leisure and lifestyle options to explore.
A new feature for the show this year is Cyclefest, bringing together all kinds of cycling, trikes, wheelchair bikes, hand and companion cycling ideas for individuals and families, with experts on hand to advise. In the interactive Sports Arena you can join in disability sports such as basketball, rugby, tennis and boccia, and an accessible climbing wall too. There are free seminars with expert speakers on a range of mobility topics, as well as entertainment and activities for all the family to make it a great day out for all.
The Mobility Roadshow is open from 10 am each day. Parking, admission and showguide are free, wheelchairs and scooters available to hire - but do book in advance at www.mobilityroadshow.co.uk where you can also register for free tickets and keep in touch with the latest news as it develops. Or for more information email info@mobilityroadshow.co.uk, or call 0845 241 0390.
3 February, 2010
Mike Smith, the new chair of the EHRC’s disability committee, said he believed the EHRC had done an “extraordinarily high” amount of work on disability in its first 27 months, but had been “less good” at letting disabled people know about this work.
Changing this was a priority, he said, as was making sure the EHRC “genuinely” listens to disabled people, and ensuring “we really are doing what people want and they get the benefit of it”.
He accepted that some disability organisations did not yet view the EHRC with the same affection as its predecessor, the Disability Rights Commission (DRC), and that “for some people there has been disenchantment” with its performance.
But he insisted that those people who had worked with the EHRC held it in high regard, and added: “I realise how important my role is for all disabled people in the UK.”
He said he wanted to help change the way disabled people, and the wider country, felt about the EHRC and its important role in creating an equal society.
He added: “I want people to feel about the EHRC the way they felt about the DRC.”
He said it was too soon to lay out the disability committee’s plans for 2010-11 as he will be consulting with his fellow committee members.
But his “personal” interests include independent living (he is chair of the National Centre for Independent Living) and the risk that disabled people’s rights could be eroded by the recession and subsequent public spending cuts.
He leads for the EHRC on lobbying for improvements to the equality bill and said he was “thrilled” that nearly every disability-related amendment it has worked on so far had been accepted by the government.
He will also be “taking a very close look” at how the EHRC’s inquiry into disability-related harassment is set up, “making sure that we really do challenge how public authorities take their responsibilities to prevent disability-related harassment and hate crime” and encouraging disabled people to contribute to the inquiry.
Another key area of work will be to lead the commission’s work on monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
He said the EHRC would look “quite hard” at the “reservations” the government negotiated in the areas of education, immigration, defence and benefits.
But he said the convention would be a “very important” tool in the medium term for “creating a society where disabled people are equal”.
Smith was also appointed in December as one of eight new EHRC commissioners, and will take responsibility for “championing” disability issues at board level.
He said he had spoken to both Sir Bert Massie and Baroness [Jane] Campbell about their resignations from the board last summer in protest at the leadership of EHRC chair Trevor Phillips.
He said: “I understand and I absolutely respect what they have done and how they have done it and I certainly respect them as individuals and their judgement.”
But he said the new board was “working very hard to work in a better way and a more inclusive way and to communicate better”.
News provided by John Pring
3 February, 2010
Greenwich Council, which acquired Beacon Status in 2008-09 for its efforts in improving accessibility, has worked with DisabledGo and hundreds of shops, pubs, restaurants, theatres and other public venues to help create DisabledGo – Greenwich, which details how accessible a specific venue is.
By logging on to www.disabledgo.com, people with a disability and their families and friends, can find out within a matter of seconds information including how suitable a pub is for a wheelchair user to visit or whether a particular hotel offers adapted rooms.
The guide also carries accessibility information on many historic buildings in and around the centre of Greenwich.
Councillor Angela Cornforth, Cabinet member for Health and Adults & Older People, said, “I’m delighted with the creation of this new guide which will help assist so many of Greenwich’s residents. This information will make a huge difference to not only those people who have hearing, vision or mobility related access concerns but also to the friends and family of those with disabilities. I sincerely hope that residents take full advantage of what the guide has to offer.”
Commenting in advance of the access guide going live, the founder of DisabledGo, wheelchair user Dr Gregory Burke said, “The constant need to write or telephone to enquire about access really affects people’s confidence to get out and do what they want to do. Never knowing whether a building will be accessible or whether staff will have a helpful attitude makes you think twice before going out. DisabledGo ends that uncertainty by proving detailed access information and enabling people to judge for themselves whether to a shop, restaurant or theatre is accessible for their own requirements.”
Dr Burke concluded, “Disabled people are no small minority. One in six of the British population is disabled and disabled people have an annual spend of £80 billion. Those are numbers that any business should take seriously. I’m immensely grateful to Greenwich Council for the support they have given us, and I hope that this guide will open up all that Greenwich has to offer to everyone.”
For more information on the guide, contact Vicky Taylor, Partnership Manager of DisabledGo, at vicky.taylor@disabledgo.com or call 01438 842 710.
For more information on DisabledGo - Greenwich and Greenwich’s Beacon status for Improving Accessibility, visit the Greenwich Council website at www.greenwich.gov.uk
3 February, 2010
David Ames, DisabledGo Web Developer
Not all websites are created the same - most people are unaware of the intricacies that go into creating a web site. However, those of us that create web sites should be aware of the impact the technology choices we make can have on people who use our web sites. As a web user you can use information and tools freely available to help keep a check on the accessibility of websites you visit.
For web site creators it is important to follow the guidelines from The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The W3C develop web standards that help enable the web to be as accessible as possible. To quote from the ‘Web for All’ principle in the W3C’s mission statement:
“The social value of the Web is that it enables human communication, commerce, and opportunities to share knowledge. One of W3C's primary goals is to make these benefits available to all people, whatever their hardware, software, network infrastructure, native language, culture, geographical location, or physical or mental ability”
Anyone who offers a website as part of their business or service should create their websites by following the current best practice, this includes using XHTML markup. XHTML is a markup language that can be used by website creators and is one step to making a website accessible.
A website creator that uses XHTML helps ensure that their web pages can be accessed by the widest range of browsers, screen readers and other devices like mobile phones. This ensures your website can be reached by a majority of potential visitors.
Another branch of the W3C work is the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and you can find more information from their website at http://www.w3.org/WAI/.
To quote from Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web:
“The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.”
The WAI develops guidelines to help website creators and lawmakers with enforcing website accessibility. Web developers can use the guidelines to check their sites and award themselves A, AA or AAA conformance.
The WAI additionally provides help and information for anyone who uses the web. For example they have a recent article about encouraging people to speak up and tell organisations if they find their website to be inaccessible. You can read the article here.
As a web user how can you tell if a website is accessible? Along with your own experience of using a website you can look for WAI compliance statements or images on the web site. Websites will often have an accessibility statement detailing the steps they have taken to ensure their site is accessible, so check their claims are being met.
You can also use free online validation services such as the one provided by the W3C at http://validator.w3.org/. To use the service enter the address of a website you use to see if it validates. If it does not validate correctly it could mean the website is inaccessible to some.
At DisabledGo we recently redesigned our website to give it a fresh new look and make it easier to use, developing it to meet with W3C standards.
Managing the redesign I found one of the main challenges was creating a site that looks interesting with interactive visual elements, such as our roll over maps, while ensuring it remains compatible with non graphical devices. It does take some extra effort to produce a website that meets these requirements but it pays off when you produce a website that looks good and functions well for all your website visitors.
3 February, 2010
Tom Willdig, DisabledGo Surveyor
I’ve worked for DisabledGo as an access surveyor for over a year now. In this time I’ve visited places from Belfast to Aberdeen, Cardiff to Southampton and lots of places in-between. The workload has been varied, involving working alongside local authorities, NHS Trusts, Universities and Colleges.
It’s true to say that no two days are ever quite the same. I’ve found myself working in everything from shopping malls, pubs and museums to university buildings and hospital wards.
Currently my primary role is working as an Education Surveyor. My most recent project was for two weeks working at Kirklees College, West Yorkshire. This took me back up north and close to my home city of Sheffield, giving me the chance to stay up there over the middle weekend and catch up with family and friends, including a night out in Manchester and a days hiking up in the Peak District!
As a surveyor, as in many jobs, you have to be prepared for obstacles which could threaten the timescale of completing a project. This was no different in Kirklees. In this instance, it was down to the weather. Heavy snow resulted in the college being closed for 1 and a half days in my first week, which did mean some extra free time initially, but some extra hard work was required to ensure the project was still finished on time!
Typically, Monday morning involves coming into the office and checking we are ready for the week ahead. Venue lists, points of contact, hotels and letters are all usually required. Late Monday morning we head off to our location for the week by car or where possible on public transport.
In Huddersfield, as in most projects, the first thing to do was check into the hotel. Next up was the pre-arranged meeting with our contact, obtaining some information, going over the details of what’s involved and what venues/services need including, as well as any appointments we need to make. After this, if there’s still time, I usually take a look around the site and start on the first guides. In the evenings there’s some free time to look around the local area and eat in one of the local establishments. It’s worth noting that we are given an allowance which covers our meals each day whilst away from home!
Day 2 and I start early and get on with the guides. A typical day will mean starting by 9am. With the aim of being on our feet working until about 3 – 3.30pm, with a lunch break included (Lunches in college/university refectories usually consist of good hearty portions at reasonable prices). Around this time I head back to the hotel and start editing my days work. This includes resizing/adjusting the brightness/contrast and naming of our photos and then attaching them to each relevant section within the guides. I also fill in the contact and location details and sequence the guide into the correct order. Some time is also spent making plans for the following day.
This goes on for the duration of the week up to Friday. Generally a Friday involves doing a couple of guides, then checking out of the hotel and heading back to the office. At the end of the week, or the following Monday morning, we upload our work onto the central database; ready for others to secondary check what we have done.
The people working at the Kirklees College were extremely helpful and friendly, often being more than willing to help with information, or even giving me a tour around one of the more complicated venues. Over the course of the two weeks I got to see everything from construction and transport sites to working up at Taylor Hill, the animal care and environmental centre. Whilst taking the details for an adapted toilet here I was temporarily deafened by a parrot that wouldn’t stop squawking at me, perhaps because it didn’t recognise me and wondered what I was doing. I also had a friendly dog follow me round; he kept appearing at doorways, his tail wagging away incessantly!
This most recent project has been my final one for a while. I have, very generously, been given the opportunity to take a sabbatical and next week I’m off to travel around Cuba, Mexico and Latin America for 3 months! Whilst here I plan to climb a volcano, improve my Spanish and hopefully, attempt to learn to salsa!
I have many fond memories from my time working as a surveyor so far, including working in the cafes that line the picturesque beach in Aberdeen, working amongst the attractive streets of St. Andrews in Scotland and the University of Greenwich site located next to the famous Cutty Sark. Whilst on a Belfast project last year, we opted to stay over the middle weekend and took the opportunity to go visit the spectacular Giants Causeway!
For me, as a keen traveller, one of the perks of the job has been the opportunity to travel the length and breadth of the UK, seeing many places I would otherwise never see, meeting local folks, staying in local hotels and sampling the local eateries. In fact, as an aside, I could probably start my own guide to some of the best (and worst!) cafes and pubs dotted around the country and where the friendliest places to visit can be found!
Ultimately, the reward is the feeling that the work we carry out really makes a difference to the everyday lives of thousands of people. I shall thoroughly enjoy my time off, allowing me to come back refreshed and ready to survey whatever projects come my way.
2 February, 2010
Official statistics previously estimated about a quarter of disabled people were in poverty, but An Anatomy of Economic Inequality in the UK says the figure is probably more than 30 per cent.
This is because the report’s authors believe official measures of poverty should not count those disability benefits – such as disability living allowance – that help cover the extra costs of an impairment.
The report also concludes that there appears to be “straightforward discrimination in recruitment” affecting disabled people, particularly in the private sector.
It says recent experiments suggest that “those disclosing a disability are less likely to be called for interview than those with otherwise identical CVs”.
And it calls for a stronger government focus on boosting the employment of disabled people, particularly those with mental health conditions.
The report says the problem “is most intense” for those with low or no qualifications, and that employment rates for disabled men with low or no qualifications have “fallen considerably” in the last 25 years.
Nearly a third of working age adults who are disabled according to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) – and also have a condition that limits the work they can do – have no qualifications, compared with 12 per cent of non-disabled adults.
The report says the average (median) weekly income of men who are both DDA-disabled and have a work-limiting condition is less than half that of non-disabled men (£157 compared with £316 per week). The corresponding figures for women are £131 and £198.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission welcomed the report. Neil Kinghan, its director general, said: “The value of this report is how it pinpoints the combinations of circumstance that create the most acute instances of disadvantage: that as well as socio-economic class, race, gender, disability and other factors still matter very deeply.”
The commission will soon publish research on how employers can improve workplace support for disabled people, for example through reasonable adjustments, and particularly focusing on those with mental health conditions.
Susan Scott-Parker, chief executive of the Employers’ Forum on Disability, said the findings were “a stark reminder” of the barriers disabled people can face, and showed that employers must ensure their appraisal and promotion processes do not discriminate against disabled people.
But she warned that “any work to tackle inequality through employment policies needs to position employers as part of the solution, not the problem”.
News provided by John Pring
2 February, 2010
The Speaker’s Conference on Parliamentary Representation made 71 recommendations aimed at increasing the number of disabled, female and minority ethnic MPs.
Recommendations include calling on parties to produce regular online reports on the diversity of their candidates, setting targets for the diversity of their MPs for 2015 and 2020, and publishing clear access policies and campaign documents in alternative formats.
The report also recommended setting up a ring-fenced scheme to support disabled candidates, and another fund to help disabled MPs make reasonable adjustments to support their constituency work, as well as organising mentoring or “buddy” schemes to match up first-time disabled candidates with seasoned MPs.
The Liberal Democrats said they were “happy to accept all of the recommendations” from the report that relate to disabled people, and already offered documents in alternative formats and a buddy scheme, which includes places for disabled candidates.
The Conservative Party said it would respond to the recommendations “in due course”, but already offered mentoring for candidates, including those who were disabled.
It also said it would set up a £1 million access to public life fund, which would meet extra costs of disabled candidates for public office, including Parliament and local councils. Reports suggest the money would be spread over four years.
A Labour Party spokesman said its disabled members group was considering the report and the party’s national executive committee would “listen to their recommendations before giving a final response”, although he said the party already ran a mentoring scheme and “ensures all the national party’s campaign literature complies with accessibility guidelines”.
A Government Equalities Office spokeswoman said it welcomed the report but would respond formally “in due course”.
She said the government was introducing an amendment to the equality bill to force political parties to report on the diversity of their candidate selections.
Meanwhile, the government has again signalled it is willing to remove a law that discriminates against MPs with mental health conditions.
The Mental Health Act states that MPs who are sectioned under the act for at least six months must lose their seats, but the Speaker’s Conference said the law should be repealed.
Now justice minister Michael Wills has described the current situation as “clearly untenable” and said the issue should be discussed by a select committee.
His comments were welcomed by Mark Harper, the Conservative shadow minister for disabled people, who originally attempted to change the law through an amendment to the equality bill last year.
Harper said: “Parliament needs to be able to lead the way in breaking down the stigma and prejudice faced by people with mental health problems, and that is very difficult when these outdated laws are still in force.”
News provided by John Pring
2 February, 2010
Baroness [Jane] Campbell introduced the amendments to strengthen the equality duty in the bill so it did not provide a lower level of protection than the Disability Discrimination Act’s disability equality duty.
Her amendments make clear that public authorities – such as local councils or NHS trusts – must not only have “due regard” to eliminating discrimination against disabled people but in doing so must take account of people’s impairments, even if that means treating them more favourably than non-disabled people.
Baroness Campbell said: “Reasonable adjustments tailored to our particular disability-related needs lie at the heart of disability equality. Without them, we are marginalised at the fringes of society.”
The bill as it stood previously could have led to public bodies “thinking that they need to do less to take account of the needs of disabled people than they do under the current disability equality duty...the consequences of that would be disastrous.”
Baroness Thornton, for the government, said it would “under no circumstances” want public bodies to “misinterpret the new duty as imposing lesser requirements than the existing disability duty”.
She said the government was happy to accept the amendments, which were agreed as the bill continued its committee stage in the House of Lords.
Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, said the public sector duty was the most important part of the bill for disabled people, and that the amendments were “absolutely vital” as they ensure that public authorities know that disability “is different to all the other strands”.
Earlier this week, another disabled peer, Lord [Colin] Low, failed to persuade the government to remove the blanket ban on disabled people serving in the armed forces.
Lord Low told the Lords that the blanket ban was “based on a very narrow and outdated stereotype of disability”, that impairments such as severe disfigurement, diabetes and controlled epilepsy would not “necessarily disable a person from active service” and that “everyone should be considered on their merits”.
Baroness Royall said the government would “perhaps” work on his suggestion of drawing up a code of practice on employing disabled people that would meet the concerns of armed services chiefs. But she stressed that this would not be as a part of the equality bill.
1 February, 2010
Maria Eagle – a former disabled people’s minister – made the comments this week during a one-off evidence session on the work of the Government Equalities Office.
During questioning from MPs on the communities and local government committee about disability measures in the equality bill, Eagle made it clear that “positive action” – favouring the disabled person when faced with two equally qualified job candidates – was legal and would stay legal under the bill.
But she also appeared to say that only allowing disabled applicants to apply for a particular job was illegal and would remain so in the equality bill.
Asked whether it was legal to state in an advert that only disabled people could apply for a job, she replied: “That isn’t permissible, no, I don’t think that is permissible, no.
“There are some posts under previous – I think the race legislation – that were reserved in that way but not under the disability legislation.”
Reserving posts for disabled people is a widespread practice both in disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) and across the wider disability sector.
Jaspal Dhani, the new chief executive of the United Kingdom’s Disabled People’s Council – who himself was appointed to a “reserved post” – said he believed the minister’s comments were “inaccurate”.
He said: “It is important for DPOs because you want to have employees that represent the community you serve and have that personal experience.”
Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, said she also believed the minister had made a mistake.
She said: “If we wanted to reserve a post for a disabled person, there is nothing to stop us doing that.
“There is no limit to the extent in which you can do positive action. We do that and nobody has ever challenged that.”
She said recruiting to reserved posts was a widespread practice by DPOs, and added: “Basically, Eagle’s got it wrong.”
Dr Phyllis Starkey, the Labour MP who chairs the committee, said: “I understand how important it is to get clarity on this matter and once we have seen the record of what the minister actually did say, it may be that we will need to seek clarification from the minister.”
The Government Equalities Office said it could not comment until the “corrected oral evidence from the session” was available in writing.
News provided by John Pring
29 January, 2010
The government claimed the figures showed that “thousands of people are now moving towards work rather than being left to claim sickness benefit”.
But of the 326,500 people who completed new claims between October 2008 and May 2009, only about 59,000 (18 per cent) were found eligible for the new employment and support allowance (ESA). Of these, about 18,000 (5.5 per cent) do not have to take part in work-related activity.
More than two in five (about 135,000 people) were found to be “fit for work” and so ineligible for ESA and the personalised support it would have entitled them to through the government’s Pathways to Work programme.
The remaining 133,000 claimants stopped claiming before completing the WCA.
Those who “fail” the WCA are placed on jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), and receive £25 less a week, although the Department for Work and Pensions said some JSA “customers” with health conditions can volunteer to be “fast-tracked” to receive “much more intensive help and one-to-one support to improve their employability”.
Campaigning organisations have repeatedly warned that the WCA is inflexible, riddled with errors and fails to reflect disabled people’s daily lives.
Neil Coyle, director of policy for Disability Alliance, said: “We are aware that too many disabled people are being misassessed in an overly rigid system and failing to access the support arrangements that could help them find work.”
But he said he was “hopeful” that the current government review of the WCA would “lead to a more effective system able to identify the needs of disabled people”, with Pathways to Work offered to more people.
Jonathan Shaw, the minister for disabled people, said the government was reviewing the WCA to “see where improvements and changes need to be made to ensure that it is working as it should be”.
The government will start rolling out the WCA to existing incapacity benefit claimants this October. It is also reviewing the effectiveness of Pathways and aims to publish proposals this spring.
The new figures also reveal that, by the end of November 2009, 8,800 claimants had completed appeals against a decision that they were ineligible for ESA, and 3,300 were successful (37.5 per cent).
Previous figures suggested less than a third of claimants were winning their appeals.
News provided by John Pring
29 January, 2010
Jaspal Dhani is the first permanent chief executive of the United Kingdom’s Disabled People’s Council (UKDPC) since Andy Rickell left to join Scope nearly six years ago.
Leading UKDPC figures have been working in recent months to review and restructure the organisation.
Julie Newman, UKDPC’s acting chair, said the board was “very, very pleased” with Dhani’s appointment. “UKDPC is stronger than it has been for some time and this is a very good time for a new chief executive to be appointed. He’s energetic, he has fresh ideas and a fresh perspective.”
Dhani agreed that his appointment provided a “fresh start” for UKDPC. He said UKDPC would now be “very focused” on key themes and not “thrash ourselves so much that we do not have impact in any area”.
UKDPC will now develop a new strategy, with input from other disabled people’s organisations (DPOs), but an immediate priority is to strengthen those DPOs in their battle for survival, as many councils put the services they provide out to tender.
By strengthening DPOs, Dhani hopes they can be more influential at a local level and have an input into the national – and international – agenda via UKDPC.
He also wants to collaborate with other organisations that are “strongly represented by disabled people”, such as RADAR and the new London-wide body Inclusion London.
Some other priorities are already emerging, such as monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and working with local DPOs to encourage the reporting of disability hate crime.
And Dhani said he was still deeply concerned about the government’s plans to abolish disability living allowance and attendance allowance for those over 65 and fold the savings into council care budgets.
Despite ministerial reassurance that no-one will lose out financially, Dhani believes such a policy could easily lead to another postcode lottery of support.
Dhani will draw on his experience in management roles in DPOs, including eight years as director of Disability Action in the Borough of Barnet. He is also chair of his local DPO, Redbridge Disability Association, in Essex.
He said UKDPC has “had its ups and downs” and that close friends “have told me how crazy I must be” and have even called the job “a poisoned chalice”.
But he said: “I don’t feel that way. I think it’s a fantastic opportunity. UKDPC is an organisation that is well recognised and respected.
“I have an opportunity to redevelop the agenda, to redevelop the brand to really get more people involved and make an impact in terms of disabled people’s lives. I am also a sucker for challenges.”
He added: “I am also coming into the post without baggage. My only agenda is to develop UKDPC into that credible organisation that everybody believes it could be.”
News provided by John Pring
29 January, 2010
One series of amendments will tighten the ban – added to the bill at an earlier stage – on employers using health questionnaires to discriminate against job applicants with hidden impairments.
The amendments, added during the bill’s committee stage in the Lords, mean there will be fewer exceptions to the ban and will allow the Equality and Human Rights Commission to enforce the new laws.
The mental health charity Rethink said the amendments “could mark a turning point in equal opportunities”.
They were also welcomed by the disabled peers Lord [Colin] Low and Baroness [Jane] Campbell, who said she felt “very strongly” about the amendments, “having gone through many interrogations from interview panels in the past”.
Liz Sayce, chief executive of RADAR, which has campaigned for more than ten years to outlaw the questionnaires, said banning them was “probably the single biggest difference and improvement that could be made through the equality bill” on employment of disabled people.
She said: “It will build confidence amongst people with HIV, mental health conditions and other hidden disabilities that they will be judged fairly, on merit.”
The second set of amendments lays out new measures to give disabled pupils the right to support at school through access to auxiliary aids and services – such as computer technology to help visually-impaired pupils, or adaptive keyboards – another key, longstanding demand of disability rights campaigners.
Education secretary Ed Balls had pledged to bring in such laws after they were recommended by the Lamb inquiry on special educational needs.
Baroness Royall, for the government, said it was “right and proper that all members of our society...have access to education and the educational aids they need in order to thrive as individuals and to participate as full members of our society.”
The disabled peer Baroness [Rosalie] Wilkins said: “Too many disabled children face barriers to participation in learning and school life, because if they do not have a statement of special educational needs, they have no enforceable entitlement to extra support.”
She said the amendments would “provide many thousands of disabled pupils, and their parents, with the confidence to get the practical support they need to take part in school life”.
The amendments were also backed by Lord Low and both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.
Caroline Ellis, RADAR’s joint deputy chief executive, described the new measures as “a big gain” and “a very practical way of boosting inclusion”.
News provided by John Pring
25 January, 2010
At the last general election in 2005, of the people with learning difficulties who use services run by the charity United Response and were registered to vote, less than one in six (16 per cent) actually did so.
These figures were even lower than government statistics from the 2001 election which suggested that just under a third of people with learning difficulties voted.
United Response has been working for three years on a project funded by the Electoral Commission that aims to help politicians make their work more accessible, and to support people with learning difficulties to become more engaged in politics.
It hopes to boost the numbers using their vote to 40 per cent at this year’s election. And it is calling on all political parties to engage with the half a million people with learning difficulties who do not use their vote, encourage them to participate in the political process, and produce easy-read manifestos and campaign literature.
United Response’s Every Vote Counts report – launched this week at the House of Commons - says political jargon, complex voting systems and low awareness of their right to vote are major barriers to people with learning difficulties.
Lucy, a potential voter with learning difficulties, said: “Even people without learning disabilities find it hard to understand politics. They just speak jargon and don’t get to the point.
“They don’t involve us. If people with disabilities all vote, we will be heard. The more we get our voices heard, the more people will respect us.”
The United Response report follows the launch of a campaign by the learning difficulties charity Mencap earlier this month. Mencap’s Get My Vote campaign aims to persuade political parties to make their manifestos and information easier to understand.
More than 100 MPs have signed a joint United Response/Mencap early day motion backing their two campaigns.
Last year, United Response launched a website, www.everyvotecounts.org.uk , which aims to make the political process easier to understand and help parliamentary candidates communicate clearly with voters with learning difficulties.
And in November, it sent out guides to every MP, MEP, council, election team and political party in England on how to make manifestos, leaflets and other political information accessible.
News provided by John Pring
19 January, 2010
Enabled4Growth (E4G) hopes to offer free business support to 700 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across London, helping many of them to secure the funding they need from investors.
The programme, being run by Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD) and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, aims to help disabled entrepreneurs bring in more than £1.6 million in investment funding over the next three years.
Disabled-led businesses in the capital will be given the support they need to become ready for investment, and then brought together with investors at “brokerage” events to pitch for finance.
LCD will also use these brokerage events to provide disability awareness training for investors, with the long-term aim of trying to level the playing field for other disabled entrepreneurs seeking business finance from banks, private investors and grant-making bodies.
Disabled entrepreneur Amar Latif, who runs Traveleyes, which provides holidays for visually-impaired travellers, said: “It was a real hurdle to get people to take me seriously. I was this blind guy who runs a travel business asking for a loan to expand.
“It is very tough to secure potential investment and from listening to fellow entrepreneurs I hear the same story time and time again.”
Kevin Davey, E4G’s senior business advisor, said much of the investment sector finds it difficult to spot good opportunities when confronted with businesses led by disabled entrepreneurs.
He said he hoped the training for investors would help them to “spot a disabled winner”, and he added: “Over the last decade there are many examples of high growth SMEs led by disabled entrepreneurs.
“Many of them have been able to secure credit lines and various forms of financial support to assist them in their growth, but they have really had to work extremely hard to secure them.”
He said the recession had made the market even more difficult for disabled entrepreneurs. “It is very crowded at the moment and there is a huge queue for credit and we will have to work very hard.”
For more information, visit www.enabled4growth.com.
News provided by John Pring
18 January, 2010
Burnham made clear that the government would scrap both attendance allowance (AA) and disability living allowance (DLA) for all those over 65 as part of its plans to reform the social care funding system.
The government’s care and support green paper in July suggested that the money saved would be used to fund means-tested council care services.
But Burnham – giving evidence to the Commons health committee as part of its inquiry into the future of social care – pledged again that no-one receiving DLA or AA at the time of reform “would receive any less cash support, nor would they lose any control” over how they spent that money.
He said that some “very vulnerable people” had been “frightened” by “scaremongering” campaigns and that a Conservative campaign against scrapping AA and DLA had “misrepresented” government plans.
Burnham again ruled out scrapping DLA for those under the age of 65.
He said he wanted to publish a white paper on social care funding before this year’s general election, and “create unstoppable momentum” for legislation after the election.
He also dismissed criticism of the government’s personal care at home bill, which would offer free personal care at home to disabled people with the highest needs.
Campaigners have warned it could lead to a squeeze on services for those with lower needs.
But Burnham said the bill was “building the vision” laid out in the green paper, and would help “the most vulnerable people, who at the moment face a lottery”.
And he again squashed hopes that the government would opt for funding free personal care for all disabled people from taxation.
He said: “I think that the principle that the individual should make a contribution is the right one and it should not be just funded through general taxation.”
His evidence came as the Alzheimer’s Society called for parties’ election manifestos to address “serious failings in dementia care”, and include pledges not to scrap AA.
Its research found “overwhelming opposition” to scrapping AA and using the money to pay for care services.
A survey of nearly 1,500 carers and people with dementia also found less than a quarter were having all their care needs met.
A separate survey of 150 MPs found four in five believed a long-term solution to funding social care should be a high priority for their party.
News provided by John Pring
15 January, 2010
Protesters appalled at the execution of Akmal Shaikh on 29 December are due to hold a peaceful demonstration outside the Chinese embassy in London on Sunday (10 January).
Members of Shaikh’s family have also written to foreign secretary David Miliband, demanding an inquest into his death.
His brother Akbar said in the letter: “My family is suffering incredible grief and torment over the many unanswered questions surrounding Akmal’s death.
“We have begged the Chinese for answers ...but none have been forthcoming.”
He said an inquest would help answer some of the family’s questions so that the “terrible mysteries surrounding my brother’s apparent death, 7,000 miles from his family and all alone, can be resolved for us”.
Much of the anger of relatives and campaigners has been directed at the Chinese authorities’ refusal to carry out an assessment of Shaikh’s mental health, despite overwhelming evidence that he had bipolar disorder.
Clive Stafford Smith, director of Reprieve, which supports prisoners facing the death penalty and campaigned on Shaikh’s behalf, said: “An inquest would give this grieving family a crucial insight into Akmal’s final hours, his mental state and the extent to which he suffered before he died.
“Only then can they begin to recover from the trauma of Akmal’s lonely and senseless death.”
Shaikh, who was originally from Kentish Town, north London, was arrested in 2007 at an airport in northwest China and found to be carrying four kilogrammes of heroin in a suitcase.
Reprieve says he was taken advantage of by drug smugglers who knew about his mental health condition and befriended him after he moved to Poland.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman confirmed that they had received Akbar Shaikh’s letter, and were considering the request for an inquest.
News provided by John Pring
15 January, 2010
Mobility campaigners have backed calls for action, with estimates suggesting as many as 330,000 scooters are now in use.
Labour MP Jeff Ennis told the Commons how a constituent’s two-year-old daughter was injured after being dragged underneath a scooter.
Ennis said he was concerned that there was no compulsory training for scooter-users, and praised Norfolk police, which has introduced short, voluntary training courses for scooter-users in Great Yarmouth.
He called for a new criminal offence of “riding a mobility scooter in a dangerous way”, and said: “The crux of the problem is how we can ensure that mobility scooter users are proficient at riding their machines and are safe for themselves and other road-users.”
Another Labour MP, Hugh Bayley, said one of his constituents was seriously injured after being hit by a scooter in 2008 but received no compensation as the driver had no insurance.
Transport minister Sadiq Khan suggested that the government would soon launch a consultation on possible new legislation.
He told MPs it would be important “to balance the rights of people with disabilities with the rights of other people to feel safe”, but stressed that injuries were “rare and mostly minor” and scooters were “reasonably safe” when compared with other transport.
Hospital data suggests fewer than 40 people a year are severely injured by scooters, with around 95 per cent of injuries to the drivers.
The debate came as the Commons transport committee launched an inquiry into mobility scooters.
Helen Smith, director of policy and campaigns for the mobility charity Mobilise, which will submit evidence to the inquiry, said they had been urging the government to examine the insurance issue.
She said: “I think it’s overdue. The numbers of scooters has grown enormously and we have phone calls from people saying, ‘I can’t drive anymore because of my eyesight, and I have just bought myself a scooter.’
“There’s nothing to stop people driving in an inappropriate way. Nobody really has insurance.
“There have been accidents, there have been injuries and I am sure there have been a lot more that have not been reported.”
But she added: “We wouldn’t want people’s mobility being restricted through unnecessary legislation.”
And she said action could possibly be taken to ensure safer design of scooters, many of which are “just hard lumps of metal”.
News provided by John Pring
14 January, 2010
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the programme – first piloted in 2003 – had not helped as many disabled people into work as it had hoped.
An independent study into Pathways to Work pilots had found that disabled people in Pathways areas were about 25 per cent more likely to be in work after 18 months than those in non-Pathways areas.
But a report published last October found that when Pathways – which can offer work-focused interviews, help applying for jobs and managing a health condition, and financial assistance – was rolled out to other Jobcentre Plus areas it had no effect on employment rates, compared with non-Pathways areas.
Now the government has launched an “evidence-gathering review” of the back-to-work support provided by Pathways to people on incapacity benefit and the new employment and support allowance.
It aims to publish proposals on the future of Pathways this spring, but says it wants to move to a “simpler, stronger, more personalised model of support”, with a focus on “rights and responsibilities” and value for money.
Adrian Whyatt, chair of the user group Neurodiversity International, said the government had awarded Pathways contracts to large organisations which failed to involve or understand disabled people, while disabled people’s organisations were too small to bid for contracts.
The contracts failed to ensure providers set up boards of disabled people to control the programmes, so there was a “lack of expertise” at “every stage of the process”, he added.
A DWP spokesman said Pathways had helped more than 173,000 people into work, and helped to “significantly” narrow the gap between the overall employment rate and that of disabled people.
But he said more needed to be done, which was why the government was reviewing Pathways “to explore how we can further support those who can work fulfil that goal”.
He said the government believed that “organisations of all sizes, small and large, from the public, private and voluntary sectors, have an important role to play in helping people back to work”.
He added: “We work continuously with providers to help them find ways to improve and enhance the service they provide to this customer group, actively encouraging prime contractors to engage with niche providers who have the specialist knowledge necessary.”
News provided by John Pring
14 January, 2010
Irene Miles, a wheelchair-user from Newport, Gwent, revealed in a BBC Wales documentary how she and her daughter had called police 60 times in five years.
Bricks were thrown at her adapted car, creosote was poured over it, and paint was thrown over their back yard.
None of these incidents was treated as a disability hate crime.
The documentary showed CCTV footage of the latest incident, on 2 November last year, in which a hooded man smashed every window of her car.
Miles said she was convinced she was targeted because she was disabled, and compared her case with that of Fiona Pilkington, who was driven to kill herself and her disabled daughter after years of disablist harassment by local thugs.
Another disabled person interviewed for the documentary was Peter Wood, who spent weeks in hospital after an arson attack on his home in Barry, south Wales.
He became reclusive after years of abuse and name-calling by local thugs. After leaving hospital he moved to Devon to escape the harassment.
The programme was presented by Simon Green, a wheelchair-user from Bridgend, who used undercover filming to show the disablist name-calling and threats he receives on nights out.
Chief superintendent Paul Symes, head of neighbourhood policing for Gwent police, said: “We are currently reviewing the way we have dealt with the Miles family and their neighbours over a considerable period of time, to see if any lessons can be learnt.
“We have also redesigned our daily management meeting to give hate crime greater scrutiny.”
A force spokesman added: “Our hate crime policy is being reviewed and any lessons from the review of the handling of this case will be built in.”
He said the damage to the car on 2 November was not immediately viewed as a hate crime, but was reclassified as a disability hate crime several days later after contact from Victim Support.
No-one from South Wales police was available to comment on the arson attack in Barry.
News provided by John Pring
13 January, 2010
The seminars in Manchester and London are being run by the disability charity RADAR and the Appointments Commission, the independent body that helps government departments and NHS trusts appoint their board members.
Those who attend will be told how to apply for roles as non-executive directors in primary care trusts, ambulance service trusts, acute or foundation NHS trusts, or strategic health authorities, and what their duties would involve if successful.
Government figures show that only one in 20 appointees to the boards of the UK’s 1,200 public bodies is disabled or has a long-term health condition.
The government aims to increase this to nearly one in seven new appointments (14 per cent) by March 2011.
Those who attend the free seminars will meet recruitment consultants and disabled people who have secured senior NHS positions, as well as the chief executives of RADAR and the Appointments Commission.
There are up to 20 places available at each seminar, all for people living with ill-health, injury or disability.
Mark Shrimpton, RADAR’s joint deputy chief executive, said: “These free of charge events are fantastic opportunities for people affected by ill health, injury or disability to prime themselves to make successful applications to help run their local NHS services in a paid capacity.
“Delegates will get a whole day’s access to the CEOs of both RADAR and the Appointments Commission, as well as other key movers and shakers.”
The Appointments Commission will also provide support in pursuing an appointment after the event for delegates with the right skills and experience.
The all-day seminars take place in London on 11 February and in Manchester on 1 March.
For more information, contact Nisha Patel at nisha.patel@radar.org.uk or tel: 020 7503 6177.
News provided by John Pring
12 January, 2010
Barry has held a range of high profile roles across a diverse range of retail businesses, including B and Q, Marks and Spencer, Allied Breweries and Wyevale. He is currently Chief Executive of Albemarle and Bond Holdings and is combining this with his post as our non executive Chairman.
Speaking about his appointment Barry said, ‘I am delighted to now work on a formal basis as the non executive Chairman of DisabledGo. Having worked and more recently mentored Gregory since 2002 when Marks and Spencer initially supported the formation of the business I am passionate about our aims and delighted with what has been achieved. There is still a lot to do and the company is well placed to achieve its potential and help many, many more disabled people to live fuller and more satisfying lives.’
Gregory commented, ‘Barry’s appointment is another example of DisabledGo forging ahead. Our partnership with Open Britain, our new website with great new features; our new marketing initiatives are evidence of a company on the front foot. As the strong market leader by any competent, objective standard, DisabledGo is totally focused on delivering the best, most reliable information for disabled people and the organisations that commission us. Barry’s gold-plated business-know-how is only going to make us even stronger so we can deliver more to those we serve.’
Barry first came into contact with DisabledGo in 2002 during his time as Retail Director at Marks and Spencer. Barry was responsible for all UK and Ireland store and property operations, with over 55,000 people reporting into the divisions he was accountable for. Barry met with Gregory (DisabledGo’s Chief Executive) to discuss Marks and Spencer’s commitment to corporate responsibility and potentially sponsoring DisabledGo. Impressed by the concept of DisabledGo and its aims to improve society, Barry agreed for Marks and Spencer to become DisabledGo’s Development Sponsor, match funding guides to the first set of UK towns and cities with local authorities.
Barry began his career in 1981 joining Allied Breweries as a Commercial Graduate Trainee. He quickly rose through the ranks to become (at the time) the youngest ever trading director of one of Allied Breweries subsidiaries at the age of 27. He held a number of different directorships where he was responsible for running large estates of managed and tenanted pubs, clubs, restaurants’ and hotels. His last role at Allied was as Retail Brands Operations Director where he was responsible for all the themed, and branded pub, restaurant and hotel operations across the UK.
He left in 1991 to join Kingfisher Group where he initially worked at Woolworths as Regional Manager, Regional Director and Project Director. In 1995 he moved within the group to B&Q where he held the roles of Operations Director, Retail Director and latterly Managing Director for B&Q Supercentres.
After working for Marks and Spencer for three years Barry developed and ran a successful retail consultancy business between 2004 and 2006. In 2006 he led a public to private acquisition of Wyevale Garden centres Group and became Chief Executive of the new company. Leaving Wyevale in 2008 Barry then started a new internet retail business called The Safe and Secure Store.com and resumed his non executive roles.
11 January, 2010
Social worker David Halpin, who receives an MBE, worked with Manchester Coalition of Disabled People and other groups in the 1970s to persuade council managers to implement the social model.
Now, as coordinator of Lancashire County Council’s ageing population strategy, Halpin is encouraging disabled people to become role models to younger people in their local community.
Halpin, who said he was “completely shocked” to be honoured, added: “I have taken the social model wherever I have worked to try and bring it to life.”
Diane Mulligan was recognised with an OBE for nearly 20 years work with disabled people in developing countries and in the UK.
A former director of the charity VSO in Indonesia, she set up the Sussex Amputee Support Group, is a disability and social inclusion advisor for the development charity Sightsavers and is a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s disability committee.
She said: “It is a great honour to have such formal recognition for all the work I love so much, but most of all the award reflects all the support and mentoring that many people have given to me in order to further disability rights and equal opportunities.”
David Constantine, who receives an MBE, co-founded Motivation, which empowers people with mobility impairments in developing countries, and designs and provides them with suitable wheelchairs.
David Butler receives an MBE for services to disability sport, after campaigning for 40 years for disabled people to have the right to compete in motor sports.
Because of his impairment, Butler was refused a licence to race 14 times by the Motor Sports Association (MSA) before finally winning the right to race.
Butler has chaired the British Motor Sports Association for the Disabled for 15 years, and now sits on the MSA’s medical panel, which decides whether other disabled drivers can be granted racing licences.
There is also an MBE for singer-songwriter Pino Frumiento, who helped found the disability arts organisation Heart n Soul 25 years ago and has toured internationally and become a role model to other artists with learning difficulties.
He said he was “really surprised” when he heard about the MBE and now feels “very proud”.
He said: “I never thought when I started out all those years ago that something like this could happen to me.
“I hope this will inspire other people with learning disabilities to go for it and follow their dreams. You never know what’s around the corner.”
Heart n Soul produces music, clubs, live art, dance and films by more than 100 artists with learning difficulties. Its director and co-founder Mark Williams also receives an MBE.
Lilian Baker, who receives an MBE, set up Advocacy in Wirral 17 years ago with other mental health service-users, and is still its chair. Her organisation now employs 50 people.
Linda Hoggarth, who chairs Optua, the user-led disability charity she co-founded in Suffolk in 1981 and which now employs 290 people, also receives an MBE.
She said: “Although the honour comes to me, it is recognition of the huge contribution Optua has made to the lives of disabled people in Suffolk.”
Bill Gray, a long-standing member of Fife Independent Disability Network, receives an MBE for services to diversity and disability training in Scotland.
There is also an MBE for Philip Mason, who has been promoting the idea of independent living in Hampshire for more than 30 years.
He said: “Although one person gets the award, it is really for the work of a lot of people. I am just one of many.”
Grassroots campaigner Robert Brown, who chairs a community residents’ forum in Brighton, also receives an MBE, as does Paul Willgoss, who chairs the Health and Safety Executive’s disability network. Willgoss has a heart condition, and has undertaken a series of physical challenges to raise funds and awareness of medical treatments.
News provided by John Pring
8 January, 2010
They will argue that the decision discriminates against them and breaches their human rights.
The government is fighting the case despite passing new legislation in November that will allow the NHS to use direct payments. It is now preparing to pilot their use in some primary care trusts (PCTs).
Valerie Garnham, who has a progressive neuromuscular condition, was one of the first residents of Islington in London to receive direct payments for care services, but a serious illness seven years ago meant she needed a permanent tracheotomy and ventilator.
She became eligible for NHS continuing care and began receiving direct payments for her health needs from Islington PCT, paid through her council.
But two years ago, the PCT told her she would have to receive her healthcare through an agency, because of new government guidance.
Garnham lost a court battle to challenge this decision last year, but won an interim injunction forcing the PCT to allow her to continue receiving direct payments until her appeal was over.
Now lawyers for her and Steven Harrison, from Yorkshire – who is also fighting for the right to healthcare direct payments – will argue their case at the court of appeal.
They will say the Department of Health (DH) has the power to allow direct payments to be paid to service-users, and by denying them to those receiving healthcare services, it is discriminating against disabled people and breaching their right to a private and family life, under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Garnham said it could cost three times as much to provide agency nurses than her current arrangement, her quality of life would suffer, and she would feel less secure than she does with the trusted staff she has helped train herself.
She said: “It would remove my control. It would be impossible to match the flexibility that we have at the moment.”
Her solicitor, Frances Lipman, from the Disability Law Service, said: “This is a very important case.
“What is the difference between someone on NHS and someone on social care?
“It goes to the heart of disabled people’s lives and how they manage their care.”
The DH said it could not comment because of the pending appeal.
News provided by John Pring
7 January, 2010
However a friend and I recently discovered a glamorous type of camping at Pentre Mawr, in beautiful North Wales. Five star camping in a canvas lodge, can you believe it? This is the first place in the UK to take camping to a distinctive level.
Pentre Mawr country house is located in the pleasant and serene countryside of Llandyrnog, deep in the heart of the Vale of Clwyd, near Denbigh.
Upon arriving, my initial impression was ‘wow it looks so posh’ the gorgeous, grand white historic country house loitered ahead. I felt like I was being driven through the gates of some fairy tale story.
Our lovely hosts, Bre and Graham Carrington-Sykes have been inspired to bring Africa into North Wales, a notion from holidaying in Africa.
They have invented three safari style canvas lodges, each with a private terrace and a hot tub.
Our canvas lodge set aside from the main house, was easily accessible. It was level with the ground and once we got inside, the ample room and my lavish surroundings amiably surprised me. Complimentary wine and chocolates greeted us.
The Canvas lodge was truly luxurious. Consisting of a super king-sized leather bed with a sitting area of African ambience. A TV with Freeview and a DVD player were also supplied. Not to mention the camouflaged fridge.
My favourite was the romantically stunning bathroom. It was thoroughly spacious with a big freestanding bath and a separate shower facility. Bre and Graham provide a shower chair if essential to your needs. What’s more, the bathroom consisted of under floor heating. If that isn’t luxury then what is.
Despite being content with my surroundings I was still anxious of how the rest of the holiday would pan out. Being a permanent wheelchair user, one has to be aware of accessibility in all places.
So how did this adventure commence, and was it accessible? Well to begin with Bre and Graham immediately welcomed us and kindly assisted us with our luggage to our canvas lodge. We were invited to the main house once we were settled, for a refreshing drink, certainly needed after the long four-hour drive we had.
The walk to the main house was a little awkward as the pathway was found to be a bit too bumpy with gravel attacking my wheelchair tyres. Nevertheless my friend managed to successfully push me to the house without tipping me out of my chair in the process.
Once in the house, in the drawing room, I swallowed the grand beauty and on receiving my desired cup of tea with homemade cakes, I devoured the bliss. Bre gave us the menus for the evening meal and insisted that if we were unhappy with the menu then they would happily cater otherwise.
With evening on the horizon, I was feeling apprehensive as I normally do when I dine at a new eatery. Being a food lover, all it takes is a slight thing to put me off my appetite.
However the complete dining experience at Pentre Mawr house is a key feature as Graham, a trained chef is talented and versatile in catering for all tastes. The restaurant in the main house itself is spacious with the suitable height of tables for a wheelchair user to be comfortable at.
I was expecting my chicken curry and basmati rice dish to be an out-of-a-jar curry but surprisingly it was a fine dish, exquisitely made. The chicken was tender enhanced with the tantalising flavours of the curry.
My friend enjoyed a Malayan fish curry that contained a mild spiced sauce served with basmati rice. She claimed it was beautiful. For dessert we were both enticed to the delectable chocolate torte, simply divine. I’m not surprised that Pentre Mawr has an AA food award.
After dinner, in the dark of the night outside, the floor night lamps guided us back to our lodge. I was aware of the silence. No hustle and bustle or noisy traffic whatsoever, just the sound of my wheelchair being pushed and my friend’s dainty feet on the gravel. True seclusion.
The next day, unfortunately it rained so Bre came to our lodge and kindly insisted on bringing us our breakfast to the lodge to avoid the rain on the walk to the main house. A full English breakfast was on offer every morning but we opted for the lighter choice. Hence a tray with fresh fruits, warm croissants, tea, coffee, cereal, and fresh orange juice were bought to us. Star treatment.
Soon the weather picked up so we went exploring on foot and did a spot of sightseeing just nearby.
We happened to see some of Bre and Grahams friendly pets and especially took an instant fondness to one of their cats, Maurice who occasionally paid us a pleasant visit to our lodge.
Due to the weather being harsh we couldn’t explore as much as we had planned, though on the last day were determined to brave the weather and made a trip to the nearby town, Denbigh.
It was a fifteen-minute drive to arrive there but worth it as we discovered the sensational ‘Denbigh Chocolate Shop’ bringing you the freshest hand-made chocolates. Pure indulgence.
I was content to see that Denbigh town was reasonably accessible with dipped kerbs for easy wheelchair manoeuvring.
Once back home, I realised what a unique experience it really was. For those of you who have always been against camping well why not attempt it in style at Pentre Mawr canvas lodges? You won’t be disappointed.
With stunning surroundings, good disabled facilities, scrumptious food and wonderful hosts; you’ll definitely be back for more.
By Sarabjit Parmar
7 January, 2010
Awards covered a diverse range of categories and were judged by high profile figures such as Jonathan Shaw MP, Minister for Disabled People and Trevor Philips, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Full details of all the awards and the winners can be found at -
http://www.radar.org.uk/radarwebsite/tabid/265/default.aspx.
We were really pleased to see Promote the Vote – Speaking up win the Doing Access Differently Award. The work done by Promote the Vote by six young people with learning disabilities has inspired hundreds to register to vote for the first time and has been promoted on www.disabledgo.com. You can find out more at www.promotethevote.co.uk.
Working in the IT field ourselves we were all interested to hear the nominees for the Doing IT Differently Award. The award looks for example of innovation that have embraced inclusion and opened up the possibilities for disabled people to really participate in society. The award was presented by Dame Evelyn Glennie, the world famous deaf percussionist. The winner was Signed Stories – ITV SignPost, they have created a fun webspace where deaf children can share the joy of stories with siblings, family, friends. We thought that this initiative was incredibly inspiring and a very worthy winner.
Proving how diverse the awards were the fantastic BBC3 programme Otto: Love, Lust and Las Vegas won the Doing Media Differently Award for Factual Programming. The one hour documentary charts the journey into adulthood of 21 year old Otto Baxter, as he deals with the concerns of most 21 year old young men - how to get a job and a girl. For Otto, negotiating his way is made more complex by the fact that he has Down's Syndrome.
Highlighting the importance of fighting discrimination the Award for Disabled Young Person of the Year was made to Riam Dean. Riam who wears a prosthetic arm, brought a successful DDA case against Abercrombie & Fitch when they took her off the shop floor. We are sure that Riam’s story will raise awareness and inspire other disabled people to take action.
The final award of the evening was Person of the Year, the shortlist contained examples of extraordinary achievements. The winner was Mike Adams, Chief Executive of Essex Coalition of Disabled People. Mike was nominated for his leadership in creating sustainable and successful user-led organisations (ULOs). Mike has turned Essex Coalition of Disabled People into a beacon ULO: empowering disabled people to influence local services and forging new partnerships.
All of us left the awards feeling inspired by all of those nominated. We had a fantastic evening and already have the event in our diaries for 2010.
7 January, 2010
The prime minister is expected to deliver a “statement of regret” in the Commons early in the new year.
Guy Tweedy, a leading campaigner, said the announcement was “wonderful news”.
Tweedy, deputy chair of the Thalidomide Trust’s national advisory council (NAC), an elected committee representing those with impairments caused by Thalidomide, said an apology would be just as important as the new funding.
He said: “It is just as important to the parents as it is to the Thalidomiders themselves.
“For a lot of people it has been a trauma for 50 years. They have battled against social services, the drug companies and the government.
“This drug could have been avoided. It was avoided in America. It was a [UK] government agency that said it was a great drug and should be used.
“This will be a recognition that mistakes were made and they recognise it and they will say sorry. It will make a difference to a lot of people.”
Tweedy is one of about 460 people in the UK born with impairments caused by their mothers taking Thalidomide while pregnant in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
He said he regretted that 18 others who have died since he began campaigning in 2002 would not hear the apology.
The funding will provide more personalised support for those with Thalidomide impairments, and will be paid over three years from April 2010.
Tweedy said it would fund their “unmet needs”, such as paying for adaptations to homes and buying adapted cars and electric wheelchairs.
Many survivors have found it increasingly difficult to survive on the compensation they receive from the company that marketed the drug in the UK, because of equipment costs and deteriorating health.
The announcement followed lengthy discussions between the Department of Health (DH), the Thalidomide Trust – which administers the compensation – and the NAC.
The DH will hand the funding to the trust, which will distribute money to Thalidomide survivors, all now aged between 47 and 50, to give them “more control over their long-term health needs”.
The DH said the scheme would be evaluated to “explore how the health needs of Thalidomiders can be best met in the longer term” and it would examine how this approach of working through an expert national body might be used with other small groups of people with “specialised needs”.
News provided by John Pring
7 January, 2010
Despite repeated appeals from the prime minister, Gordon Brown, and the foreign secretary, David Miliband, Akmal Shaikh was executed on the morning of 29 December in Urumqi, north-west China.
Much of the anger has been directed at the Chinese authorities’ refusal to carry out an assessment of Shaikh’s mental health, despite overwhelming evidence that he had bipolar disorder.
The prime minister, Gordon Brown, condemned the execution and said he was “appalled and disappointed” that the government’s “persistent requests for clemency” had not been granted.
He added: “I am particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken.”
Foreign Office minister Ivan Lewis described the failure to carry out an assessment as “reprehensible” and added: “There is absolutely no doubt that this man had mental health problems.
“The Chinese had all of this information and they made a point not to undergo this medical assessment and that cannot be right in a civilised world.”
Two of Shaikh’s cousins had flown to China to appeal for clemency and visited him in the secure hospital where he was being kept.
Shaikh’s family also wrote to the Chinese president, and relatives joined a peaceful vigil outside the Chinese embassy in London in the hours before the execution.
Nearly 6,500 people joined a Facebook group calling on China to halt the execution, the first of a European in China for more than 50 years.
The UK charity Reprieve, which supports prisoners facing the death penalty and campaigned on Shaikh’s behalf, said it had given the Chinese authorities six new witness statements that clearly showed his mental health condition.
Reprieve said it was “appalled” that no mercy had been shown to a man who clearly had a mental health condition and “disgusted” that China had refused to allow a proper medical evaluation.
Shaikh, who was married with five children and was originally from Kentish Town, north London, was arrested in 2007 at an airport in northwest China and found to be carrying four kilogrammes of heroin in suitcase.
Reprieve says he was taken advantage of by drug smugglers who knew about his mental health condition and befriended him after he moved to Poland.
News provided by John Pring
6 January, 2010
The Disability and the Downturn report, by Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD), is the latest to suggest that disabled people could be suffering disproportionately from the recession.
The report says there is “little cause for optimism”, with disabled people facing “rising levels of poverty and discrimination, underpinned by extensive pre-existing disadvantage”.
LCD’s research suggests disabled people are “increasingly struggling to meet even the basic costs of living during the downturn”, the report adds.
And it says that public spending cuts would have a “disastrous impact” on disabled people, as they are more likely to rely on the NHS, social services and public transport.
The report comes less than three weeks after a campaigning coalition led by Disability Alliance published a “disability manifesto” that called for an end to disability poverty by 2025, and for political parties to back 17 suggested policies that would provide disabled people with “routes out of poverty”.
The LCD report points to figures published in November, in its annual Disability Review, in which more than two in five disabled people (42 per cent) said they were finding it difficult to manage on their present income – up nearly 10 percentage points since 2007.
The review – based on a survey of more than 1,200 disabled people from across the UK in January 2009 – also found less than one in seven disabled people were living “comfortably” on their present income.
The new report says restrictions on state-funded social care “continue to have a detrimental impact on disabled people’s financial, physical and emotional wellbeing”.
This must be tackled, it adds, because they already face inequality in employment, income levels, skills and qualifications, and savings.
The report says there is a “compelling business case for putting disabled people’s interests at the centre of the nation’s response to recession”.
It also calls on the government to draw up a dedicated strategy to tackle disability poverty, protect public spending, reform welfare in a way that supports disabled people, and ensure support is available to everyone with social care needs.
News provided by John Pring
5 January, 2010
Action on Disability and Development International (ADDI), which is based in Somerset, received the Chevalier of Merit award from president Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso.
ADDI was one of 20 voluntary organisations to receive the award at the presidential palace, at an event held to mark the 49th anniversary of Burkina Faso’s independence from France.
ADDI is supporting projects in Burkina Faso to strengthen disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) and campaign for inclusive education, access to employment and an accessible environment, and to empower disabled women.
ADDI said the country had introduced a series of measures to improve the lives of disabled people, including setting up a department for disability issues, providing new employment rights, and ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Emilienne Sanon, ADDI’s regional director, said the award was a sign that the UN convention was having an impact on disabled people’s lives.
She said: “As a result of ADDI’s awareness-raising campaign on the convention and its support to the advocacy campaigns of networks of DPOs, the convention was ratified by the government of Burkina Faso, which adopted subsequently a domestic law to protect and promote disabled people’s rights.”
But she said there was “still much to be done” to ensure the convention had an impact on people’s lives, so ADDI would support DPOs to lobby the government to introduce the necessary laws.
Sanon added: “This honour rewards the hard work and dedication of our staff, the brave leaders of the disabled people’s organisations we work with and the commitment of the disabled people they represent.”
ADDI works with DPOs in 11 African and Asian countries, supporting and mentoring them in their fight for the right to earn a living and enjoy a family life, and access education and healthcare.
News provided by John Pring
4 January, 2010
Campaigners are angry that the target – to make a quarter of the capital’s 270 stations accessible to wheelchair-users – will not be reached.
In April, mayor Boris Johnson’s transport adviser said 68 stations would be step-free by the end of 2010.
But TfL, which is chaired by the mayor, now says that only 62 stations will be step-free by the end of 2010.
It said it has stopped work to provide step-free access at the six other tube stations because of financial pressure caused by the recession and extra costs resulting from the collapse of the tube maintenance company Metronet.
The previous mayor, Ken Livingstone, had pledged that a third of stations would be step-free by the end of 2013.
TfL has also scrapped its accessible transport magazine, Getting There, which was issued to about 100,000 members of the Taxicard and Dial-a-Ride accessible transport schemes – again in a bid to cut costs.
Faryal Velmi, director of the campaigning accessible transport charity Transport for All, said she was “very disappointed” that the target would not be achieved.
She said promises had “essentially been put aside”, which would “severely impact” on disabled visitors to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
A TfL spokeswoman denied that the postponed step-free work would have a negative impact on the 2012 Games.
She said London Underground was “working closely” with the Olympic Delivery Authority on the accessible elements of its transport plan.
She said TfL was focusing on “core projects” that would deliver the mayor’s transport priorities, including the tube upgrade, Crossrail and 2012 preparations.
She said step-free investment was being targeted at “key interchange stations” to “deliver the greatest benefit for the largest number of customers”, with step-free access before 2012 at Southfields and Green Park stations, which will both have “a key role” in the 2012 transport plan.
Other access improvements, such as tactile paving and induction loops, will be added to stations “as modernisations and refurbishments are completed”, while TfL was also replacing and refurbishing its train fleet, she said.
She confirmed that Getting There was being scrapped, and said TfL believed it could provide the information “using less expensive methods”.
News provided by John Pring
24 December, 2009
The Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) annual hate crime report says it prosecuted 393 cases of disability hate crime in England and Wales in 2008-09, compared with just 183 the previous year.
The report says the increase in volume is “very encouraging” and suggests police and prosecutors are “improving their ability to recognise and flag these cases”.
Any criminal offence found by a court to be a disability hate crime – after it is brought to the judge or magistrates’ attention by a prosecutor – should earn a harsher sentence.
But the number of prosecutions is still far lower than homophobic hate crimes (more than 1,000 prosecuted) and racist and religious hate crimes (more than 11,500).
The conviction rate for disability hate crimes fell slightly, from 77 to 76 per cent, while the proportion of cases referred to the CPS in which prosecutors decided to charge a defendant also fell slightly, from 67 to 66 per cent.
Anne Novis, who leads on disability hate crime for the United Kingdom’s Disabled People’s Council, said the figures were still “very low” compared with the true extent of hate crime reported to disabled people’s organisations.
She said: “It’s great that it is an increase but it is not enough of an increase.”
She added: “We are still not getting it right on the frontline with the police, with the way they respond, with disabled people having the chance to report appropriately in accessible ways.
“These things we need, so people are reporting and police are investigating appropriately so the CPS can follow it through.”
But she said she believed the CPS was now taking the issue seriously, although it needed to work more closely with disabled people’s organisations and pledge to use the social model of disability as a “key driver” in its work.
Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, says in the report that the CPS has made progress on bringing all hate crimes to justice, but accepts the need to “focus our efforts to continue to increase the volume of disability hate crime cases in particular”.
The report says the CPS is “not complacent” about the improvements needed, and has acted on concerns from disabled people about low reporting and prosecution rates.
News provided by John Pring
24 December, 2009
The link-up will see the online access guide DisabledGo providing detailed information on leisure and tourism venues to online visitors to OpenBritain, the website for disabled travellers launched this summer.
From early 2010, visitors to OpenBritain will be able to search for access details on more than 50,000 leisure and tourism venues throughout the UK – including hotels, shops, cinemas and restaurants – which have all been visited by a trained access surveyor for DisabledGo.
OpenBritain is a joint project between the disability charities RADAR, Tourism for All UK and the National Federation of Shopmobility, and was launched by two government ministers in July.
Jenifer Littman, Tourism for All’s chief executive, said: “The new partnership with DisabledGo transforms OpenBritain’s ability to provide high-quality, comprehensive information, while at the same time reinforcing the value of access guides commissioned by local authorities and available on one of disability’s best kept secrets, www.disabledgo.com .”
Dr Gregory Burke, founder and chief executive of DisabledGo, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working with Tourism for All UK on OpenBritain.
“It is a fantastic initiative and so important for those wanting to travel, holiday and enjoy everything Britain has to offer.”
For more information, visit www.openbritain.net or www.disabledgo.com
News provided by John Pring
24 December, 2009
Vincent Onwubiko, who has won five gold medals representing Britain in international competition, has lived in the UK since 1994.
But the government began moves to deport him two years ago after he was convicted of driving while disqualified.
He was due to be deported on 11 December, but his solicitor, Michael Ukwuoma, secured a last-minute judicial review on the grounds that Onwubiko had a case with the European Court of Human Rights.
He has now been taken to a detention centre at Colnbrook, near Heathrow airport, but Ukwuoma plans to lodge high court papers tomorrow (18 December) seeking his release from detention while his legal battle is ongoing.
His case follows that of disabled asylum-seeker Abbas Sharifi, who was deported to Afghanistan in July, despite desperate pleas from disability rights campaigners.
The disability charity RADAR wrote to the home secretary Alan Johnson on the day Onwubiko was due to be deported, saying it “strongly” believed such action would breach his right to a family life.
RADAR said the government might also be breaching the Disability Discrimination Act, as Onwubiko would return to a country with little practical support and without his close family, and that it may have failed in its legal duty to promote disability equality.
The letter, from RADAR’s chief executive Liz Sayce and joint deputy chief executive Caroline Ellis, said: “We cannot understand why having lived here for so long and contributed to this country he should be the subject of deportation at all.”
They also expressed “grave concerns” about allegations concerning the way Onwubiko was treated in prison and at an immigration removal centre.
Speaking before the judicial review was granted, David Wood, head of criminality and detentions for the UK Border Agency, said: “We have fully considered his case and made sure that his human rights are not breached. “This decision has been reviewed and upheld by an immigration judge.”
After the judicial review was granted, a Home Office spokesman added: “I can confirm that the removal was postponed after Mr Onwubiko made further representations to the high court.
“A decision will be taken in due course by a judge to see if there is any new evidence that will affect his asylum claim.”
News provided by John Pring
23 December, 2009
The Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE) said recommendations in the inquiry’s final report would have a “limited positive impact” on children with SEN, who will still have no right to a mainstream school place and can be forced to attend a special school.
Simone Aspis, ALLFIE’s campaigns and policy co-ordinator, said they had hoped Lamb would use the opportunity to “eradicate the inequality of access to mainstream education” in the SEN system.
The Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE) said many of Lamb’s recommendations were “highly pertinent and desirable”, but merely “sticking plasters” for a system that could not be fixed.
Chris Goodey, CSIE’s assistant director, said Lamb’s report fails to explain how disabled children can achieve “ordinary lives” in a system where some are educated separately in special schools.
He said the SEN framework should be replaced with a personalised system, with each child given a personal budget – combined with any other state funding they receive – to buy the support they and their parents choose.
Goodey said: “This was a golden opportunity missed. Even though the recommendations are pertinent, they are pertinent to a system that has failed.”
The National Autistic Society said the recommendations would only make a difference if the government forced councils to comply with the law.
But it said new rights of appeal on SEN statements, and the duty on Ofsted inspections to focus more on SEN, would help parents and make schools more accountable.
The disabled children’s charity Whizz-Kidz particularly welcomed the government’s pledge to tackle bullying and legislate to give disabled pupils the right to auxiliary aids and services.
It said access to equipment would “greatly enhance the inclusion and equality of disabled pupils in mainstream education”, while early results from its own survey of disabled pupils showed bullying was “an all too frequent experience”.
Scope said the report’s recommendations would make the system fairer, and welcomed the emphasis on “system-wide reform” to ensure parents and schools work together.
It also welcomed the recommendations on auxiliary aids, strengthened rights to appeal, and Ofsted’s new duties.
The Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM) campaign praised the report’s call for a “core offer” to provide parents with “information, assessment, transparency, participation and feedback”, and said the government should set a timetable for its implementation.
News provided by John Pring
23 December, 2009
The plea came in the final report of an inquiry set up by the government to improve confidence in England’s SEN system, which heard from thousands of parents and children over 21 months.
SEN expert Brian Lamb, who led the inquiry, said a “radical overhaul” should “ruthlessly” refocus the system to provide stronger rights for children with SEN, and a “culture change” in how schools and local authorities work with those children and their parents.
The inquiry’s clear message was that “parents need to be listened to more and the system needs to be more ambitious for their children”, said Lamb.
He added: “We need to act urgently to ensure we do not let a generation of children leave school ill-equipped to lead an independent life and make a contribution to society.”
Lamb said the inquiry found “many examples where disabled children and children with SEN were sidelined rather than challenged to be the best that they could possibly be”.
About one in five children in England have SEN, while just under three per cent – 222,000 – have a statement of SEN, which sets out the support the child should receive.
Lamb said children with SEN were eight times more likely to be excluded than their peers, and called for more support and new guidance to tackle the problem.
And he called for “good, honest and open communication” with parents, who should have access to independent advice through a national helpline – one of 51 wide-ranging recommendations in the report.
Lamb said many parents found assessments “stressful and difficult”, and often faced poor information and support and negative attitudes.
The report says school governors and Ofsted inspectors should focus more on SEN, while the government should do more to use the available evidence to hold local authorities to account when they fail on SEN.
It also says parents are frequently unaware of the protection offered by the Disability Discrimination Act, while public bodies often fail to comply with their duties under the act.
The report concludes: “In many places and for many parents [the SEN system] can and does work well, but for too many parents it represents an unwarranted and unnecessary struggle.”
But Lamb says in the report that there is “nothing I am recommending that is not being done by the best teachers, schools and local authorities across the country already”.
News provided by John Pring
23 December, 2009
Responding to the final report of the Lamb inquiry on the SEN system – commissioned by the government – education secretary Ed Balls said he wanted to make the system “more transparent and give parents more help”.
And he pledged to find a “suitable legislative opportunity” to bring in laws to give all disabled children the right to support at school through access to auxiliary aids and services – a key, longstanding demand of disability rights campaigners and the Disability Rights Commission.
Balls said the government would publish detailed plans for implementing Lamb’s recommendations in January, but he announced several immediate measures aimed at helping parents with “the least confidence in the system”.
A new national SEN helpline will provide parents with independent, expert advice.
The government will also provide funding for the Local Government Ombudsman to deal with parents’ SEN complaints about schools and local authorities.
Balls said: “Brian Lamb’s report tells us that parents must have access to the information they need, when they need it, in ways that are convenient to them.
“Where parents aren’t happy with the system, they will be able to complain to the Local Government Ombudsman.”
Balls also announced improved guidance on exclusions for governors and independent appeals panels, and new pilot projects aimed at improving SEN assessments and the “transparency” of local authority decision-making.
He also promised a review of legal aid funding for tribunals, and announced funding for a new project by the Anti-Bullying Alliance.
Over the last year, Balls has announced a series of measures following interim inquiry reports, on issues such as the high level of exclusions of children with SEN, assessments, SEN statements, teacher training, bullying, and improved information for parents.
He has also said Ofsted would be given new duties to use inspections to investigate how schools are supporting disabled children and those with SEN.
Meanwhile, new government figures have shown a small increase in parents’ satisfaction with services for disabled children.
The national score increased to 61 out of 100, up two points from last year.
The results come from a survey of parents in England between July and November, including their experiences of health, education, and care and family support.
This year, every council and primary care trust was also scored for the first time.
News provided by John Pring
22 December, 2009
They have been campaigning since last year for government funding for the 463 people in the UK who were born with impairments caused by their mothers taking the drug while pregnant in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
The campaign has been run by the national advisory council (NAC), an elected committee representing all those born with Thalidomide impairments and supported by the Thalidomide Trust.
The trust administers payments from the compensation paid by Distillers, the company that marketed Thalidomide in the UK (and now a non-trading subsidiary of Diageo PLC).
But many of those born with Thalidomide impairments – all now aged between 47 and 50 – are finding it increasingly difficult to survive on the compensation they receive.
Already having to cope with the cost of equipment such as adapted vehicles and electric wheelchairs, many also face deteriorating health caused by an accelerated wear of joints and limbs, leading to pain and further impairments.
A parliamentary early day motion (EDM) calling for a government financial assistance package for those with Thalidomide impairments has secured the signatures of 275 MPs, far above the average level of support for an EDM.
NAC member Nick Dobrik said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the progress of talks with the government over funding, and said negotiations over the last couple of months had been “intense”.
He said: “We are looking for an annual payment to the trust in order to improve the quality of life of Thalidomiders, so they can maintain their independence.”
Guy Tweedy, deputy chair of the NAC, said: “Our bodies weren’t designed for what we are using them for.”
He added: “Hopefully we will get somewhere. The government have been very amenable.
“This is about justice and not entitlement, helping Thalidomiders with their unmet needs.
“This would make a difference. There are a lot of people really struggling out there.”
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “Everyone has the greatest sympathy for individuals and families affected by Thalidomide and we take their concerns very seriously.
“Mike O’Brien, minister of state for health, is holding continuing meetings with representatives of the trust to further discuss their concerns.
“Those affected by Thalidomide continue to get compensated through a private settlement with Diageo PLC, which is administered by the Thalidomide Trust. Diageo continues to make annual payments to the trust.”
News provided by John Pring
22 December, 2009
Baroness [Jane] Campbell, Baroness [Rosalie] Wilkins and Lord [Colin] Low were speaking during the second reading of the bill in the Lords.
Each welcomed the bill – which streamlines existing equality laws – but warned that parts of it provide less protection than the DDA.
Baroness Campbell said the bill could “genuinely transform opportunities over time” but gains made through the DDA must not be “lost in translation in the equality bill”.
She said she was particularly concerned that the public sector duty to promote equality would be weaker on disability equality than the DDA.
And she said the bill fails to make it “absolutely clear” that service-providers cannot charge to provide reasonable adjustments.
She also expressed concern that an immigration measure in the bill could lead to seriously-ill disabled people being denied entry or leave to remain in the UK “in contravention of the most basic human rights”.
Baroness Wilkins said she was disappointed the bill had not adopted a more “social model” definition of disability, to improve on the current situation where discrimination can only be proved if an impairment has lasted a year.
She said it was “a travesty” that so much tribunal time was wasted “arguing about how disabled someone is, rather than focusing on the discrimination that may have taken place”.
But she said she was “delighted” the bill would make it illegal for landlords to prevent reasonable requests from disabled tenants to make physical alterations to communal hallways and entrances, so they are not “imprisoned in their own home”, something she has campaigned for since 2004.
Lord Low said parts of the bill were “particularly welcome to disabled people”, including its reversal of the 2008 Lewisham v Malcolm Lords ruling, which “threatened to wreak so much havoc with the concept of disability-related discrimination”.
But he said several parts “remain of concern to disabled people”, including a clause that “explicitly authorises an exam system that disadvantages disabled candidates” and says minimising this is “merely desirable, not necessary”.
And Lord Low said he would table an amendment to “introduce an explicit duty to provide accessible information”.
Baroness Royall, for the government, said she was “carefully” considering the comments of the three peers, and others, on the public sector equality duty, and would discuss further the issue around reasonable adjustment costs.
News provided by John Pring
22 December, 2009
Nearly 50 delegates from local authorities, the Crown Prosecution Service, police forces, central government and voluntary organisations attended the Overcoming a Crisis of Justice conference on disability hate crime.
During a voting session at the conference – organised by Westminster Briefing – nearly four-fifths of delegates said the criminal justice system failed to take disability hate crime as seriously as other hate crimes.
Nearly seven in ten said the court process was “unfriendly and inaccessible” to disabled people.
And 86 per cent said they believed that not enough was being done to ensure that disabled people were seen as targets of hostility, and not just “easy targets”.
But nearly half the delegates said that tackling disability hate crime was high on the agenda in their local area.
Katharine Quarmby, author of the Getting Away With Murder report on disability hate crime, who spoke at the conference, said there was a feeling of “real disappointment and frustration” that the criminal justice system was still failing to treat disabled people equally.
She said: “It was an audience of very highly-skilled professionals with a really good understanding of what’s happening on the ground.
“If they are so disappointed in the criminal justice system, it really shows that the system hasn’t changed.”
Quarmby said the conference also underlined the urgent need for research to discover what motivates offenders to target disabled people in hate crimes.
But she said she was encouraged that criminal justice agencies appeared to be much clearer that lower-level harassment of disabled people often develops into something much more serious, such as hate crime murders.
Stephen Brookes, coordinator of the National Disability Hate Crime Network, who chaired the conference, said he was encouraged that delegates had recognised the importance of taking such harassment seriously and “looking more systematically at this lower level of crime”.
News provided by John Pring
21 December, 2009
The event had many high profile speakers including Jonathan Shaw MP, Minister for Disabled People, Tessa Jowell MP, Minister for the Olympics and Tim Cooper, Director of the ODI. The day brought together disabled people and disability organisations to discuss key issues, examples of good practice and a plan for the future.
Jonathan Shaw, Minister for Disabled People spoke about the work undertaken in the last year, including the ratification of the UN Convention on the rights of disabled people and the introduced of the new Equality Bill that received its third reading in the House of Commons the night before the event. He reinforced Government's commitment to greater choice and control for disabled people and the five-year independent living strategy.
Employment opportunities were discussed with the Minister telling attendees about further money channeled into access to work and the Value Employment Now strategy, implemented to help reduce the still unacceptably large employment gap between people with learning disabilities and the population as a whole. He also spoke about plans for the Department of Work and Pensions to create opportunities for 400 people with learning disabilities to work within the Department, including the minister's office.
All speakers spoke about hate crime and the case of Fiona Pilkington. Jonathan Shaw MP said, 'one of the most depressing features of the events surrounding Fiona Pilkington's case was that she had no expectation that anyone could do anything about it. That is simply unacceptable.' The Minister described how hate crime needed to be tackled strategically and at the grassroots to bring about change.
Tessa Jowell MP highlighted that 3rd December 2009 marked 1,000 days until the Paralympics. There will be more than 4,000 athletes with 461 medals to win in 20 sporting disciplines over 11 days. When Britain won the right to host the Olympic and the Paralympic Games, the promise was to make London 25 everybody's games. For the whole country inspired, included and engaged in the most accessible and inclusive games in history, with the best ever facilities for disabled people. The Minister encouraged everyone to visit the Olympic site to see for themselves the
progress being made there.
Following ministerial speeches attendees discussed Roadmap 2025, for your copy and to feedback your views please follow this link:
http://www.officefordisability.gov.uk/research/annual-report.php#roadmap
21 December, 2009
Health secretary Andy Burnham revealed the figure during the second reading of the bill in the Commons.
The government had said its bill would provide free personal care at home for 280,000 disabled people with the highest needs.
But Burnham told MPs about 80,000 older people with the highest needs who would benefit already receive free care, although the bill would help 40,000 older people currently paying part of their costs and 50,000 who pay all their costs.
He said the bill would also help 20,000 younger disabled adults who pay all or part of their costs, while 90,000 already receive free care.
Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat shadow health secretary, said the total number of disabled people who would benefit was only 110,000.
He said councils might avoid these costs by forcing people into residential care or arguing that people do not have "critical" needs.
He added: "We are likely to see a bureaucratic and time-consuming process of social workers carrying out assessments to determine whether someone's needs are 'substantial' or 'critical'."
But Burnham said the bill would "end the lottery in home care" for those with "the highest needs" and "make the existing system fairer now and pave the way for a bigger reform of social care" after the general election.
He said the bill would provide a "bridge" towards a national care service that was "geared around promoting people's independence, good health and supporting them to stay at home".
He said Isle of Wight council reduced residential care placements by two-fifths after introducing free personal care at home.
Andrew Lansley, the Conservative shadow health secretary, questioned why the government was providing free care at home when its care and support green paper ruled out the option of taxpayer-funded free social care.
He said Scotland’s experience showed free personal care was "unaffordable", while the bill's estimated £670 million annual cost might rise even higher because people currently receiving informal care or paying for care privately might also want to benefit.
Lamb said the bill - which will also provide intensive "re-ablement" support for around 130,000 people who need home care for the first time – was inconsistent with the green paper, was "not joined up" and "helps one group, but not all".
He called for an immediate cross-party commission aimed at reaching a consensus over care funding.
News provided by John Pring
21 December, 2009
Not Dead Yet UK (NDY UK) was responding to a public consultation on interim guidance published by the director of public prosecutions (DPP) in September.
The DPP laid out interim guidelines for England, Wales and Northern Ireland after the Law Lords backed Debbie Purdy's demand for the law to be clarified.
Purdy, who has multiple sclerosis, wanted to know in which circumstances her husband would be prosecuted if he helped her end her life at the Dignitas assisted suicide centre in Switzerland.
But NDY UK – whose members are disabled people campaigning against assisted suicide – says pro-euthanasia campaigners are trying to use Purdy's case to "change the law by the back door" by "creating the impression that those who assist in a suicide will be immune from prosecution".
NDY UK's views have been endorsed by a swathe of influential disabled people's organisations, including the United Kingdom's Disabled People's Council, RADAR and the National Centre for Independent Living.
Many disabled campaigners were angered by the interim guidance, which lists factors to be considered in deciding whether to prosecute.
It says a prosecution is less likely if the victim had a terminal illness, a "severe and incurable physical disability" or a "severe degenerative physical condition".
But NDY UK says in its response to the consultation that a presumption that anyone assisting in a suicide would be prosecuted would protect those who feel pressured to kill themselves and reassure them that society valued their lives.
It would also send a message to those working in palliative care and hospices that their work was valued and "put the brakes on a growing negative culture, which does not value the lives of all people equally".
And it would ensure the policy does not discriminate against disabled people, sending out "a very clear message that all people should be protected under the law, in the same way, with the same respect".
NDY UK says the DPP should only be able to decline to prosecute if the suspect only assisted after "protracted and persistent pressure from the victim".
NDY UK says this is the "only potentially acceptable factor against prosecution", although there should be evidence that the suspect resisted this pressure and sought help from professionals to try to avoid the suicide.
A final policy is expected in the spring.
News provided by John Pring
21 December, 2009
They were speaking during the second reading of a private members' bill introduced in the Lords by the former disabled people's minister, Lord [Alf] Morris.
Nearly 5,000 people with haemophilia were exposed to hepatitis C, and more than 1,200 were also infected with HIV, following treatment with contaminated NHS blood and blood products in the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly 2,000 have died, with many more terminally ill.
Lord Morris's contaminated blood (support for infected and bereaved persons) bill would implement all of the recommendations of an independent public inquiry into the scandal, led by Lord Archer of Sandwell.
The bill would increase compensation; improve medical care and review the support available for those infected; and set up a new committee to advise on treatment.
Lord Morris said there was "anguish", "despair" and "anger" among people with haemophilia at the government's treatment of the inquiry report, while the bill would produce "priceless benefits in enabling haemophilia patients to live fuller and more fulfilling lives".
The government has refused to increase compensation payments for those infected with hepatitis C, although it will "review" the compensation scheme in 2014, while annual compensation for people infected with HIV will double to £12,800.
Lord Archer said the government's response to his inquiry did "not reverberate with a sense of urgency" and people with haemophilia believe "their concerns pass unnoticed and that their voices are not listened to".
Among a string of peers who criticised the government's response to the inquiry, the disabled peer Baroness Masham, a vice-president of the Haemophilia Society, said the treatment of those infected was "a running sore that will not heal until there is a satisfactory solution".
Baroness Thornton, responding for the government, said it was "fully committed" to supporting those affected by the "appalling tragedy".
The Department of Health meets twice a year with a partnership of people with haemophilia and professionals, and prescription charges for patients with long-term conditions in England were being phased out, she said.
Other services, such as counselling and physiotherapy, were already available under the NHS.
She added: "We have put our money where our mouth is. I also recognise that this is never enough."
But she claimed many of the bill's provisions were "either already in place, or are being put in place", so there was "no need" for legislation.
News provided by John Pring
18 December, 2009
But there were criticisms of the move later, when it emerged that the recipients will have to cope with a lower settlement in 2011 to make up for the 2010 increase.
The chancellor, Alistair Darling, said inflation-linked benefits were not due to rise in April 2010 because such payments will be linked to the September retail prices index (RPI), which was minus 1.4 per cent.
He said such a freeze would not have been fair and announced that child benefit and some disability benefits – including attendance allowance, disability living allowance and employment and support allowance – would increase by 1.5 per cent.
Incapacity benefit will rise by 1.8 per cent, slightly higher for technical reasons.
Pensions minister Angela Eagle said later: "Despite negative RPI, we don’t want the disabled, carers and other vulnerable groups to miss out on an increase this year.
"Rather than freezing these benefits we are providing support now to help them through the recession."
But a Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman admitted that the inflation-linked increase in 2011 would be reduced by 1.5 percentage points.
She said: "Essentially we decided to do it sooner rather than later. It is providing help to people now when they need it."
Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrat shadow work and pensions secretary, said: "Alistair Darling appears to have hoodwinked those listening to his pre-budget report about what this could mean for people with disabilities and families in the long run.
"This ruse will mean a real terms cut in benefits for children and people with disabilities in 2011 and all ministers must take responsibility for this."
Meanwhile, Darling's promise to protect the NHS budget from cuts raised concerns that this pledge could come at the price of cuts to social care spending.
Andrew Harrop‚ head of public policy at Age Concern and Help the Aged‚ said: "With huge public spending cuts now likely outside the NHS‚ schools and policing‚ people reliant on care services can only fear the worst."
He added: "Ministers have said that addressing the crisis in the care system is one of their top priorities‚ but the chancellor has failed to match this rhetoric with a commitment on funding."
News provided by John Pring
18 December, 2009
Although they have welcomed amendments made by the government earlier this month, as the bill completed its progress through the Commons, they say there is still room for major improvement.
The disability charity RADAR believes there are still at least four areas where the bill could provide "a step back" from the rights and protection offered by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), including protection for disabled immigrants.
There are also at least two gaps in existing laws that RADAR and other campaigners hope will be filled through new amendments to the bill during its passage through the Lords.
One improvement they are hoping to push is for disabled pupils to have the right to support through auxiliary aids and services, such as the provision of information in alternative formats.
Another is for an improvement to the definition of disability, so that most disabled people will not have to prove the impact of their impairment has lasted for at least a year to gain protection from discrimination.
RADAR has broadly welcomed a government amendment added earlier this month, which should solve problems caused by the controversial Lewisham v Malcolm House of Lords ruling in 2008.
RADAR has called the Malcolm ruling a "potentially fatal blow" to the concept of disability-related discrimination.
But RADAR said there were "lingering concerns" over another amendment the government made to the bill this month, this time on the issue of direct discrimination and whether disabled people can be treated more favourably than non-disabled people.
And a new government amendment that aims to stop employers using questionnaires that include health and disability-related questions to discriminate against job applicants with hidden impairments also received less than whole-hearted backing.
RADAR welcomed the "progress" on tackling the issue but said the new amendment fails to introduce a complete ban on the use of irrelevant health questions, instead allowing a disabled job applicant to use such questions as evidence of discrimination at a tribunal.
Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, said there was a "fair bit of work to do" to ensure there was "no element of regression from the DDA" when the equality bill becomes law.
But she said there "may also be an opportunity to make further gains" through the bill, which is due to receive its second reading in the Lords on 15 December.
News provided by John Pring
17 December, 2009
Jonathan Shaw, the minister for disabled people, said the new right to control (RTC) scheme could have an impact on "every area of disabled people’s lives".
RTC will put money from different funding streams into single pots of money for disabled people to use as they wish, and is due to be tested in "around" eight English local authorities from late 2010.
Following pressure from campaigners such as Baroness [Jane] Campbell and the charity RADAR, and strong views expressed by disabled people in a public consultation on RTC, the government has decided to include adult community care services as one of the funding streams.
But the government has decided not to include disabled student's allowance, although this could be added later, and it will not include benefits such as disability living allowance, attendance allowance and employment and support allowance.
The other funding streams that will be included in the RTC pots will be: access to work; work choice, the new specialist disability employment programme; independent living funds; supporting people housing support; and disabled facilities grants.
Those disabled people taking part in the RTC pilots will have a legal right to be told how much support they are eligible for, and will then be able to choose and control how they receive and use this support.
Disabled people made it clear in the consultation that they and their organisations should be closely involved in implementing RTC.
And they said there must be "clear, consistent and accessible information" for disabled people in the RTC areas, as well as "joined-up support".
The government said applications from councils keen to take part in the RTC pilots would be judged partly on their plans for providing information, advice, support and advocacy.
News provided by John Pring
17 December, 2009
Mayor Boris Johnson is carrying out a full review of the London plan produced five years ago by his predecessor Ken Livingstone.
Inclusion London, the new organisation working for the city's Deaf and disabled people and their organisations, organised a conference of more than 60 campaigners at City Hall to discover their views on Johnson's draft replacement London plan.
The conference also heard from RADAR, Transport for All, the mayor's London plan team, and Jenny Jones, chair of the London Assembly's planning and housing committee.
Delegates called on the mayor to rethink his plans to lower targets for affordable homes and social housing, and said he should scrap his commitment to controversial "shared space" street design.
They also wanted him to ensure the implementation of proposals in the existing London Plan for lifetime homes standards in all new housing developments, for ten per cent of new housing to be wheelchair-accessible, and of its emphasis on inclusive environments, or "lifetime neighbourhoods".
They also called for "significant" improvements to the mayor's transport strategy, including a return to the original timetables for introducing step-free access to the capital's tube stations, after the mayor deferred work on a number of stations to cut costs.
And delegates expressed concern that the draft plan fails to refer to the social model of disability and lacks analysis of the specific barriers facing disabled Londoners.
Johnson has faced similar criticism of his equality framework, which Inclusion London says is also "lacking many specifics" and omits any mention of disability hate crime.
The draft plan is out for consultation until 12 January.
Inclusion London said it would include comments from the conference in its responses to the draft London plan and the mayor's transport strategy, and campaign for the needs of Deaf and disabled people to be "much higher up the political agenda in London".
Jones said the assembly's planning committee would make use of delegates' comments and wanted the social model to be "reasserted explicitly at the heart of these mayoral strategies".
Andrew Little, chief executive of Inclusion London, said he was "surprised" and "excited" by the level of energy shown at the conference – its first major event – by campaigners keen to fight for disabled people's rights.
He added: "To get so many people at our first event was really encouraging."
News provided by John Pring
16 December, 2009
Tackling Disability Poverty, published by the disability poverty charity Disability Alliance and backed by 16 organisations, outlines 17 "routes out of poverty" that could help eradicate the "avoidable and unacceptable" poverty faced by disabled people.
Disability Alliance called on political parties to say how they would prioritise the 17 measures in time for next year's general election.
Vanessa Stanislas, chief executive of Disability Alliance, said: "Our evidence reveals the persistent poverty which blights disabled people's lives from childhood to older age.
"We need the main UK political parties to commit to ensuring 'efficiency savings' and other spending plans do not mean cuts to support for disabled people and their families."
The manifesto says research has found that disabled people are twice as likely to live in poverty than non-disabled people, while a third of working-age disabled adults live in poverty.
The manifesto says the first step should be the development of a new approach to measuring disability poverty.
Stanislas said existing evidence should be "collected in a way that presents the proper picture of disability poverty".
The manifesto also calls for campaigns to encourage benefit take-up, particularly targeting disabled older people and parents of children with a statement of special educational needs (SEN).
Many of the "routes out of poverty" would save the government money, according to the manifesto.
Among recommendations are a focus on tackling disabled 16-18-year-olds who are not in employment, education or training, and additional support to help disabled 18-25-year-olds find and retain work.
Supporting disabled children to gain skills and improving support to help disabled adults into work could save more than £40 billion, it says.
And tackling disability poverty could cut ill-health and avoidable NHS costs.
The manifesto also says there should be an end to care charges for all disabled people; a simpler benefits system; and a review of the impact of the new employment and support allowance.
At the manifesto's Commons launch, Terry Rooney MP, chair of the Commons work and pensions select committee, said the document was "ambitious", but added: "Do we really as a society want a situation where disabled people could grow up in poverty, spend their working age life in poverty and spend their retirement in poverty? Because that is what is being said at the moment."
News provided by John Pring
15 December, 2009
The London borough of Barnet – seen as a flagship Conservative-run council – has applied for £11.2 million in PFI funding (or "PFI credits") from the Department of Health (DH).
If successful, it would use the credits to fund the building of a social care resource centre, which will house the new CIL.
The CIL would be led by disabled people and "host" services currently provided by the council-run Barnet Independent Living Service (BILS), including advice, support and information for disabled people.
The cost of building the centre has been estimated at £5.9 million, and if successful in its bid, the council would receive DH funding every year to lease the centre from the private sector companies that will build it.
The PFI credits would also help pay for ongoing maintenance and management of the building over the 25-year contract.
In its Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People report, the government said every area should have its own user-led CIL.
But this is believed to be the first time a council has tried to use the PFI to house a CIL, although Barnet has stressed that the PFI will only be used to fund the centre's design, building and maintenance, and not to run the CIL itself.
A Barnet council spokesman said the DH funding would allow the council to build a "state-of-the-art bespoke facility with minimal input from its own finances" and deliver the project quicker, so "realising a long-held ambition of the disabled community in Barnet to have a centre for independent living".
But there could still be controversy over the use of the PFI, as such projects can generate larger than normal profits for the private sector companies that provide the financing and assume the risk.
A DH spokeswoman said: "The key principle of PFI is that it transfers the risk of time and cost overruns to the private sector partner, whose entire capital investment is at risk if they do not deliver."
A decision by the DH on whether the Barnet bid has been successful is likely this spring.
Bernd Sass, policy and external relations manager for the National Centre for Independent Living, said: "As long as there is a building for a CIL to develop and flourish, that is what counts.
"It would be a very different response if it was about the financing of the service provision. We would not accept a gamble associated with a PFI when it came to service delivery."
News provided by John Pring
15 December, 2009
The first national mental health and employment strategy for England, Scotland and Wales aims to encourage employers to take on more people with mental health conditions.
Working our Way to Better Mental Health was one of four mental health reports launched by the government on 7 December.
As part of the strategy, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has set up a new network of Jobcentre Plus mental health coordinators, with one in every district, to improve links between health and employment services.
The access to work programme will be redesigned to offer more help to people with mental health conditions – a move backed by the Employers' Forum on Disability (EFD).
The DWP is also working on a training programme to raise GPs' awareness of the positive links between health and work.
And nine new pilot schemes – including one in Wales and one in Scotland – will offer occupational health telephone advice lines to help small businesses keep staff with ill-health in their jobs.
EFD welcomed the advice lines but said the providers would need "an understanding of the workplace and what adjustments are available".
Jonathan Shaw, minister for disabled people, said providing the right support to employers and employees would ensure a "critical mass" of people with mental health conditions in work.
This would "demonstrate the pool of talent", leading to "less prejudice" and more confident employers.
Although he did not rule out taking action under the Disability Discrimination Act against local authorities and health trusts that fail to act on employment and mental health, he said: "Before we start threatening legal action, we need to give them the opportunity to use the tools we are offering."
Shaw also said the government was considering results from an internal review of the work capability assessment, the test for new claimants of out-of-work disability benefits.
The new test has been criticised for its inflexibility, amid concerns that it is failing those with mental health and other fluctuating conditions.
Shaw said: "I am certainly alert to the fact that there have been criticisms around fluctuating conditions.
"We want to ensure the assessment process is doing what we wanted it to do."
The government also published Work, Recovery and Inclusion, which describes its plans for a "radical increase" in the number of people with the most severe mental health conditions in work by 2025.
News provided by John Pring
14 December, 2009
Realising Ambitions – commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) – says more than a million people with mental health conditions are claiming welfare benefits, with probably twice as many out-of-work.
It was one of four reports around mental health launched by the government on 7 December.
The review, led by Dr Rachel Perkins, a mental health service-user and a director at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, examines what can be done – outside the benefits system – to help people with mental health conditions into work.
The report calls for intensive, specialised support, based on the individual placement and support (IPS) approach Perkins has pioneered in the UK, in which people are helped to get a job and there is long-term support for both employers and employees.
Perkins said there should be "quite significant" changes to the access to work (ATW) scheme, so people can discover their eligibility before applying for a job, and employees and employer can call on support when needed.
Currently, less than one per cent of ATW claimants have a mental health condition.
The review also says small businesses should be able to use ATW to fund temporary cover if an employee is on long-term sick leave for an impairment-related reason.
And it recommends further changes to the "permitted work" rules, which allow people to work part-time while still receiving benefits so as to ease their path towards full-time work.
The government already allows those on employment and support allowance or incapacity benefit to earn £93 a week for up to a year without their benefits being affected.
But the review says this should be extended to all who could benefit, including many people with mental health conditions on income support or jobseeker's allowance.
Perkins said she was also "very concerned" at the lack of connection between employment services and health and social services.
Other recommendations include: more focus in the welfare-to-work system on assisting people with mental health conditions, and regular monitoring of their job status by health, social services and the DWP; employment specialists to be "embedded" in all mental health and social services teams; and Jobcentre Plus to arrange internships to ease people's transition from benefits to paid work.
The review concludes that the government and public sector have often "lagged behind" the private sector in providing jobs for those with mental health conditions.
Perkins said she was "really pleased" that the government had appeared to accept the ATW recommendations, but hoped it would go further on permitted work.
Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, said the review, if implemented in full, would "make the right to work real for hundreds of thousands of talented people", ending injustice and reaping "huge dividends for our economy".
A Department of Health spokeswoman said it knew that IPS can be "effective and cost-effective" and the review had formed a "blueprint" for local areas to put it into practice.
News provided by John Pring
14 December, 2009
The cross-government New Horizons strategy was launched alongside three linked publications around mental health and employment.
New Horizons promises that services for people with mental ill health will be "safe, accessible and personal" while "opportunity...will replace prejudice".
But it warns that all plans arising from New Horizons would be "subject to a review of affordability".
The strategy includes 120 cross-government actions, with measures to improve services for younger people and the transition to adult services, boost personalisation, and improve the physical healthcare of people with mental health conditions and the mental health of those in the armed forces and service veterans.
There will also be a "refreshed" strategy on suicide prevention.
A section of the strategy is devoted to tackling stigma, including a planned "summit" meeting of ministers to discuss cross-government action, and funding for a website that will allow the public to praise or complain to journalists writing about mental health.
Health secretary Andy Burnham described the strategy as "a bold statement of intent" and a "radical new approach" which "lays the foundation for further action" after a decade of record investment in mental health services.
And the prime minister, Gordon Brown, said the strategy combined "service improvement with a new partnership of central and local government, the third sector and the professions".
Paul Jenkins, chief executive of the charity Rethink, said New Horizons could "revolutionise" services and the lives of people with severe mental health conditions, but warned that mental health budgets were vulnerable to cuts in a recession and called for government funding guarantees.
Mind said New Horizons had "broken new ground" and was "a turning point that no new government can turn back from", but that its aim to "improve everyone's wellbeing" should not draw attention from the poor services and lack of support in many areas.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said investment in adult mental health services had increased in real terms by 50 per cent, or £2 billion, since 2001-02, and "we cannot depend on that scale of extra investment being repeated".
But she said the strategy demonstrates "how we can make enormous progress" through prevention, earlier intervention, innovation, collaboration and improved productivity.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Shaw, the minister for disabled people, has given the strongest sign yet that the government will act to remove a law that says MPs sectioned for at least six months must lose their seats.
He said: "It is an anachronism and it needs to be dumped. We need to find the right legislation to attach it to. I am sure that that is what we will do."
News provided by John Pring
11 December, 2009
Talent2012: Paralympic Potential is a nationwide talent drive being run by ParalympicsGB, UK Sport and The English Institute of Sport.
Their message, as they launched the scheme on 3 December – the International Day of Disabled People – was that there was still time for athletes currently outside the elite training programmes to win medals in 2012.
They said such a campaign – less than three years from the start of the Games – was "unprecedented".
And they said that, although it can take athletes up to eight years to reach an Olympics, research has shown that potential participants for a Paralympic Games can reach elite level far quicker.
At the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, a third of British medallists had been part of an elite sporting programme for less than two years, with 15 of the 42 British gold medals won by first-time Paralympians.
Phil Lane, ParalympicsGB's chief executive, said: "Whilst we have come second in the medal table at the past four Games, there are many events that we simply haven't been able to field an athlete in.
"With the competition getting tougher all the time it is vital that we have explored all avenues to recruit new athletes."
Dave Smith, who only began training 12 months ago after switching from the GB bobsleigh team, has already become a world champion in adaptive rowing.
He joined a ParalympicsGB initiative on the advice of a coach and was spotted by rowing coaches.
He now hopes to compete for Britain in London in 2012, and said: "I think my story demonstrates that with the right coaching and determination anything is possible.
"I hope other athletes in a similar position to me will grab their 2012 opportunity."
The campaign is open to athletes aged between 15 and 35. To register your interest, visit www.uksport.gov.uk/talent before 11 January 2010.
News provided by John Pring
11 December, 2009
The government amendment to the bill aims to tackle the problem of employers who use questionnaires that include health and disability-related questions to discriminate against job applicants with hidden impairments.
It was added to the bill – which will streamline existing equality laws and introduce new measures around disability discrimination – as it completed its progress through the Commons.
Vera Baird, the solicitor general, told the Commons that MPs had heard "compelling evidence" from disability organisations that many disabled people were having job applications rejected once employers became aware of their impairments.
Pre-employment inquiries can also deter some disabled people from applying for jobs, she said.
RADAR told MPs at an earlier stage of the bill's progress that restricting the use of pre-employment inquiries was "probably the single biggest difference and improvement that could be made through the equality bill in relation to the employment of disabled people".
Baird said the new amendment would deter employers from asking health and disability-related questions and then using the information "for discriminatory purposes".
There are some situations where employers will be able to ask such questions before they short-list a candidate after a job interview, such as to allow them to make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process.
But there have been concerns over the way the amendment has been phrased, with some campaigners apparently saying it is too complicated.
The Conservative MP John Penrose told the Commons that both Rethink and the Terrence Higgins Trust had expressed concerns, although he said parliament was "making steady progress in the right direction".
The government also introduced two other amendments to the bill that aim to tighten up protection from disability discrimination.
One amendment aims to make it clear that disabled people can legally be treated more favourably in order to address the barriers they face.
Another aims to clarify how disabled people are protected from being discriminated against because of issues arising from their impairment.
It is so far unclear how disabled people's organisations will react to these two amendments.
News provided by John Pring
10 December, 2009
The independent living scrutiny group (ILSG), chaired by Baroness [Jane] Campbell and only set up in June, concluded that it was too early to draw "meaningful conclusions" about progress as they were still awaiting much of the relevant data.
But she said that "overall...we are satisfied that, at this early stage, progress on the ILS can be considered to be on course".
And she pointed to "signs of positive developments" since the cross-government strategy was launched in March 2008.
These include employment rates for disabled people rising from 47.8 per cent in 2007 to 48.5 per cent in 2009.
The report also welcomes participation rates in informal volunteering rising from 33 per cent in 2007/08 to 36 per cent in 2008/09, and the percentage of buses with low floor wheelchair access increasing regularly since 2001/02.
But Baroness Campbell says in the report that the group – whose members include some of the country’s leading disabled experts on independent living – were "concerned" that 23 per cent of disabled people say they do not frequently have choice and control over their lives.
She said the committee would be "looking for a significant reduction in this figure in the coming years".
News provided by John Pring
10 December, 2009
The comment from Jonathan Shaw MP came as the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) published its annual report on the government's progress towards its goal of equality by 2025.
The report says the government has made "significant progress" during 2009 and now has a "clear map for the road ahead".
In Roadmap 2025, published alongside the annual report, the ODI lays out a series of measures taken by the government since its Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People report in 2005 set out the vision of equality by 2025.
The Roadmap says the employment rate of disabled people increased from 44.5 per cent in 2005 to 48.4 per cent in 2008.
It also points to the government's independent living strategy, co-produced with disabled people, and its transforming adult social care strategy, which aims to give people more choice and control over services.
And it says it is investing £370 million in improving access to train stations between 2006 and 2015.
The Roadmap also points to the Aiming High for Disabled Children strategy, which aims to improve services for disabled children and their families.
The Roadmap also lays out the latest steps the government is taking to achieve equality, including spending £370 million to support short breaks for families with disabled children; its new equality bill; its hate crime action plan, published in September; and its pledge to double the access to work budget by 2013.
It also says that hosting a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2012 will promote inclusion, positive attitudes and the active participation of disabled people.
The Roadmap also highlights the reform of the blue badge parking system for disabled motorists.
But, more controversially, it says that beginning the transfer of disabled people on incapacity benefit to the new employment and support allowance (ESA) from next year – with "increased work-related support" – will also help achieve equality.
Campaigners have repeatedly warned that only a small proportion of those applying for ESA – currently only available to new claimants – are "passing" the strict new test.
They have raised concerns that too many disabled people are not accessing ESA and are ending up on jobseeker's allowance, where they do not get tailored support and receive a lower level of benefit.
News provided by John Pring
10 December, 2009
In its first report on adult social care since its launch in April as the regulator for adult social care and health services in England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found 140 of 148 councils (95 per cent) were performing well or excellently in commissioning adult social care.
The report says 27 councils have improved since last year, while a11 have deteriorated.
And for the sixth year running, no councils have been assessed as performing poorly overall.
But the number of councils performing excellently at increasing choice and control for adults using social care fell to 26 (from 32 in 2008), with nearly a quarter only performing adequately.
Although the CQC said this may partly be because its assessment in this area had "sharpened up", it highlighted this as a "priority" for improvement.
The CQC also said that nearly two in five councils needed improvement to increase the number of adults using self-directed support and individual budgets.
And about a third of councils are only performing adequately in maintaining the dignity and respect of service-users, about the same level as last year.
Three councils restrict eligibility for care-managed services to those with "critical" needs, while 103 set their threshold at "substantial" needs, 39 at moderate and three low. Three have raised their criteria and three have lowered them since 2008.
The CQC said it was "encouraged" that eligibility thresholds remained "largely unchanged" since last year, despite the recession, but it said it was still "concerned" that some councils could have to raise eligibility criteria further as public spending is squeezed in future years.
The quality of care homes and domiciliary services has also improved – over the year, the proportion of services rated as good or excellent increased from just over two-thirds (69 per cent) to just over three-quarters (77 per cent).
The CQC highlighted eight councils where improvements in adult social care were a priority, with a further 16 selected for in-depth inspections.
Cynthia Bower, the CQC’s chief executive, welcomed the "steady improvements" but said she was concerned that many care homes and agencies "have more to do to deliver the quality of care expected of them".
She added: "There are also serious issues for councils to address in areas such as giving people more control over their care, treating people with dignity, and ensuring commissioning is as effective as possible."
News provided by John Pring
9 December, 2009
The commission announced in April that it would review how public bodies – such as local authorities and social landlords – were meeting their duties under the Disability Discrimination Act to take action to address violence and hostility targeted at disabled people.
But it has become so concerned by evidence it has heard since then of incidents of violence and harassment across the country that it has decided to hold a formal inquiry.
After the inquiry ends, the EHRC could decide to take legal action to force public authorities to comply with their duties.
The commission has pledged to put disabled people and their organisations at the heart of the inquiry, and there are likely to be public sessions around the country at which they can give evidence.
Neil Crowther, the EHRC's disability programme director, said: "At its heart there needs to be a very strong involvement of disabled people and public authorities in a conversation about what needs to change."
And he said there would probably be parts of the country where disabled people were at greater risk of harassment and violence than others.
Disabled anti-hate crime campaigners have welcomed the inquiry.
Anne Novis, who leads on hate crime issues for the United Kingdom's Disabled People's Council, said it was long overdue, and hoped the EHRC would work closely with disabled people and their organisations, which have been raising concerns around hate crime for "many years".
And Stephen Brookes, coordinator of the National Disability Hate Crime Network, said the inquiry was a "good first step" in tackling the problem.
The inquiry's results are likely to feed into a major EHRC report, due in 2011, in which it will analyse the UK government's progress on implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The announcement follows a string of high-profile cases of targeted violence and harassment against disabled people, including the death of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter Francecca following a sustained hate campaign by a local gang.
Mike Smith, the EHRC's new disabled commissioner, said: "There have been many well-documented cases where targeted hostility, bullying and antisocial behaviour has escalated into more serious violence, murder or the death of disabled people."
He said the Pilkington tragedy showed the importance of early intervention and preventative action, and warned that disabled people experiencing harassment can become "conditioned to hostile treatment", are told to ignore it, or go to "enormous lengths" to avoid putting themselves at risk.
Draft terms of reference are expected early in the new year, with the inquiry likely to begin in early February and report within a year.
News provided by John Pring
9 December, 2009
John Pickup began Amputees in Action in 2004, and has supplied amputee extras – often for action scenes - to Hollywood movies such as Atonement and 28 Weeks Later, as well as to television productions and "casualty simulations".
Pickup has now won the 2009 Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs, an award programme run by Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD) in partnership with easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou.
Pickup said the prize would help his company invest in a project to develop a recognised qualification system that would allow amputees to perform film stunts as well as working as extras.
He said: "I believe that a positive approach is the way to overcome the fear, prejudice and misconception that often stand in the way of disabled people."
Sir Stelios, who funds the award and will arrange business mentoring for Pickup and two runners-up, said it was vital to remove the barriers disabled people face in business.
But he added: "Self-employment is a more viable option for many disabled people as it offers flexibility and helps bypass much of the prejudice that unfortunately still exists amongst employers."
Sophie Down, LCD's corporate partnerships officer, said: "Our partnership with Sir Stelios is helping the charity highlight the barriers disabled people face in the workplace and recognise the outstanding achievement of disabled entrepreneurs."
8 December, 2009
Although the 2010 Fast Stream summer placement scheme does not offer permanent jobs, it is seen as a stepping stone for those seeking a career in the Civil Service.
Successful interns will work in a government department on tasks such as research, helping to prepare policy documents, shadowing senior civil servants, and attending meetings with senior advisors.
Placements last up to nine weeks, and usually start in late June, with interns given a training allowance of £350 per week if based in London or £300 if outside London.
The skills and experience gained could lead to a career in the Civil Service and possible entry to the Fast Stream graduate programme, aimed at those with the potential to become senior civil servants.
The disability charity Scope is helping the Cabinet Office on the scheme, helping to recruit disabled people, providing support for disabled interns, and offering advice on reasonable adjustments and disability equality training for line managers.
Rhonda Calder, head of Fast Stream marketing and outreach diversity at the Cabinet Office, said: "Organisations that seek to include talent from as wide a range of people as possible ultimately benefit in the long term.
"This scheme will help these students make their first step on the career ladder and gain the skills and experience that could potentially lead to a career in the Civil Service."
Applicants must be in the final or penultimate year of their degree, considered disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act, and expect to gain at least a 2:2 degree.
The closing date for applications is 4 January 2010. For further information, visit: www.civilservice.gov.uk/summerdiversity.
News provided by John Pring
8 December, 2009
Alan Johnson MP had been considering new evidence relating to McKinnon's mental health, which suggested that he was highly likely to try to kill himself if extradited.
McKinnon's lawyers have now been given until 10 December to lodge papers seeking a judicial review of Johnson’s decision. If that fails, they could also appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
McKinnon, from north London, who has Asperger's syndrome, faces a trial for allegedly hacking into US defense department computer systems, and a possible prison sentence of 60 years if convicted.
During an emergency debate in the Commons, McKinnon's MP, David Burrowes, accused Johnson and the government of being "spineless" and said the new medical evidence showed that "suicide is now a real probability and will be an almost certain inevitability should he experience extradition".
He said: "Putting it more bluntly, how ill and vulnerable does Gary McKinnon need to be not to be extradited to the United States?"
A string of other MPs from across the political spectrum attacked the home secretary's failure to halt the extradition.
But Johnson told MPs he had "looked at every single word submitted by Gary McKinnon's lawyers on the evidence of his medical condition" and his decision was that extraditing McKinnon would not breach his rights under the European Convention of Human Rights.
He added: "There are legitimate concerns about Mr McKinnon's health, and the United States authorities have provided assurances, which were before the high court in July, that his needs will be met."
And he said it was "clear" there was "no real risk" that McKinnon would serve any of his sentence in a "supermax" prison, if convicted.
He added: "Should Mr McKinnon be extradited, charged and convicted in the US and seek repatriation to the UK to serve his sentence in this country, the government will progress his application at the very earliest opportunity."
The Royal Association for Disability Rights (RADAR) condemned the home secretary's decision and said many disabled people had expressed their "outrage" at a decision that "flies in the face of justice and human rights".
The National Autistic Society, which has provided emergency care for McKinnon – detailed in the new evidence – said it was "bitterly disappointed" by the home secretary's decision.
News provided by John Pring
7 December, 2009
And more than ten per cent of those questioned in a survey for the report said they had been physically harassed because of their HIV status.
The report, Give Stigma the Index Finger!, is based on research developed by people living with HIV and was funded by the M.A.C AIDS Fund, and is part of an international initiative, The People Living with HIV Stigma Index.
The new research found that about one in six of the 867 people questioned had been denied health services because of their HIV status at least once in the previous year.
And about the same number said they were convinced their medical records were not being kept confidential.
But the research also found that people living with HIV were leading efforts to overcome stigma.
Nearly half those questioned had personally confronted, challenged or educated people who were stigmatizing them, while 84 per cent had supported other people living with HIV.
The report concludes that stigma remains a "significant challenge" in the UK, and affects access to health, legal, care and support services and the self-esteem and quality of life of people living with HIV.
Health secretary Andy Burnham welcomed the report and said the government would "carefully consider" its findings.
He said the government had worked with voluntary organisations and funded schemes to tackle stigma as part of its national strategy for sexual health and HIV.
He said: "Effective treatments have transformed the lives of people with HIV and today many more people with HIV can plan for their future with more certainty.
"But even in the UK, individuals and families affected by HIV can experience stigma and discrimination."
The People Living with HIV Stigma Index – which had initial start-up funding from the UK's Department for International Development – is part of a global initiative between the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the UN's HIV/AIDS programme and two international networks of people living with HIV, the Global Network of People living with HIV/AIDS and the International Community of Women with HIV/AIDS.
News provided by John Pring
7 December, 2009
Mike Adams, chief executive of Essex Coalition of Disabled People (ECDP), said he was "honoured" to win RADAR’s person of the year award.
Adams has helped create a "beacon" user-led organisation that empowers disabled people to influence local services.
ECDP also provides high quality services to disabled people across Essex, and increasingly influences policy, both locally and nationally.
Since he took the post in 2007, Adams has overseen an increase in ECDP's funding by 53 per cent, staffing by over 25 per cent and membership from 80 to nearly 1,500.
He said: "Our challenge is to make it the business of disabled people and disabled people's organisations everywhere to lead the change required to enhance the everyday lives of disabled people in Essex and beyond."
RADAR's lifetime achievement award was won by Julie Jaye Charles, who has built up Equalities National Council (ENC), a national movement for black and minority ethnic (BME) disabled people and carers, since founding it in 2000.
Charles has helped develop advocacy, promote the take-up of direct payments in BME communities and helped tackle race discrimination in mental health services.
She said she was "still in shock" and "very humbled" by the award and hoped it would push the needs of BME disabled people higher up the agenda.
She said: "My pride comes from the amount of service-users that actually want to be part of ENC, who continue to knock on our door, just to be part of something that recognises their needs."
The disabled young person of the year award was won by Riam Dean, who triumphed in a high-profile discrimination case after taking on the might of the American clothing giant Abercrombie & Fitch.
Other winners at the annual People of the Year Awards included the Association of Disabled Professionals, which won the careers award for its work in providing advice, peer support and networking opportunities for disabled people in professional and managerial positions.
And the efforts of a group of people with learning difficulties to encourage other disabled people to register to vote for the first time was recognised with RADAR's access award.
Members of Promote the Vote, run by Cambridgeshire-based Speaking Up, have led 50 workshops explaining to other people with learning difficulties why they should vote, and have set up an accessible website to spread the message.
News provided by John Pring
7 December, 2009
Scope also wants the National Audit Office to discover what services are available, and how many adults are not receiving the support they need.
The recommendations are included in the final report from Scope's No Voice, No Choice campaign, which says that everyone who can benefit from augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) – such as high-tech communication aids, sign systems and symbols – should receive the equipment and support they need to communicate.
The charity says "radical" improvements are needed to services providing communication-related equipment and support, and has called for a network of regional centres of AAC expertise to support local services.
The report criticises the "fragmented approach" to provision of AAC services and the "lack of specialist expertise", and calls for a guarantee of lifelong provision and ongoing support for those who use AAC, as well as improvements to the AAC workforce.
Labour MP Roger Berry has tabled a Commons early day motion backing calls for an audit.
In 2007, Scope estimated that as many as 600,000 people in the UK could benefit from AAC, but it believes the real level of need could be much higher.
The campaign has secured a government commitment to improving services for children with communication impairments, but it wants this extended to adults.
Martin Pistorius spent 14 years unable to communicate before he met someone who introduced him to AAC.
He said: "I had no real way to communicate and even when I did make attempts to communicate, nobody understood me.
“In fact, they didn't even see it as an attempt to communicate.”
He can now communicate by using an infra-red head-mouse, an alphabet board and hand signs.
Ruth Scott, Scope's director of policy and campaigns, said: "The government has made good progress on improved communication-based support for children.
"It now needs to turn its attention to tackling the woeful situation for adults with communication impairments.
"Without knowing the true picture of how many disabled adults have communication needs, little can be done to ensure they are provided with the right support."
The Department of Health was unable to comment.
News provided by John Pring
1 December, 2009
You can now post your views, ideas and event adverts on our newly launched forum. You can become a fan of us on Facebook and you can keep track of new developments and upcoming events on Twitter.
The new website gives you lots of different ways to search for information including a clickable map and a quick search box where you can search for a particular venue or a type of venue within a set distance of a town or postcode. It is a great way to find information quickly.
Another new feature is our news section which will update each week with interesting stories. If you would like to submit an article please get in touch.
There will be more features on the way soon so why not add us to your favourites or make us your homepage to keep in touch.
A huge thank you to everyone who has given us their ideas and helped us improve.
30 November, 2009
DisabledGo, the UK's foremost provider of disabled access information, has produced a unique new online guide to local healthcare services in Nottingham. The aim of the guide is to provide detailed, accurate information so people can find out more about the access they will find when they come to visit healthcare services. Put together thanks to sponsorship from Nottingham University Hospitals Trust, the DisabledGo guide covers all patient services within Nottingham University Hospitals, Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital.
By logging on to www.disabledgo.com people can check where their consultation room is in relation to the main entrance, how far the car park is from the entrance, whether there are lifts to access other floors, whether a hearing loop is fitted at reception, the type of announcements in waiting areas, whether information is available in alternative formats and in-depth information about adapted toilets.
The availability of the online access guide will help increase patient choice, improve the clinical experience for patients, reduce agitation and distress, lower missed appointments by removing uncertainty and increase staff awareness of disability.
Giles Matsell, Head of Equality and Diversity, Nottingham University Hospitals said "Our vision is to be the best acute teaching Trust in the country by 2016 and therefore accessibility of our services and facilities to all of our patients, carers and visitors is essential. We are extremely pleased to launch our DisabledGo website which will enable people to make informed decisions as to how best access our services according to their individual requirements. We will update the pages as we make continuous improvements to disability access."
The DisabledGo –Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust guide will be available to use from Monday 30th November on www.disabledgo.com.
If you would like more information on the guide please contact Samantha Flaxman, Partnership Manager, DisabledGo, sam.flaxman@disabledgo.com T: 01438 842710
26 November, 2009
Deep concerns emerged after the government published its new personal care at home bill, which would provide free care for the estimated 280,000 disabled people in England with "critical" needs.
But £250 million of the estimated £670 million a year costs of the bill - which will also provide intensive "re-ablement" support for around 130,000 people who need home care for the first time – are intended to come from local government "efficiency savings".
But both the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services have raised doubts over whether these savings are achievable.
Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of the disability charity RADAR, said the assumption that councils would "do the right thing" and could make the necessary efficiency savings was "a joke".
She said: "They will take the money from somewhere else and the somewhere else as likely as not will be other disabled people who are not on the critical list."
She said she was already deeply concerned about the number of disabled people who were having their care packages "slashed" by councils, putting the jobs of many working age people at risk.
Neil Coyle, director of policy for Disability Alliance, the disability poverty charity, said he welcomed any bill that provides free care for disabled people.
But he said that if local government did not receive the necessary funding from central government, councils might start reassessing disabled people with critical needs as having "substantial" needs – the next level down – and so not eligible for free care.
Councils might also increase care charges, and cut services such as welfare rights advice.
Coyle said: "Our worry is that some disabled people will be significantly adversely affected by this policy when it should be extremely positive."
The bill comes, he said, after the government ruled out free personal care for all disabled people – funded by taxation – in July’s care and support green paper, despite public backing for such a policy.
Meanwhile, Lord [Jack] Ashley has introduced his own health and social care (independent living) bill in the Lords.
His bill – backed by a number of disabled people’s organisations, including RADAR – would provide a legal right to independent living, clear rights to independent advocacy, and enforceable entitlements to enough care and support to enable disabled people to live in dignity and contribute widely to society.
News provided by John Pring
26 November, 2009
Last week, the Government Equalities Office (GEO) announced the names of eight new commissioners, and two reappointed commissioners.
They will join five other EHRC board members who did not have to seek re-appointment, including the chair, Trevor Phillips.
But in July, the GEO said the number of commissioners would be cut from 15 to a maximum of 10 to "reflect a more streamlined and cost-effective board focused on delivering the equality bill".
This week, a GEO spokesman insisted the U-turn was due to the "strong and impressive" field of more than 600 applicants.
He said: "In the summer we said that the board would be restructured with a new focus on delivery, and to ensure the commission has the right mix of skills for the next phase.
"Our priority was to ensure the recruitment of the best possible field of commissioners, bearing in mind our stated need for the board to be more tightly focused on delivery, with the right mix of skills, covering all the equality strands and more business expertise."
But he said the strength of applicants allowed the GEO to appoint a "very strong board" who would "join the existing commissioners to create a stronger team to take forward the EHRC and help put the flesh on the bones of the equality bill".
Meanwhile, the EHRC has announced the names of 61 community and voluntary organisations that will receive nearly £10 million in grants, as part of its strategic funding programme.
Several disabled people's organisations secured large grants to develop advice, guidance and advocacy services.
They include Breakthrough UK, which secured £140,000; Darlington Association on Disability, which will receive £210,000; £150,000 for Disability Action Waltham Forest; and £300,000 for Disability Hackney.
Other recipients include Glasgow Disability Alliance, which secured £225,565 to develop the "next generation of disabled leaders", in conjunction with Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living; and Living Options Devon, which has been given £351,306 to test a new, Deaf-led, rural advocacy, information and peer support service.
News provided by John Pring
26 November, 2009
The recommendation came in an interim report by the historic Speaker's Conference, which aims to find ways to increase the number of disabled, female and minority ethnic MPs.
The conference will introduce an amendment to the government's equality bill which would force registered political parties to report every six months on the diversity of their candidate selection process, and publish the reports online.
The report says such a move "may help, over time, to secure a House of Commons which is more effective, more representative of our society and in which the public feels better able to place its confidence".
Disabled people, women and those from minority ethnic groups who put themselves forward for selection as a parliamentary candidate are less likely to be selected than white men, and less likely to be selected for a seat the party thinks it can win, according to the report.
The disabled MP Anne Begg, the vice-chair of the conference, said: "Unless the performance of the different parties can be compared with each other, or with the performance of parties throughout the world, there is likely to be insufficient pressure for the political parties to pursue the cultural change which is needed from them before we can have a House of Commons fit for the 21st century."
The interim report follows evidence to the conference given by the leaders of the three main political parties in which they each admitted they needed to improve the diversity of representation within their parties.
They also agreed in principle to publish future reports on the results of candidate selections.
A Government Equalities Office spokeswoman said they were "carefully considering the content of the report".
The equality bill is due to begin its Commons report stage on 2 December.
News provided by John Pring
25 November, 2009
The award was one of six won by the BBC in the Mind Mental Health Media Awards, which mark the best radio and TV treatments of mental distress over the year.
The Making a Difference award was collected by EastEnders actors Gillian Wright and Lacey Turner, who play mother and daughter Jean Slater and Stacy Branning, who both have bipolar disorder.
Following the episode earlier this year when Stacy's condition was revealed, nearly 7,000 people in five days visited a website set up to provide information about bipolar disorder.
EastEnders scriptwriters had interviewed members of the user-led charity MDF The Bipolar Organisation, and scripts were approved and revised by MDF patron Neil Tinning.
The BBC also picked up the award for best radio drama, for Radio 4's Do's and Don'ts for the Mentally Interesting, based on a blog about her life and condition by Seaneen Molloy, who has bipolar disorder.
Another award was collected for the BBC Two documentary Cracking Up, in which former Downing Street communications director Alastair Campbell reflected on his own mental health experiences.
And Tom Perry, Alastair Rolfe and Mark Payge, who were contributors to the Channel 4 documentary Chosen, won the Speaking Out award for talking about the impact of being abused as children at an English prep school.
Paul Farmer, Mind's chief executive, said: "The quality of entries has been incredibly high this year and demonstrates that positive and authentic portrayals of mental health are compatible with the kind of original, creative and groundbreaking programming we have seen this evening."
News provided by John Pring
25 November, 2009
The report on children's rights by the joint committee on human rights includes evidence of discriminatory attitudes towards disabled children by medical professionals and the "high incidence" of "bullying" of children with learning difficulties.
The committee was also told of disabled children whose chances of having children themselves when they were older was damaged by non-essential medical treatment.
And it heard evidence of 16 and 17-year-olds who find it difficult to access mental health services because they fall between child and adult services.
The report calls on the government to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into UK law, a call backed by all four of the UK's children's commissioners.
The report also calls on the government to "review and explain" why there are so many children with autism in the criminal justice system, as well as those from other marginalised groups, such as Gypsies and Travellers, and why existing strategies to deal with this "appear to be failing".
It adds: "Such children, who are already likely to have experienced significant disadvantage and even discrimination in their early lives, require specific and targeted measures and support, outside of the criminal justice system."
The report also says that children with mental health conditions and learning difficulties are over-represented in youth custody, and instead need targeted support outside the criminal justice system.
Witnesses who gave evidence to the committee also raised concerns around education, such as the lack of a national strategy for including all disabled pupils in mainstream schools.
The report concludes that there have been many positive developments in the UK in the 20 years since the UN adopted the convention.
But is says there is "still much more for the UK to do, particularly for those children who live on the margins of society or who come from groups which do not always command popular public support".
No-one from the Department for Children, Schools and Families was available to comment.
Meanwhile, Baroness Walmsley, a Liberal Democrat children, schools and families spokeswoman, has introduced a children's rights bill into the Lords.
The private members' bill, which would incorporate the UN convention into UK law, was drafted with the support of members of the Rights of the Child UK (ROCK) coalition, whose members include the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education and Scope.
News provided by John Pring
24 November, 2009
Award-winning dancer and choreographer Rita Marcalo will spend 24 hours trying to induce a seizure as part of Involuntary Dances, a "24-hour event" at Bradford Playhouse on 11 and 12 December.
Marcalo has stopped taking medication and, during the performance, will try to induce a seizure, for example by drinking alcohol, eating dark chocolate and using strobe lights and "specially designed computer programmes".
If she has a seizure, a "loud alarm will sound" and cameras will start recording, with the audience also encouraged to take pictures.
The Bradford event is the first in a planned trilogy by Marcalo – who has a background in physics – examining the relationships between dance, epilepsy and drug research, in collaboration with neuroscientists from Leeds University.
The 24-hour event will be a one-off, but will also be used as the basis for a film installation.
Poet Peter Street, who has epilepsy, described the performance as "a major, major move forward", as epilepsy-based art was "probably one of the last avant-garde art forms to be brought out".
He said Marcalo was "taking control" of her condition, and added: "It is all about us coming out of the closet and this is really going to bring it out with a big bang, and good luck to her."
Philip Lee, chief executive of Epilepsy Action, said his charity had received "several complaints" about Marcalo’s planned performance, which he said was "potentially very dangerous".
He added: "At the very least, the performance should carry a health warning advising people that they should not attempt this themselves under any circumstances."
But a spokeswoman for Arts Council England, which is part-funding the work, said there would be a "full personal and public risk assessment", with "appropriate medical support" during the performance.
She added: "She is an important artist whose work deserves to be seen, and Arts Council both respects the creative decisions she makes in her work and supports her right as a disabled person to be heard."
Allan Sutherland, a writer with epilepsy, criticised opposition from "old-fashioned and paternalistic" epilepsy charities.
He said: "It seems to me that she is doing a carefully thought-out piece of work which I think is very interesting."
He said epilepsy was still "demonised" but usually not visible, so people with the condition do not tend to meet each other and the themes explored by Marcalo are not debated.
Sutherland said Marcalo's control over her own performance would contrast with intrusive films of seizures that are taken without permission and placed on YouTube.
Peter Street's fifth collection of poems, Thumbing from Lipik to Pakrac, was published earlier this year by Waterloo Press.
News provided by John Pring
24 November, 2009
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) imposed the ban after the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, when nearly all the gold medal-winning Spanish basketball team were found not to have learning difficulties (or intellectual disabilities (ID), as they are categorised by the IPC).
The ban was lifted after the IPC and the International Federation for Sport for Athletes with an Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID) agreed on a strict new testing regime.
Athletes with ID will now fight for medals in four sports at London 2012: athletics, swimming, rowing and table-tennis.
Athletes who want to compete in IPC events – including the Paralympics – will have to submit information including an intelligence test and medical evidence to INAS-FID.
Eligible athletes will then undergo "on-site testing", which will focus on "sports intelligence" and include tests relevant to that sport.
These on-site tests are not expected to be ready until mid-2010, but eligible athletes can compete until then at the discretion of individual sports federations.
ID swimmers have already competed in the IPC European championships in October in Iceland – their first big competition since Sydney. Seven British swimmers won a total of 12 medals.
One of them was Craig Rodgie, from Fife in Scotland, who won gold in the S14 100m backstroke.
He said "words can't describe" how he and other ID athletes felt when they realised they would be able to compete at London 2012.
He said: "We have been waiting so long for the inclusion. Just getting the opportunity to be at one of the biggest events in the world, it's just unbelievable."
Although he is keen to focus on "one step at a time", with his next objective next year's world championships in Eindhoven, he said London 2012 was "where I want to be".
Tim Reddish, chairman of ParalympicsGB, said: "We have lobbied hard for the re-inclusion of athletes with a learning disability, subject to a robust classification system, and are delighted that IPC and INAS-FID have got us to that point.
"The Paralympic Games represent the pinnacle of high performance sport, so any athletes with a learning disability will have to meet the same exacting performance and qualification standards as all other GB athletes - we will now work hard with the sports to ensure that these athletes are best prepared."
News provided by John Pring
23 November, 2009
The Royal Bank of Scotland will have to carry out the building work - at an estimated cost of £200,000 – in order to make its Sheffield city centre branch accessible to wheelchair-users.
The case was brought by teenager David Allen, an electric wheelchair-user, who could not access the branch because the entrance was at the top of four steps.
Allen was forced to discuss personal details about his account in the street outside the branch.
Lord Justice Wall, one of the three court of appeal judges, said there were "reasonable steps" the bank could have taken to make the branch accessible.
He added: "The bank did not take those steps, giving as its reason, not the disproportionate cost of carrying out the work, but simply the fact that it would lose the use of an interview room."
The bank had appealed against a decision by Sheffield county court in January that it had breached the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) – the first time an injunction had been granted ordering work to be carried out to make business premises accessible.
The county court had rejected the argument that Allen should use internet banking instead, ruling that it was not the same service.
Sheffield Law Centre, which helped Allen bring the case, with funding from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said the appeal court judgement stressed that services for disabled people must be as close as possible to those provided to the general public.
Allen's compensation of £6,500 was the highest awarded for a failure to make reasonable adjustments under part three of the DDA, which relates to goods and services.
Allen was awarded an extra £3,000 compensation for ongoing discrimination, as the lift will not be installed until August 2010 – the total award of £9,500 is now the largest by a court under part three of the DDA.
After the judgement, Allen said: "I'm glad the bank finally had to apologise in court and acknowledge they treated me badly."
But he added: "They just failed to understand anything about the need for privacy and dignity."
Douglas Johnson, of Sheffield Law Centre, said the judgement would "make it easier and simpler" for courts to deal with complaints of disability discrimination.
He added: "The real access issue is about people and attitudes, not ramps and steps."
News provided by John Pring
11 November, 2009
We are putting this forum in the very capable hands of our users; we want the forum to become a lively, busy part of the site where people can share their views, ideas and experiences. The forum is a great way to discuss upcoming events in your area, keep track of what DisabledGo is up to and also to talk to other people who may have access concerns and want to share your knowledge.
If you are a keen blogger and have some stories you think need telling, why not become a regular contributor to our forum. Simply get in touch with us to discuss what topics you would like to cover.
Look out for the DisabledGo team popping in to answer questions and to hold live steering groups throughout the month.
We look forward to reading your posts, see you in there!
6 November, 2009
On November 6th a team of us from DisabledGo headed to Coventry's Ricoh Arena for the National Exhibition for Disabled People. This is only the second year the event has been running and after having had a stall last year, we had high hopes for the event.
This year we were proud to be the online partner for Enable 09 and keen to meet as many people as possible over the two days. The event is backed by a number of national UK Charities including Leonard Cheshire, MS Society, ASBAH, The Blue Badge Network, Asthma UK and Diabetes UK.
The event gives disabled people the unique chance to trial products; view services and grab as much information as possible. With over 120 exhibitors they certainly weren’t short of choice!
So, with eclairs in one hand and furry bugs in the other the DisabledGo team set to work letting as many people know about www.disabledgo.com as possible! We had a great couple of days meeting new and interesting people who now follow us on Twitter and Facebook, we also saw many familiar faces that attend our steering groups across the UK and Ireland and are now regulars on our Brand New Community Forum!
The event finished on the Saturday evening and although tired we were all very happy that more people no longer had to leave access to chance. Another successful event - thank you Enable we look forward to seeing you again next year!
15 October, 2009
The new guide has been launched in response to years of research and feedback from disabled people about the barriers disabled people face accessing healthcare.
Speaking at the launch, Founder and Chief Executive of DisabledGo, Dr. Gregory Burke said: "We want to empower disabled people, their families, carers and friends to make the sort of autonomous choices regarding healthcare that non-disabled people take for granted. Over 25 NHS trusts are already working with us".
The availability of the online access guide will help increase patient choice, improve the clinical experience for patients, reduce agitation and distress, lower missed appointments by removing uncertainty and increase staff awareness of disability.
Carole Taylor Brown, Chief Executive NHS Suffolk and keynote speaker said: "DisabledGo touches all of our strategic goals; it I a core requirement to make our services accessible, ensuring patient experience, dignity and respect. DisabledGo is a fantastic example of best value, making my services accessible to those I serve for 0.01% of my budget. As a patient with persistent pain and some mobility restrictions I know how daunting accessing services without the right information can be. The NHS should be accessible to all – and this initiative is vital to making that a reality."
4 January, 1974
The contaminated blood (support for infected and bereaved persons) bill was introduced and steered through the Lords by the former disabled people’s minister, Lord [Alf] Morris.
He told fellow peers that of about 5,000 people with haemophilia, 95 per cent were infected with hepatitis C and a quarter with HIV, after being treated with contaminated NHS blood and blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.
Lord Morris, president of the Haemophilia Society, said an estimated 1,974 people had died due to being infected, and that statisticians found the disaster “involved the haemophilia community in a loss of life more savage in proportion to the number of people at risk than the Black Death”.
His bill would implement all the recommendations of an independent public inquiry into the scandal, led by Lord Archer of Sandwell.
The bill would increase compensation; improve medical care and review the support available for those infected; and set up a new committee to advise on treatment.
Lord Archer said many of those infected were now “suffering severe financial embarrassment” and that the bill was “a test of the priorities of our community”.
Lord Morris welcomed an amendment to his bill, introduced by the disabled peer Baroness Masham, a vice-president of the Haemophilia Society, that would ensure NHS blood was filtered to remove the infective prions that cause variant CJD.
Lord Morris said hundreds of people with haemophilia had been told by the Department of Health that they had been given blood from donors who subsequently died of variant CJD.
He said the public apology and financial support announced by the government for those affected by the thalidomide scandal “must very strongly support the case for the government now to endorse the provisions of this bill”.
His bill will now be debated by MPs, with its second reading due on 5 February.
The Haemophilia Society has organised a lobby of parliament on 3 February, while an early day motion backing the bill has been signed by more than 100 MPs.
The charity welcomed the bill’s passage through the Lords and said it would be an “outrage” if the government attempted to block its progress.
4 January, 1974
Kay Gilderdale, from Stonegate, East Sussex, was cleared of attempted murder, having admitted a charge of assisting in the suicide of her disabled daughter, Lynn, who had chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). She was given a conditional discharge.
Frances Inglis, from Dagenham, east London, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life, and a recommended minimum of nine years in prison, after a court heard how she used a heroin overdose to kill her disabled son Tom, who had brain damage, because she felt his life was not worth living.
And Margo MacDonald MSP, who has Parkinson’s disease, published her end of life assistance (Scotland) bill, which would allow those “whose life has become intolerable”, and who met a series of conditions, to “legally access assistance to end their life”.
Those who were terminally ill – or “permanently physically incapacitated” as a result of a progressive condition or “trauma” and “unable to live independently” – would qualify.
The disability charity RADAR said it was committed to the principle that “those who have a hand in the death of another person, regardless of that person’s disability or the stated motivation of the perpetrator, should have to answer for their actions before a court of law”.
It said that Tom Inglis’s impairment “did not give another person, even his mother, the right to take his life based on their own judgements”.
And it said that he had “the same rights to legal protection and justice as anyone else, and the prospect of setting out circumstances in which people whose lives are deemed by others to be intolerable can be stripped of those rights is chilling beyond measure”.
Caroline Ellis, RADAR’s joint deputy chief executive, whose teenage son has CFS, said: “Singling out individuals for legalised killing based on their medical condition or prognosis would be discriminatory and repugnant.”
She said the “real outrage” was the lack of effective treatment or support for people with CFS and that she never wants her son to “feel like society is giving up on him”.
She added: “The idea that the law could be relaxed in future to encourage people to give up sends chills down my spine.”
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has yet to finalise its position on assisted suicide, but Mike Smith, the new chair of its disability committee, said he personally did not believe there were “adequate safeguards to protect disabled and older people to allow assisted dying”.
He said: “It is too easy for society to view disability as a negative thing and whilst that is the case there will be coercion and in the current world we live in and the negative views of disability, I have very grave reservations about relaxing laws on assisted dying.”
Alison Davis, national co-ordinator of No Less Human, which campaigns for disabled people’s right to life, said “sick and disabled people living in Scotland will immediately be viewed as suitable candidates for death” if MacDonald’s bill becomes law.
She said this would “inevitably” make it easier for similar laws to be passed elsewhere in the UK.
A poll last year for the Care Not Killing Alliance in Scotland found 65 MSPs were opposed to legalising assisted suicide, with 18 in favour and 24 undecided.
Hate crime film will highlight disabled people’s stories
A documentary that highlights disabled people’s firsthand experiences of hate crime will be broadcast this week on primetime television.The documentary Sticks and Stones will be aired as part of Channel 4’s First Cut strand, which showcases original documentaries by up-and-coming directors.
Hannah Murphy’s film features a string of interviews with disabled people from across Britain who have experienced disability hate crime.
One young disabled woman tells how she is too scared to go into her own garden or leave her house because of a campaign of harassment.
Paul and Janet Williams, from Leeds, describe how they have to avoid walking past the local takeaway shops and pubs because of the abuse they have received.
Ian Margerison, from Bradford, says he is too scared to leave his house because of thugs who bang on the door, throw eggs against his windows, spit at him and shout abuse.
And Keith Shortman, from London, tells how he was kicked and punched by a gang of boys and girls.
The documentary also includes an interview with the sister and son of Patricia Grainger, a disabled woman from Sheffield who was sexually assaulted, beaten, strangled and repeatedly stabbed 12 years ago in a possible disability hate crime. Her murderer has never been found.
Murphy said she had been determined to hear from disabled people themselves about their experiences of disability hate crime.
This followed the media interest in the death of Fiona Pilkington, who killed herself and her disabled daughter Francecca after they were the victims of a sustained hate campaign by a local gang.
Murphy said she was “shocked” by what she heard from disabled people. “Many of the victims told me the insults, harassment, rejection, funny looks, kicks, punches, exploitation was something they had lived with all their lives.”
She found that the investigation, monitoring and prosecution of disability hate crime varied from area to area, as did the support offered to disabled people to report hate crimes.
She said several subjects had “repeatedly asked for help and nothing was done”, seemingly because of a lack of communication and co-operation between agencies.
But Murphy said it was the small disabled people’s organisations that were “the most effective and pro-active” at providing support and “making a real difference”, despite their funding struggles.
The film, narrated through verse written by the poet and artist Subhadassi, will be shown on Channel 4 at 7.30pm on Friday (5 March).
News provided by John Pring
3 March, 2010
NAIDEX 2010 - THE UK’S BIGGEST AND BEST DISABILITY, REHABILITATION AND HOMECARE SHOW
Naidex 2010, the UK’s longest established disability, homecare and rehabilitation show returns to the Birmingham NEC on 20th - 22nd April 2010.With thousands of products being exhibited by over 360 companies, the event gives visitors, including trade representatives, healthcare professionals, parents, carers and teachers, the chance to test, touch and compare the most innovative new products to aid independent living
Unlike some events, Naidex is free to enter to members of the public, trade and healthcare professionals and is looking forward to welcoming more visitors than ever before.
In addition to 1000s of products, visitors to Naidex 2010 will benefit from several new features, the Car Zone, Communication Village, and Sensory Garden . Additionally visitors will have the chance to ‘Meet the OT’. Visitors to the stand E56 will be able to speak to an Occupational Therapist and benefit from their comprehensive knowledge and expertise. The OTs can answer questions regarding daily living, mobility, work and leisure related activities, as well as discussing the potential options available.
As in previous years, there will be a free comprehensive Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and seminar programme, along with the New Product of the Year Award and New Product showcase where you can vote for your favourite.
New for 2010 is the Naidex Charity of the Year with ‘When you Wish upon a Star’ as the chosen charity. The charity grants the wishes of children suffering from life threatening illnesses and will be on stand E4.
So put 20th -22nd April 2010 in your diary now to ensure you don’t miss Naidex!
For further details email: naidex@emap.com or visit www.naidex.co.uk where you can register for free quoting priority code E309 and get the latest news about the show.
3 March, 2010
My Final Year at University
By Sarabjit ParmarIt’s common for many people to go to University as soon as they finish college but my life has been a bit of a roller coaster.
When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a dancer and manage my own dance school. But then at fourteen my FSH Muscular Dystrophy restricted my mobility so strenuously that it resulted in me being permanently wheelchair-bound. Now I’m not going to go into the whole palaver of my disability because that’s another story and one I wish to dismiss for the sake of unwanted pities.
Anyway, at fourteen my life changed dramatically, I had a tough time adapting but gradually I accepted it. For the first time ever I detected a disabled toilet sign, which made me a little irritated with myself. Why didn’t I notice before? How many other things didn’t I notice? It’s inevitable that we simply take life for granted and when it’s radically altered, only then do we fathom exactly how precious it is.
And so life goes on. I completed my A levels at college and it was after this period that my life came to a bit of a standstill.
I actually hated college and was determined that it was the last of any academic subjects for me. No one really expected anything of me so I was ambivalent and often questioned, ’what am I doing? Where am I going?’ Ironically my life has a funny habit of working itself out.
In the following few years I came across a Writer’s Bureau comprehensive writing course and I knew that I loved to write. The pen was always my voice. So I enrolled and considered it to be most incredible thing I’ve accomplished. As a Writer, it enabled my confidence to soar and definitely led to bigger and better things.
I knew I had the fervour and capacity to write well but I never dreamed I would ever see my work in print. Soon as my writing started to become published, I knew I’d found my niche. You see I didn’t feel totally lost or useless now; I was achieving what some only dream of. As the course ended, I found myself lost again, ‘where next?’
So as life turns out, one day, a friend influenced me to take my ‘talent’ further by doing a Creative Writing degree at university. However the prospect of university was never endearing, it was never something I desired. I must admit that I perceived it as just a piece of paper that illustrated how intelligent you are. A paper that I didn’t want but now it’s the exact paper I’m ardently working towards.
In the year 2007 at the age of twenty-three I did it. I applied to Derby University for a BA Joint Honours degree course in Creative Writing and Media Writing. I was informed that the support for disabled students was really good so that department of my worries was eased.
Half of me was hoping I’d get accepted and the other half was hoping for rejection. Why? Well if I got rejected then I wouldn’t have to conquer this new mission alone. Being able bodied you’re always nervy of new experiences and new surroundings but imagine being in a wheelchair and the thought of studying in another town, where you know absolutely no one. Imagine the apprehension.
I got accepted and clearly recall my first day. On arrival, the instant anxiety escalated, my hands were clammy, my stomach was contorted and the nausea was persistent. Thankfully I overcame it. I don’t know how but somehow I found the strength and courage to get through it.
Admittedly some of the students don’t exactly make you feel ‘normal’ but perhaps they’re afraid of the unknown so to them the best thing to do is be ignorant. The way I observed it was, I had my fabulous friends in Leicester and I wasn’t here to make friends. I was purely here to get my degree and continue on with embracing the next direction in life.
I have to say that going to university is the best thing I ever did. Not only have I been able to fuel my potential but I’ve also been lucky in having several doors opened to me. The skills and knowledge I’ve gained over the last few years at university are owed to the solicitous guidance of some amazing tutors. They have empowered me to do what I love, to continue writing and getting published.
I am now in my final year at university and time sure does fly by. There are only less than four months left before I finish and I’m having a bit of a chaotic and emotional time thinking about it. Some days I’m content with the direction that my life is taking and other days I’m disconcerted and think ‘oh my god, it’s my final year at uni!’ I have regularly been keeping a diary of this final year, and maybe… just maybe after I’ve graduated and I’ve embarked on my next unknown adventure, I’ll look back and wonder why I worried about my life so much. Until then I live in hope.
3 March, 2010
Unique Access Guide goes ‘live’ in Hounslow
A new guide which aims to empower disabled people has launched in the London Borough of Hounslow in partnership with DisabledGo.The free online access guide, funded by Hounslow council, went live on Tuesday 2nd February, and covers more than 1000 different venues giving objective information about access to both residents and visitors.
Hounslow council and DisabledGo have worked with many shops, pubs, restaurants, theatres and other public venues, so that DisabledGo – Hounslow, can provide access details for a large number of goods and service providers.
By logging on to www.disabledgo.com people will be able to check whether a pub is accessible to a wheelchair user, whether a cinema can offer a hearing loop, whether a hotel offers adapted rooms, and whether a restaurant offers menus in large print or Braille. This information can make a huge difference for people with hearing, vision or mobility related access concerns. The guide may also be useful for older people and those with pushchairs.
The council’s Executive Member for Adult Social Services and Health, Cllr Pam Fisher, said:
“We are delighted to be sponsoring this new web directory.
"Disabled-Go will allow Hounslow’s residents and visitors with a disability, to look up the facilities available for them when visiting local businesses and amenities. This should lead to a greater sense of inclusion for disabled people, and at the same time attract more custom to those establishments with improved accessibility.”
“The project will also help to raise awareness among local businesses that a large number of people are affected by access issues, and that becoming more accessible will provide a better service to more customers.”
Commenting in advance of the access guide going live the founder of DisabledGo, wheelchair user Dr. Gregory Burke said:
“Disabled people are no small minority. One in six of the British population is disabled and disabled people have an annual spend of £80 billion. Those are numbers that any business or service provider should take seriously.
“I’m immensely grateful to Hounslow Council for the support they have given us, and I hope that this guide will open up all that Hounslow has to offer to everyone.”
The DisabledGo – Hounslow guide is now available to use completely free of charge on www.DisabledGo.com
For further information on the guide please contact Vicky Taylor, Partnership Manager, DisabledGo, vicky.taylor@disabledgo.com or 01438 842 710.
3 March, 2010
Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) London
The London Development Agency (LDA) has awarded a four year grant to London Sports Forum for Disabled People to project manage Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) London.IFI London, a unique partnership between the LDA, London Sports Forum for Disabled People and the national Inclusive Fitness Initiative will support a further 150 fitness facilities across the capital to achieve the IFI Mark accreditation, ensuring that they are accessible to and inclusive of disabled people.
The IFI Mark is the nationally recognised standard of inclusion within the fitness industry, awarded to fitness facilities that are inclusive of disabled and non-disabled people. The accreditation process involves the creation of accessible facilities to meet current best practice and legislation, and the provision of inclusive fitness equipment within the facilities. This is accompanied by the training of staff throughout the facility, providing disabled people with a safe, effective and value for money experience and the implementation of inclusive marketing strategies to ensure that disabled people are aware of the opportunities available. To date there are 25 IFI Mark accredited facilities in London catering for all impairments and providing a quality experience for disabled people.
David Croisdale-Appleby, Chair of the Inclusive Fitness Initiative commented "This is a new and very exciting partnership, it is the first regional project of its kind and the IFI are looking forward to working closely with London Sports Forum for Disabled People and the London Development Agency. This is a significant development for the IFI and provides another major step towards achieving one thousand inclusive fitness facilities throughout the UK by 2012.”
The LDA’s four year funding commitment will enable IFI London to build on the current foundations and expand provision across the capital. By increasing the number of IFI Mark accredited fitness facilities in London, this project will create more opportunities for disabled people to participate in physical activity and in addition, capture the true inclusive nature of London in the run up to and post the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Alex Gibbons, Project Manager of IFI London said “IFI London is a fantastic project to provide more opportunities for disabled people across the capital. We will work with London based facilities, and partners on both a regional and national level to increase the number of IFI Mark accredited fitness facilities in London. IFI London will promote and embed a fully inclusive environment for disabled people in London.”
If you are a fitness facility based in London and want to find out how you can get involved in IFI London and get IFI Mark accredited please contact:
Project Manager - Alex Gibbons alexgibbons@londonsportsforum.org.uk
Project Officer - Gideon Feldman gideon@londonsportsforum.org.uk
1 March, 2010
ELECTION 2010: Rethink calls for action on prison numbers
A mental health charity has called on the next government to do more to reduce the number of people with mental health conditions in prison.The call came as Rethink laid out the policies it would like to see in parties’ manifestos at the general election.
Its own manifesto includes policies covering stigma, employment, the criminal justice system, carers and treatment.
Among the policies, it wants the next government to combat mental health stigma by funding an awareness-raising campaign.
And it says the government should help public sector employers to “lead by example” in their employment of people affected by mental health conditions.
The manifesto’s strong focus on the criminal justice system comes three months after a government action plan promised to reduce the number of people with mental health conditions in prison.
Paul Jenkins, Rethink’s chief executive, has warned that “aspirations to change the system aren’t enough” and has called for action to ensure the “positive words” in the action plan “actually happen”.
In its manifesto, Rethink says those affected by mental illness should be given community-based treatment instead of prison.
And it wants all criminal justice professionals to receive mental health awareness training, as recommended in Lord Bradley’s review of how people with mental health conditions and learning difficulties are treated in the criminal justice system.
The government has committed to delivering awareness training for all frontline staff, but Rethink wants this to be a “higher priority”.
Rethink also wants ring-fenced funding so people with mental health conditions can access psychological therapies, a treatment recommended by the government advice body NICE.
Rethink is writing to party leaders to ask for their views on the manifesto, and inviting them to take part in a web chat with members.
In the run-up to the election, it will also collect signatures for a petition that focuses on several of the pledges.
And it will encourage voters to contact their prospective parliamentary candidates to ask them to pledge to champion mental health issues if elected.
Jenkins said: “We need the next government to build on the strong foundations laid over the past few years and to recognise the importance of prioritising mental health.
“We want to see more investment in services, improved access to employment, and changes to the criminal justice system so that people who are mentally ill can be treated in the community rather than in prisons.”
News provided by John Pring
28 February, 2010
ELECTION 2010: charity says social care reform should be ‘priority’
A disability charity has called in its own election “manifesto” for the next government to make social care reform a “priority”.The MS Society became the latest disability organisation to publish a manifesto of policies it would like to see adopted by political parties in the run-up to the general election.
In its manifesto, the charity lays out 10 policies covering independence, support and healthcare.
It says reform of the social care system should ensure people have “equal access to high quality, responsive, personalised care and support when they need it, wherever they live”.
It also calls for improvements to wheelchair and community equipment services and assistive technology.
And it adds its voice to calls from other disability organisations for improvements to the new work capability assessment, introduced by the government to test those applying for employment and support allowance, the new out-of-work disability benefit.
It says that “many people with MS are disadvantaged by the current assessment process and left without the support they need” because of the fluctuating nature of their condition.
Among other polices outlined in the manifesto, the charity calls on the current government to fulfil its pledge to provide free prescriptions for those living with long-term conditions in England – prescriptions are already free for everyone in Wales and charges for those in Scotland and Northern Ireland will be phased out by 2011.
It also calls for government strategies to ensure access to high quality, person-centred palliative and end-of-life care for all people with MS who need it.
Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the MS Society, welcomed the “remarkable improvements in the drugs, treatments and support available to people affected by MS” over the last ten years.
But he said there were still “huge inequalities in access to drugs, treatments and support to live independently across the country”.
The charity wants its supporters to sign a petition backing its manifesto on the Number 10 website and to lobby local prospective parliamentary candidates.
News provided by John Pring
27 February, 2010
Fears raised over impact of cuts on support
Campaigners have raised new fears that funding cuts by councils across the country could be leading to reductions in disabled people’s support packages.Disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) have also criticised local authorities for a lack of openness and transparency.
And one DPO has said some councils could even be using the move towards personalisation of services as a cover for cutting spending on care and support.
The new fears came as the Audit Commission, the public spending watchdog, warned in a report into the financial challenges for councils of an ageing population, that local authorities would have to find billions of pounds of extra savings over the next three years.
Sue Bott, director of the National Centre for Independent Living, said she believed there was a “process of nibbling here and there” at disabled people’s support packages.
She said local authorities were reviewing people’s support packages but were “not being up front about it” and that it was “almost as if they feel they have to be secretive about cutbacks”.
She said she believed some councils were “ever so slightly...ratcheting up” their interpretation of the eligibility criteria for care as part of efforts to cut costs.
She said: “Care packages are completely inadequate and a lot of people are in fear about what is going to happen.
“Any time they are approached by anyone from a local authority the assumption is, ‘They are going to cut back on my care package.’”
In Norfolk, the county council has announced a £115 million funding gap that it will have to fill over the next three years.
Mark Harrison, chief executive of Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People, said it was a “huge amount of money to be saved” and he feared it would fall “disproportionately” on social services and disabled people.
In Norfolk, only those with substantial or critical needs and who cannot afford to pay for their own care receive support from the council, he said.
He is concerned that the council could soon have to reduce support only to those with critical needs.
And Harrison said he was worried that some councils could be using the process of personalisation as a cover for funding cuts.
He said: “What we know from our members is that direct payments are better than direct care services.
“Our members do talk about it being a liberating experience. What worries me is that other things are undermining personalisation.”
Tricia Nicoll, a leading independent consultant, who also works for In Control, a charity which supports councils to deliver self-directed support, said she was hearing anecdotally that adult social care budgets around the country were tightening.
She said: “Despite the financial problems they are facing, it is important for local authorities to keep their eye on the ultimate goal, which is choice and control for disabled people.”
And Claire Glasman, a volunteer with WinVisible, the national disabled women’s organisation, said: “We think it’s getting worse. All we know is that it is very, very difficult to get enough hours for what you need.”
She said she believed that some councils were using procedures such as annual reviews as cover for cutting support packages.
She said: “It is very tough to get enough hours when people have their annual review and that is being used as a way to cut down hours.”
As the Audit Commission published its new report, its chairman, Michael O’Higgins, emphasised the benefits of personalised services and said they could help councils cope with the “huge financial pressures” they faced.
He said: “Most older people live at home, not in care homes. And the longer they do, the happier they are and the less they cost the taxpayer.
“Innovative, personalised services mean older people stay independent longer, saving public money.”
News provided by John Pring
26 February, 2010
Prison service breached disability discrimination laws, says court
A court has ruled that the prison service breached disability and race discrimination laws in its treatment of foreign prisoners in the UK.The High Court ruling came in a case taken by the Equality and Human Rights Commission against the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), which delivers prison and probation services in England and Wales.
The EHRC launched the judicial review after NOMS implemented a new policy of transferring foreign prisoners between prisons, but failed to consider its impact on disabled or ethnic minority prisoners.
Public bodies such as prisons are legally required to carry out assessments of how their policies will affect disabled people, ethnic minorities and women.
The EHRC said the failure took place despite “widespread documentation” by the prisons inspectorate of “significant discrimination and disadvantage” faced by disabled and ethnic minority foreign prisoners.
The court found NOMS failed to carry out any formal assessments, and described its reasons for failing to do so as “unconvincing”.
After the EHRC started legal proceedings, NOMS carried out retrospective equality impact assessments, which the court said satisfied the law.
EHRC commissioner Kay Carberry said the ruling sent “a clear message” to all public bodies, which should “take the lead in this area and not wait for legal action before seeking to comply with the law”.
She added: “We expect the prison authority to monitor the impact of the policy to make sure that foreign national prisoners are treated in the same way and have the same access to support and rehabilitation courses as all other prisoners.”
The disability charity RADAR welcomed the ruling and said transfers can have a “major impact” upon disabled prisoners, as many of Britain’s prisons are “elderly institutions”.
Last May, RADAR condemned the treatment of two disabled prisoners at HMP Parkhurst, who were left without proper washing facilities for months because of inaccessible bathrooms.
Liz Sayce, chief executive of RADAR, said: “I hope this judgment will go a considerable way towards preventing any further unequal or inhuman treatment of disabled prisoners.”
But a Prison Service spokesman said: “We regret the fact that the EHRC chose to challenge a policy designed to improve services provided to foreign national prisoners.”
He said the policy – designed to locate foreign prisoners in fewer prisons – remained in place, but could not say whether the government would appeal.
He said the policy was “not a blanket process and individual circumstances will be taken into account before any prisoner is allocated or otherwise moved between jails”.
News provided by John Pring
25 February, 2010
Campaigners threaten protests over Norfolk nursing home plans
Campaigners in Norfolk are promising a battle over draft plans by a local NHS body to tighten the criteria for allowing disabled people to receive continuing healthcare at home, rather than in a nursing home.The NHS Norfolk policy sets out “nine conditions relating to clinical risk and cost” which would have to be met for it to provide healthcare at home.
One condition is that the cost of providing healthcare in a person’s home must not be more than 20 per cent more than a nursing home placement. If it is, they could be forced into an institution.
This could affect some of the 23 people in the area with the most “complex health needs” who already receive care at home, if their care has become “financially unsustainable”.
And it also seems likely that it would affect nearly every new recipient of continuing healthcare, as NHS Norfolk says the average cost of home care is nearly £8,000 a month, while the average monthly cost of a nursing home is just over £4,000.
Mark Harrison, chief executive of Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People, said the new policy was “not acceptable” and promised protests if NHS Norfolk attempted to move disabled people out of their homes and into institutions as a way of cutting costs.
He said such a move was “turning the clock back” and seemed to “fly in the face” of government guidance around personalisation.
He said: “We are going to get conflict if they try to move disabled people out of their home against their will because of the cost-cutting exercise. We are on a collision course.”
David Stonehouse, NHS Norfolk’s deputy chief executive, said the policy was based “entirely on the need for clinical safety” but that “it would be wrong for us not to address the secondary financial issues in a public consultation”.
He said: “We are pro-actively working to ensure as many patients as possible can be treated in primary care – at home or within their local community – rather than in hospitals or nursing homes and we have put in place and continue to innovate ways to keep people living independently.”
The controversy came as health secretary Andy Burnham laid out plans to carry out more dialysis in people’s homes and more chemotherapy in the community.
Burnham said the time had come “for the NHS to make a decisive shift in providing more care out of hospitals and in the patient’s community and home”.
A Department of Health (DH) spokeswoman said there was a “general wish” to have people cared for more in their own homes but “we do realise there are clinical circumstances why that might not be appropriate”.
She said NHS Norfolk would “need to defend” their plan “locally” and added: “There can be local circumstances that make it difficult to comment from a national perspective.”
Meanwhile, two disabled people have been forced to drop their court battle to force their local primary care trusts (PCTs) to allow them to use direct payments to manage their own long-term healthcare at home.
Valerie Garnham, from Islington, north London, and Steven Harrison, from Yorkshire, had argued that health secretary Andy Burnham acted unlawfully and breached their human rights by denying them the ability to manage their continuing healthcare through direct payments.
But they had to drop their appeal when the DH said that new laws under the Health Act 2009 – which will only allow direct payments for healthcare through official pilot schemes – would come into force the day before their case was due to be heard.
Disability Law Service (DLS), which was representing Garnham, said she and many other disabled people would now have to rely on their PCTs going through the “lengthy process” of applying to pilot healthcare direct payments.
A DLS spokesman said Garnham, Harrison and “a vast number of disabled people across Britain” would now be “liable to be stripped of their independence and human rights to manage their own care”.
Garnham said she was “devastated” by the thought of losing the right to use direct payments, but still hoped there might be a way to take a case against the government under the Human Rights Act.
She said: “Obviously not everybody wants direct payments, especially people on continuing care, but people should have a choice. It’s as simple as that.”
News provided by John Pring
24 February, 2010
Government conference aims for consensus on social care funding
Disabled people’s organisations, social care bodies and charities were due to meet today (Friday) for a government conference that aimed to seek a consensus on the future funding of adult social care.The conference was announced by health secretary Andy Burnham, following heated public discussions over possible government plans for a new inheritance tax to help fund adult social care.
Secret discussions aimed at building consensus between the three main parties broke down, with the Conservatives and Labour accusing each other of wrecking the talks, and the Conservatives launching an advertising campaign featuring a gravestone with the inscription “R.I.P. OFF”.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said Burnham had called the conference to “try and find a way forward, to build a consensus”.
In a letter to delegates, Burnham said there was a “growing recognition” that the current system was “unsustainable and unfair”.
He said there was “broad agreement” among the three parties that a new system should feature “national entitlements to replace the lottery of local eligibility rules” and “maximum” personalisation, and should not be funded entirely through general taxation but “through a partnership between the individual and the state”.
But he said one of the “difficult decisions” they faced was “to what extent should we reform disability benefits for older people into a single care and support system”.
Disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) have fiercely criticised plans to abolish attendance allowance and disability living allowance for those over 65 and “integrate” the savings into council budgets to help pay for means-tested social care.
DPOs invited to the conference included the National Centre for Independent Living and RADAR, while Burnham also invited Baroness [Jane] Campbell, who has campaigned in the Lords for disabled people to have greater choice and control over their support.
Disability charities invited included Mencap, Leonard Cheshire Disability, Mind and Rethink.
One prominent disability organisation that was not invited was Disability Alliance, which has played a leading role in discussions with the government over reform and chairs the Coalition on Charging.
Neil Coyle, director of policy for Disability Alliance, said they were “very disappointed” not to be included as a “key stakeholder” in the debate.
He said the inheritance tax proposals could be a “step towards a free National Care Service delivered on the same terms as the NHS”.
But he added: “We believe there is a lot more that could be done with existing taxation and the existing social services budget.
“How it is funded is of lesser importance than securing outcomes for individual disabled people.”
News provided by John Pring
23 February, 2010
Baywatch survey provides more evidence that fining works
A national survey of supermarket carparks appears to provide further proof that fining motorists who misuse accessible parking spaces cuts levels of abuse.But the survey by more than 550 disabled supporters of the Baywatch campaign also found levels of abuse in two of the big four supermarket chains had increased since the previous survey in 2007.
And the new survey found some disabled shoppers were experiencing threats and verbal abuse when they challenged motorists who were misusing accessible spaces.
The best performer in the survey was Sainsbury’s, with nearly half of surveyors who visited their carparks last September reporting no abuse of any accessible bays.
More than half of those who visited Sainsbury’s also reported seeing signs warning that people using accessible bays without displaying a blue badge would be fined.
Although 16 per cent of Sainsbury’s total spaces surveyed were being used by a vehicle that was not displaying a blue badge, this was an improvement of two percentage points since the 2007 survey.
A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said: “Last year we introduced a nationwide scheme of monitors to help keep our disabled bays open for those who need them. It is great to hear that they are having a real impact.”
The worst performer was Tesco, with nearly one in four bays abused, a slight increase in misuse since 2007.
According to Baywatch, Tesco has started to enforce bays at some of its supermarkets, but “only a measly 10 per cent of people reported any sign of this”.
Asda – the first supermarket to introduce widespread fining for abuse in 2008 – saw misuse of its bays fall from 23 per cent in 2007 to 19 per cent.
But Morrisons, which failed to follow Asda’s lead on fining, saw abuse rise from 13 to 17 per cent of bays.
Helen Smith, director of policy and campaigns for the disabled motorists’ charity Mobilise, which runs the Baywatch campaign with the British Polio Fellowship and Disability Now magazine, said the survey showed that fining bay abusers works.
She added: “In order to see real improvements for their disabled customers, supermarkets need to do more than just put up signs – they need to practice active enforcement as well.
“It’s not acceptable for supermarkets to pass the buck on to their disabled customers by refusing to monitor their bays.
“Instead, supermarkets should ensure that disabled customers can come in and shop – without fear of intimidation.”
News provided by John Pring
23 February, 2010
New fears over impact of work assessment test
New job statistics provide worrying evidence that disabled people are dropping out of the welfare system after failing the government’s strict new work assessment test.Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show the number of people who say they are “economically inactive” – neither in work nor available for work – has risen to 8.08 million, its highest ever level.
And the number giving “long-term sickness” as the reason for being economically inactive has risen in one year by 25,000 to 2.01 million, while those giving “temporary sickness” as a reason has risen by 8,000 to 177,000.
Mark Baker, policy chair of the Disability Benefits Consortium, said these figures could have been boosted by disabled people who fail the work capability assessment (WCA) and so do not qualify for employment and support allowance (ESA), the new out-of-work disability benefit.
He believes many then decide not to apply for jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) because they cannot cope with its tougher regime and stricter conditions.
He said: “The JSA regime just alienates people. They will just want to survive on disability living allowance.
“JSA is a much tougher regime and it simply wasn’t designed for disabled people.”
He said there were serious concerns that many disabled people were being “left in the space between work and welfare”.
He added: “We are extremely worried about it and our suspicion is that many of the people are just falling out of the system.”
Citizens Advice said it was “very concerned” at the large numbers of disabled people and those with serious illnesses being found fit for work after taking the WCA.
A Citizens Advice spokeswoman said: “By being found ineligible for ESA, some move onto JSA, which offers considerably less support. Others are moved off benefits altogether, with no support at all.
“We had understood that the aim of ESA was to move people into work, not simply off benefits.
“Both of these groups are being let down by the system and find themselves much further away from a situation where they may be able to return to sustainable work in the future.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman insisted that those who move to JSA after failing the WCA receive “immediate back to work support”.
He said disabled claimants and those with health conditions can discuss limitations on their availability.
Their condition or impairment is also taken into account “when discussing and agreeing jobsearch activities”, while Jobcentre Plus offers additional support through disability employment advisers.
But he could not say whether the government believed more disabled people were becoming “economically inactive” because of concerns about the JSA regime.
News provided by John Pring
23 February, 2010
BBC criticised over Winter Paralympics TV plans
The BBC is facing mounting criticism over its plans to offer no live coverage of the Winter Paralympics on any of its four TV channels.The BBC has boasted that it will offer 160 hours of TV coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, which last until 28 February.
But it has no plans for any live TV coverage or daily highlights programmes on its four channels during the Paralympic Winter Games – taking place between March 12 and March 21 at the same venues.
The only live coverage planned is through its website and the digital TV “red button” – and only if the British wheelchair curling team makes it through to the medal rounds – despite genuine British medal contenders in both ski-ing and curling.
There will also be a one-hour highlights programme the day after the Games end, on BBC Two.
Gordon Neale, director of events for the English Federation of Disability Sport, said the BBC’s decision was “absolutely ridiculous” and called for it to change its plans.
Dan Burden, head of public affairs for the Spinal Injuries Association, also criticised the BBC and said the decision was a missed opportunity to encourage disabled people to take up winter sports.
He said: “It’s a great opportunity to showcase that wheelchair sports or disabled sports are not just limited to the marathon and that they are as diverse as non-disabled sports.”
John Stone, coach for the Welsh Wheelchair Curling Association, whose organisation had hoped to win new members through TV coverage, said he was disappointed by the BBC’s decision.
He said: “We were certainly hoping to pick up prospective wheelchair curlers from the publicity we were hoping to get from TV.”
Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, who won 12 Paralympic athletics gold medals, and has worked for the BBC as a commentator, was also “disappointed”.
She said she understood the BBC’s decision because of the costs, but added: “It doesn’t make it right.”
And she suggested that members of Britain’s winter Paralympic squad should link up with their summer colleagues to find out how they managed to improve TV coverage.
She said: “For me it is about how we raise the profile of the winter athletes through the year.”
The BBC has blamed “budget restrictions and the time zone factor” for its decision, but this week refused to comment further, despite the mounting criticism.
News provided by John Pring
22 February, 2010
Handbook is guide to ‘unique’ relationship with PAs
A new guide provides disabled people with everything they need to deal with the “unique” challenges they face as employers of personal assistants (PAs).The Handbook for Disabled Employers and their Personal Assistants is published by Being the Boss, a company set up by Anne Pridmore, who has campaigned for nearly 20 years on independent living and personalisation.
The guide is based on her 19 years’ experience of employing people in her own home and includes a computer disc with templates for all the forms a disabled employer of PAs might need, such as time sheets, holiday rotas or wages forms.
It also includes advice on issues such as how to interview potential PAs, setting employment terms and conditions, and disciplinary and grievance procedures.
The handbook’s publication has been supported by the social entrepreneurship charity UnLtd, the learning difficulties charity Choice Support and Nottinghamshire County Council.
Pridmore said: “It includes anything any employer needs to employ someone, but with a particular slant on disabled employers who employ their own PAs.”
She said the relationship between disabled people and the PAs they employ to work in their own homes is “unique”.
A lot of disabled people are “frightened” by the thought of starting a disciplinary procedure against a PA “when in the next breath you might need to ask them to do some personal care for you”, she added.
The guide also discusses the importance of regular supervision of staff, so issues can be tackled before they escalate, with Pridmore keen to persuade more local authorities to fund such supervision, so they do not “set disabled people up to fail” when employing their own PAs.
Standard print and easy-read copies of the guide are available from www.beingtheboss.co.uk at £10 each.
News provided by John Pring
21 February, 2010
MPs raise concerns over decisions on disability benefits
The government should investigate allegations of poor treatment by the company that carries out medical assessments of disabled people who apply for disability benefits, according to a committee of MPs.A new work and pensions committee report says the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) should also investigate complaints about the computerised assessment process used by the company, ATOS Healthcare.
The committee “received many complaints about the medical assessment process”, along with “widespread concerns” that those making benefits decisions in the DWP “appear to give excessive weight” to the medical assessments over other evidence provided by claimants.
The report, Decision-Making and Appeals in the Benefits System, calls on the government to set up a welfare commission to examine how to make a “fair but simpler” benefits system.
Citizens Advice told the committee that decisions become “increasingly complex” for disability benefits such as incapacity benefit (IB), employment and support allowance (ESA) and disability living allowance (DLA).
And Dr Mark Baker, head of social research and policy at RNID, told the committee that many people found the 58-page DLA claim form “utterly mystifying”.
The report says that the quality of decision-making on claims for DLA and attendance allowance is “a cause for concern” because of this complexity.
It also raises concerns about cuts in welfare rights advice in some parts of the country.
Campaigners also told the committee of their concerns about the work capability assessment (WCA), the test for those claiming ESA, the new out-of-work disability benefit. The report calls on DWP to say when it will publish its internal review of the assessment.
And it says DWP should ensure terminally-ill ESA claimants are no longer forced to undertake work-focused interviews.
It concludes that an “increased focus on the quality of decision-making” to match the DWP’s “successful focus on fraud” could have a “very significant effect” in reducing the cost of benefits appeals.
A DWP spokesman said it would give its full response to the report “in due course”, but added: “We’re pleased that the committee has recognised that every day the vast, vast majority of our claimants are getting the right benefits on time.
“But we know there is more to do and we are making strides to simplify the benefits system.”
And he said the government would publish its review of the WCA once it had considered its recommendations.
News provided by John Pring
20 February, 2010
Dame Tanni to fight for rights in the Lords
Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson has spoken of her desire to join the fight for improved rights for disabled people when she becomes one of four new crossbench peers in the House of Lords this spring.Dame Tanni said she was “very proud” and “very excited” by the “enormous challenge” ahead of her, following the announcement of her peerage by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
When asked which areas she will focus on in the Lords, she named three: sport, disability rights and the health service.
She said: “Something that is very important to me is getting an appropriate level of service (in the NHS).”
And she said there was still “so much to do in terms of achieving equality for disabled people”.
She appeared keen to work on disability rights issues in the Lords with other disabled peers such as Baroness Campbell, Lord Low and Baroness Masham, who all come from “incredibly different backgrounds”.
She added: “I think we are quite fortunate that there are a significant number of disabled people in the Lords.”
She is likely to be “introduced” to the Lords in April. As a crossbench peer, she said she was looking forward to being able to form her own opinions, rather than being forced to vote on party lines.
She already looks set to position herself alongside three other disabled peers, Baroness Campbell, Baroness Masham and Baroness Wilkins, in opposing continued efforts to weaken the law on assisted suicide.
Dame Tanni made it clear that she had “huge concerns” about the campaign to legalise assisted suicide and the “emotive” portrayal of disability in the media around the issue.
She said that such campaigns “reinforce the view that being a disabled person is so bad that you might want to kill yourself”.
She admits that she was not approved by the appointments commission when first interviewed in 2008, as its members felt then that she “wasn’t ready” to join the Lords.
She said: “I think I was really nervous the first time and it gave me the opportunity to think if it was something I would like to do if I had the opportunity.”
Following that first interview, she joined Transport for London’s board and now chairs its corporate governance committee, and also became a member of the Youth Citizenship Commission.
Even before those appointments, she was never “just an athlete”, and sat on both the Sports Council for Wales and UK Sport during her stellar career as a professional athlete, in which she won 12 Paralympic gold medals and broke 30 world records.
She is also a board member of UK Athletics and led its review of anti-doping policy in sport, and is vice-chair of the athletes committee of the organising committee for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
She studied politics at university and said she has always been fascinated by the machinery of government and parliament and “how things work”, even though she “always joked at university that I would never get involved in politics”.
But before Dame Tanni takes her place in the Lords, she has to decide on her title. She said she was “very proud” of her Welsh roots but is conscious that she has not lived in Wales for many years.
She said: “I feel quite a lot of pressure on that from people who have literally stopped me in the street. There is more expectation about what I am going to be called then what I am going to do.”
News provided by John Pring
19 February, 2010
Scotland’s ten-year plan to ‘mainstream’ personalisation
The Scottish government has launched a draft ten-year strategy it hopes will lead to personalised, “self-directed” services becoming the “mainstream” way for disabled people to access the social care support they need.The draft strategy on self-directed support says those who use care and support services should be seen “as equal citizens with rights and responsibilities”.
The strategy aims to address barriers to greater take-up of direct payments, including “assumptions and attitudes” about those who might benefit, limitations on the use of the money they are given, and “a vested interest in the status quo” by some professionals.
The document says there is “significant scope” to increase the number of people receiving direct payments, which should be “available to all but imposed on no-one”.
But it warns that guidance on eligibility for free personal care in Scotland had found evidence of reduced services to those with lower-level needs, and suggests a review of the use of eligibility criteria.
The Scottish government will also work with social care and health training and qualification bodies to integrate teaching of self-directed support into their courses, according to the strategy.
And it will meet with Department for Work and Pensions officials to find ways to fit the strategy and the benefits system together.
It will also discuss how to include disabled students’ allowance and other education funds in self-directed support packages.
The Scottish government will consult this year on the need for a self-directed support bill to “address some of the gaps in eligibility”.
The draft strategy says that by 2015 there should be a better quality of life for individuals, a “radical increase” in uptake of self-directed support, and a shift away from more traditional services.
Jim Elder-Woodward, convenor of Independent Living in Scotland (ILiS), an organisation of disabled people set up to develop the independent living movement in Scotland, said it was too early to give a “definitive” response.
But he said he was “hopeful” the movement would welcome the proposals, such as making self-directed support “the default position within social care provision”.
And he said there was a “great need” to make the principles and practices of independent living – and not just self-directed care - a fundamental part of education in social administration and social work.
ILiS will host a conference on 5 March to help it and other disabled people’s organisations prepare their responses to the draft strategy.
A consultation on the strategy lasts until 7 May. For more information, visit: www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations
News provided by John Pring
18 February, 2010
Care watchdog praises improvements but demands radical change
The care regulator has called for a “fundamental cultural shift” away from a “one-size-fits-all approach” and towards the personalisation of services.The call from the Care Quality Commission came in its first annual report to parliament on the state of health and adult social care in England.
The report says there have been steady improvements in social care and health, despite “pockets of poor practice”.
But the CQC is concerned that disabled people’s needs in many areas have to be “substantial” before they can receive social care support from the council.
The proportion of adult social care services rated as good or excellent rose from 69 per cent in 2008 to 77 per cent in 2009, but there was still “unacceptable variation”, with a small number of providers failing to meet minimum standards of safety and quality.
And although spending on direct payments in 2008/09 increased by nearly a third on the previous year, this was still only four per cent of councils’ overall spending on care.
The report also calls for a “real acceleration in joining up health and social care and centring it on people’s needs”.
And it points to three particular areas of concern, with performance on safety, safeguarding and staff training varying widely across both social care and health care, “despite overall improvement in recent years”.
Dame Jo Williams, CQC’s acting chair, warned that “trends such as increasing demand and rising expectations will be exacerbated by pressure on finances”.
This meant a need for “radical changes” in organisation and delivery of services, “shifting the culture away from a one-size-fits-all approach to care that puts the needs of individuals and carers at the centre of everything”.
Care services minister Phil Hope said the report “recognises the major improvements that have been made across health and social care services”.
He pointed to government plans to bring in new laws on safeguarding adults, and he said the government would “shortly” publish its care and support white paper, with plans for a “simple, fair and more affordable” national care service, while its personal care at home bill would help those with the highest needs.
The CQC has also released a new five-year strategy.
Its five priorities will be: ensuring care is centred on people’s needs and protects their rights; “championing” joined up care; “acting swiftly” to help eliminate poor quality care; promoting high quality care; and effective regulation.
News provided by John Pring
17 February, 2010
Councils fail information test on personal budgets
Local authorities are failing to provide disabled people with accurate information on personal budgets, according to a national disability charity.Livability, which provides services such as care homes and supported living, reviewed more than 100 local authorities across England and found nearly half of their websites contained no information on personal budgets – which allow people to take control of their own social care funding.
Almost half of telephone enquiries about personal budgets were misdirected and almost a quarter of the councils could not provide any information on personal budgets at all.
Fewer than one in 30 local authorities were able to recommend additional sources of information.
Only two councils, the City of London and Portsmouth City Council, scored ten out of ten for the information they provided.
Meanwhile, a survey commissioned by Livability of more than 500 disabled young adults found nearly nine in ten had never heard of personal budgets.
A Livability spokeswoman said councils themselves seemed to be confused about terminology, and often confused personal budgets, individual budgets (another form of self-directed support piloted by the government, which included different funding streams besides adult social care) and direct payments.
Mary Bishop, chief executive of Livability, said the results were “extremely worrying”.
She said: “Personal budgets have the potential to transform the lives of disabled people by giving them choice and control and yet awareness of them is woefully inadequate.”
Mark Harper, the Conservative shadow minister for disabled people, said it was clear there was “still a great deal more to do to ensure that disabled people up and down the country can take advantage of personal budgets”.
He said the government should “show more leadership” and “impress upon local authorities the importance of making these opportunities available for disabled people”.
Livability called on the government to run a national awareness-raising campaign aimed at disabled people.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “Personal budgets offer people choice and control over their care and support.
“Councils have been running local pilots and 30 have already started rolling out personal budgets across their areas.
“We expect the others to follow over the next six months. We are supporting councils to achieve this transformation by offering guidance and a £500 million investment over three years.
“We expect councils to provide information and advice on personal budgets as the roll-out takes place.”
News provided by John Pring
16 February, 2010
Government adds confusion to Eagle’s reserved posts comments
The Government Equalities Office has added to the confusion caused by a government minister who told MPs that it was illegal to reserve jobs solely for disabled people.Maria Eagle, an equalities minister and former minister for disabled people, told the communities and local government committee two weeks ago that it was illegal to reserve posts under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and would remain so under the equality bill.
She has now been forced to write to the committee, after it wrote to her “seeking clarification” of her comments.
During questioning from the committee about the equality bill, Eagle said that “positive action” – favouring the disabled person when faced with two equally qualified job candidates – was legal and would stay legal under the bill.
But she also said that only allowing disabled applicants to apply for a particular job was illegal and would remain so in the new bill.
Reserving posts for disabled people is a widespread practice, both by disabled people’s organisations and across the disability sector, and campaigners were left bemused by her comments.
A Government Equalities Office spokeswoman said: “Everybody has the right to be treated fairly and employers are not allowed to discriminate when hiring staff.
“However, there is an exemption where a particular characteristic is a requirement of the job – for example, an organisation providing counselling services for young deaf people might require its counsellors to be deaf in order to share life experiences and use British Sign Language with their clients.
“This is the case under the DDA and the equality bill will not change this. Maria Eagle has written to the select committee to make this clear.”
But the spokeswoman declined to comment when asked whether Eagle was admitting she had made a mistake, or whether she stood by her evidence.
News provided by John Pring
15 February, 2010
Government research follows ‘increasing concerns’ on forced marriage
The government is funding new research into disabled people who are victims of forced marriages, following increasing concerns about the scale of the problem.News of the research emerged after a man was jailed for trying to sell his disabled sister, who has learning difficulties, into a forced marriage.
Michael Wright, 22, from Swindon, was arrested by officers from the UK Border Agency as he arrived with his sister for the ceremony at Reading Register Office with would-be groom Ligang Qiao last August.
Wright had agreed to let Qiao marry his sister – in exchange for £8,000 – to aid his application to stay in the UK once his visa ran out.
Wright pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to assisting unlawful entry into the UK, and perjury, and was jailed this week for four years. Qiao and two other Chinese nationals were jailed for between 15 months and two years each, and will be deported at the end of their sentences.
Detective Inspector Andy Cummins, of the UK Border Agency, said it was a “despicable crime” and Wright had “attempted to exploit a member of his own family for his own financial gain”, while the other gang members “sought to take advantage of a vulnerable woman”.
A Foreign Office spokesman said its Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) – run jointly with the Home Office – had seen “a number” of cases where disabled people were forced into marriage, either by families trying to provide a disabled relative with a long-term carer or for visa reasons.
He said: “Accurate statistics for forced marriage are very difficult to compile, given its often-clandestine nature, but the incidence among people with disabilities has been the subject of increasing concern over recent years.
“The FMU are funding research to look into this area, and to compare best practice in responses. The findings will inform the unit’s future work.”
Meanwhile, the Equality and Human Rights Commission is preparing to investigate the problem of disabled women who are forced into marriage.
The EHRC’s disability committee will look at the issue as part of the commission’s Violence Against Women programme.
Anyone who is worried that they might be forced into marriage or is worried about a friend or relative can call the Forced Marriage Unit in confidence on 020 7008 0151.
15 February, 2010
Equality bill amendment ‘will boost number of accessible taxis’
Delighted campaigners have welcomed proposed new laws that will force many local authorities to allow more wheelchair-accessible taxis onto the streets.The new amendment to the government’s equality bill was proposed by the disabled peer Baroness Wilkins and backed by a string of fellow peers – and accepted by the government – during the bill’s committee stage.
The amendment will mean that local authorities that have introduced policies to control taxi numbers will not be able to refuse a licence for a wheelchair-accessible vehicle if the area does not have enough accessible taxis.
Baroness Wilkins, a wheelchair-user herself, said provision of accessible transport was “essential for equality of opportunity” but councils with “quantity-control policies” and relatively few or no accessible taxis can refuse licence applications for wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
She said this can leave wheelchair-users who travel to such areas by train “stranded” once they arrive.
She added: “One must also think what it means for those living in the area when they need to get to an urgent appointment or visit friends and have a social life.”
For the government, Baroness Thornton said: “It is unacceptable that a licensing authority which controls taxi numbers can routinely refuse applications for wheelchair-accessible taxis when it has very few wheelchair-accessible taxis in the district or, indeed, none at all.
“This new clause provides an ideal means of enhancing accessible taxi provision in these areas.”
She said the government would consult before deciding on the minimum proportion of taxis in a local authority area that should be wheelchair-accessible.
Geraldine Des Moulins, chief officer of Brighton and Hove Federation of Disabled People, welcomed the amendment and said it should make it easier for wheelchair-users to find taxis.
She said researchers had found that a wheelchair-user in Brighton waits four times as long as a non-disabled person for a taxi.
Her organisation persuaded Brighton and Hove City Council to announce a review of taxi services for disabled people last month.
Des Moulins said: “We have disabled people who will not go out because they do not know if they will get a taxi to get home again.”
She said the new laws would help, but there also needed to be a “culture shift within the taxi trade”, with drivers often refusing to pick up wheelchair-users.
The equality bill has now completed its committee stage in the Lords, with the report stage due to begin on 2 March.
News provided by John Pring
14 February, 2010
Tories will ‘turn back clock’ on inclusion in schools
The Conservative Party’s new draft policies on special schools and inclusion would “set the clock back by more than 30 years”, say appalled campaigners.They spoke out after the Conservatives published their draft education policy, three months before the likely date of the general election.
The draft manifesto states: “Because the most vulnerable children deserve the very highest quality of care, we will call a moratorium on the ideologically-driven closure of special schools and end the bias towards the inclusion of children with special needs in mainstream schools.”
Simone Aspis, campaigns and policy co-ordinator for the Alliance for Inclusive Education, said she was “absolutely shocked” by the “tone and hostility” of the policy, as well as its content.
She said such a policy would “turn the clock back” to the 1970s, when the idea of segregating children was acceptable.
She said: “What surprises us is the attack on the ideology of inclusion.
“It undermines people’s clear human and civil rights to participate not only in education but also in society as a whole.
“What does it say in 2010 if we are moving disabled children out of mainstream society and into segregated provision?
“The more you segregate disabled children, the less people understand disabled people as complete human beings.”
Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, said: “A key plank of any progressive education policy must be to work towards all schools being willing and able to include, value, support, care for and respect all children in their diversity, including kids with complex, high support needs and serious health conditions.
“Human difference is a strength and a great learning resource – it shouldn’t be the basis for segregation and exclusion.”
She said the challenge was to transform mainstream provision so as to realise the right to inclusive education in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
She said there had been a “major step forward” with new rights for pupils to auxiliary aids and services now included in the equality bill, and there were “some fantastic examples of real inclusion happening on the ground”.
And she said RADAR believed the Conservatives would not be able to “turn back the tide”.
News provided by John Pring
13 February, 2010
Supermarkets pledge to do more on parking time limits
The big four supermarket chains have all promised to do more to ensure disabled shoppers do not face discrimination over strict parking time limits.Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons all pledged to act after a survey for BBC Breakfast suggested that about two-thirds of the large stores that imposed strict time limits could be breaching the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
Under the DDA, the stores should make reasonable adjustments for disabled shoppers, which would probably include giving them more time to do their shopping.
But BBC Breakfast contacted 200 large supermarkets from the four chains and found 124 had time restrictions – often two hours. Of those 124, 81 supermarkets told them disabled people were not allowed extra time to do their shopping.
Sainsbury’s said there should be no time limits for blue badge holders in any of its carparks, but a spokesman said they would look into any “signage issues”, and added: “It’s disappointing that a small number of the stores contacted were unaware of the adjustments we make for disabled customers and we’ll make sure they have the correct information for the future.”
Morrisons said the research had “highlighted the need to communicate our provisions more clearly” and they were taking steps to improve information provided to shoppers and to staff, but a spokesman added: “Where parking time limits are in place, if customers with a disability require extra time to shop, our in-store team is on hand to help – concessions are available.”
Tesco said some staff had not been aware that disabled shoppers should be given more time to shop, and that it was “looking into the issue of signage and the DDA and will take appropriate action if necessary”, but a spokesman added: “We would like to make very clear that customers with disabilities are not fined if they exceed parking limits in our stores.”
Asda also said it was “rebriefing” staff across all its stores that disabled customers were allowed more time, and was also looking into providing more information to shoppers on what to do if they needed longer to do their shopping.
Helen Smith, director of policy and campaigns for the disabled motorists’ charity Mobilise, said: “Supermarkets should do what is reasonable and if a disabled customer needs longer than the time limit, they should do their best to acknowledge their needs.”
But she said that in her three years at Mobilise she had not heard of a single case of a disabled person being fined for breaching the time limit in a supermarket carpark.
News provided by John Pring
13 February, 2010
Disabled peers raise concerns over personal care bill
Disabled peers have raised serious concerns about the government’s personal care at home bill, during a Lords debate.Two of them – Baroness [Rosalie] Wilkins and Lord [Colin] Low – voted for a motion to delay the next stage of the bill, which will introduce free personal care at home for disabled people with the highest needs.
Baroness [Jane] Campbell welcomed the “principle” of free personal care, which “demonstrates the government’s commitment to enabling people with high support needs to stay in their own homes” and would “make it easier for the NHS and local authorities to work together”.
But she said she was concerned that some people with critical needs would miss out on free care, putting “a financial premium on proving how incapable you are” rather than promoting independence.
She concluded: “I welcome some of the fundamental principles behind the bill, but, for now, it throws up more questions than answers.”
Baroness Masham questioned whether the bill’s “aspirations” would be spread fairly across the country as equipment services – including wheelchair services – needed to improve to prevent it becoming “a postcode lottery”.
She also raised concerns that the assessment process would be confusing and overly bureaucratic.
The Labour peer Baroness Wilkins said the bill failed to mention the need for a system of “fast, effective provision of home adaptations”, which is “sorely lacking in many parts of the country”.
She said some councils have reduced their budgets for disabled facilities grants, with more expected to do so this year – despite an increased government grant – because they were no longer legally obliged to match government funding.
Lord Low was particularly critical of the bill and said its cost would be “substantial”, with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) estimating councils would need to find double the £250 million a year from efficiency savings estimated by the government.
He said: “In practice, the money will have to be found, in whole or in part, through service cuts or, possibly, charges.”
Baroness Thornton, for the government, said the bill would provide “real help to some of those with the highest care needs”, and act as a stepping-stone “towards a greater reform”.
She disputed the ADASS figures but accepted there were “legitimate” concerns about the bureaucracy of the assessment process.
The motion to delay the committee stage until the government had provided more information on implementation was defeated, despite support from Lord Low and Baroness Wilkins.
The Lords committee stage is due to begin on 22 February.
News provided by John Pring
12 February, 2010
Manufactured goods ‘must be included in new EU laws’
Campaigners have called on the government to back demands for manufactured goods to be covered by new European Union (EU) anti-discrimination laws.The draft equal treatment directive would extend protection from discrimination on the grounds of disability, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief to the provision of goods and services across the EU.
Currently, the UK’s Disability Discrimination Act does not force manufacturers or designers of goods to make reasonable adjustments for different access needs, and neither will the new equality bill.
But campaigners are lobbying the government to push for such a measure to be included in the EU directive.
Baroness [Jane] Campbell and Labour MP Roger Berry – co-chairs of the all-party parliamentary disability group – have written to the government, asking it to back calls for manufactured goods to be included.
But at a meeting of the group this week, Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, said: “We have had a rather unsatisfactory response from Jonathan Shaw (minister for disabled people) saying the government view is regulation is not the way forward. We beg to differ.”
The Equality and Human Rights Commission and Leonard Cheshire Disability are among other organisations to back the inclusion of manufactured goods, according to a new government report that summarises responses to a consultation on the directive.
The report says evidence submitted to the consultation pointed to current access problems such as the lack of DVDs with subtitles, instruction leaflets that were difficult to understand, and inaccessible LCD screens on an increasing number of white goods such as washing machines and microwaves.
In its submission, Disability Law Service said new laws to ensure goods were as accessible as possible have a “significant impact” on enabling disabled people to “truly participate in society”.
But the government said many respondents had “grave concerns” about the proposal.
It said the CBI, the business lobby organisation, “was just one organisation to argue that not only would the cost be too huge a burden to bear for manufacturers, but that it would also do disproportionate damage to UK competitiveness”.
The government has not published its conclusions about the consultation responses because of the risk of “compromising” EU negotiations.
12 February, 2010
Care regulator could probe social care ‘unmet need’
The care regulator could be set to investigate concerns about the number of disabled adults and older people who are not receiving the care services they need.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) – which regulates health and adult social care in England – said the review of “unmet need” in social care would examine the impact of funding cuts on eligibility for services.
In a report last December, the commission found three out of 148 councils were restricting eligibility for care services to only those with “critical” needs, while a further 103 had set their threshold at “substantial”, the second-highest of the four categories.
The CQC said then that it was “concerned” that some councils could raise eligibility criteria further as public spending was squeezed in future years.
The review is just one of 13 possible reviews and studies the commission is considering undertaking in 2010-11, all of which are in areas where there is “evidence of poor quality, or risk within the system”.
The others include: the health and social care needs of offenders, domiciliary care, services for people with dementia, and services for those with long-term neurological conditions
But the commission said it would not have the resources to begin work on all 13, and is asking for views on which topics were most urgent.
The list was released as part of a public consultation launched this week on the CQC’s new plans for assessing the quality of care provided by councils, NHS trusts and adult social care providers.
In its consultation report, the CQC says it will “focus much more” on the views of service-users and “hold those who provide and commission services to account for the quality and value for money of those services”.
The CQC said that existing systems for gathering the views of service-users “need significant development”.
The new plans would see “a move away” from an overall score for councils and primary care trusts as commissioners of care, and instead provide separate scores in specific areas.
But it will continue to use quality ratings for providers of social care because they “act as a useful guide to assist people who use services when making decisions about choosing their care”.
Cynthia Bower, the CQC’s chief executive, said: “We will listen carefully to what people who use services tell us about their care, and will hold those in charge accountable when that care falls below par.”
The consultation closes on 27 April. For more information, visit www.cqc.org.uk/getinvolved/consultations.cfm
News provided by John Pring
11 February, 2010
‘Change in culture’ among job support providers
There has been a “marked change in culture” among providers of employment support for disabled people since a government programme began nine years ago, according to the education and training watchdog.A review by Ofsted of 21 of the best providers of the Workstep programme found they promoted the skills the disabled person would bring to the job, rather than encouraging employers to believe they were doing them a favour.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) commissioned the review to find the best strategies for moving participants in Workstep – which provides support for disabled people “facing complex barriers to getting and keeping a job” – into unsupported employment.
Most participants have supported placements with mainstream employers, while some work within supported employment businesses.
In its Improving Progression to Unsupported Employment report, Ofsted says the best providers made sure the people they supported knew they were moving towards unsupported jobs.
Participants were monitored closely and given realistic targets, received support that was carefully matched to their needs and developed their personal skills to match the needs of local employers.
The best providers also develop long-term strategies to move participants from sheltered workshops into sustainable jobs, which was “beginning to have some impact”.
But Ofsted said those disabled people who needed to improve their literacy, numeracy and language skills did not always receive the necessary training or encouragement.
And among the 12 local authority providers visited, there was “poor” awareness of Workstep across the council, with too few departments offering suitable job or placement opportunities, and participants not given a high enough profile when new businesses came into the area.
Ofsted also pointed out that, “although the proportion of participants progressing into sustained, unsupported employment is improving, it remains far too low”.
The proportion who moved into sustained, unsupported employment rose from 4.1 per cent of Workstep participants in 2004 to 9.8 per cent in 2007-08.
Steve Cairns, director of employment at disability charity Scope, one of the providers reviewed by Ofsted, said: “Good providers take the time to identify participants’ individual goals early on and look at support they need.
“Disabled people should be in charge of this process and choosing and leading their own career development.”
Although Workstep will be replaced by the new Work Choice programme in October, the DWP welcomed the report and said it would “help shape” the new programme.
News provided by John Pring
11 February, 2010
UKDPC calls for central role in monitoring UN convention
The UK’s leading disabled people’s organisation will tell the government this week that it wants to take a lead role in monitoring how the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is implemented in Britain.Jaspal Dhani, chief executive of the United Kingdom Disabled People’s Council (UKDPC), said other disabled people’s organisations were backing its bid to play a major part in assessing how the convention is affecting disabled people’s daily lives.
He is due to meet officials from the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) on Tuesday (9 February) to discuss the UKDPC proposal.
Dhani said: “We want to position various DPOs up and down the country to become reporting houses so people can report their issues to them to build up the picture of how life is changing, or not changing.
“The principle is that these issues should be placed in the hands of disabled people.”
UKDPC would work alongside the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the government, which both have monitoring roles under the convention.
Dhani said UKDPC also wanted to use the convention to help boost the rights of disabled people globally, through sharing ideas and good practice with other countries.
His comments came after Neil Crowther, the EHRC’s disability programme director, told a parliamentary meeting that the convention would have “great significance” for the future of disability rights in Britain.
Crowther told the all-party parliamentary disability group that it was vital to raise awareness of the convention among disabled people.
The EHRC has commissioned RADAR and the British Institute of Human Rights to produce practical guidance to show disabled people and their organisations how to use the convention to fight for their rights.
The EHRC is the independent body chosen by the government – alongside fellow commissions in Scotland and Northern Ireland – to promote, protect and monitor implementation.
Crowther said the EHRC could decide later this year to hold an inquiry if it believes there is “particular resistance” to implementing the convention among government departments or public bodies.
It is also planning further work to challenge the government’s four “reservations” in the areas of education, immigration, defence and benefits.
James Wolfe, the ODI’s deputy director, said the convention was “a uniquely powerful instrument”, and the ODI’s role was to link it to disabled people’s experiences of public services.
He said he and Jonathan Shaw, the minister for disabled people, expected a “robust debate” about the government’s reservations and associated policies.
News provided by John Pring
10 February, 2010
Disabled peer attacks ‘ignorance’ of euthanasia lobby
A disabled peer has delivered her fiercest attack yet on those pressing for the legalisation of assisted suicide.Baroness [Jane] Campbell was speaking in the latest Lords debate, in which the Labour peer Lord Warner called for an independent inquiry into a possible change in the law.
The debate came two days after the author Sir Terry Pratchett delivered the annual Richard Dimbleby Lecture on BBC One, in which he called on the government to set up assisted suicide tribunals that could give people legal permission to end their lives.
Lord Warner said “survey after survey for a decade or more” had shown public support for a change in the law and that Parliament “lags behind public opinion on this issue”.
But Baroness Campbell said Sir Terry’s views were “at odds with that of thousands of other terminally-ill and disabled people, who want Parliament to concentrate on better support to live, not to die”.
She said that, although the majority of the population may share his views, Sir Terry “did not speak for disabled and terminally-ill people”.
And she told peers that not one organisation of or for disabled and terminally-ill people supported a change in the law.
Baroness Campbell said the campaign for legalisation was being “waged by people fearful of disability and terminal illness” and mostly by those who were not disabled or terminally-ill themselves.
And she said the “relentless pressing for a change in the law” sent the message to those newly diagnosed that they would not be able to cope or adjust and would “enter a living hell” and “should consider a premature death”.
She added: “The ignorance of that approach astounds me.”
The pro-life crossbench peer Lord Alton said a change in the law would “endanger public safety and put disabled people at risk”, and “the right to die would rapidly become the duty to die”.
Lord Joffe, who has previously introduced his own assisted suicide bill in the Lords, said “the 80 per cent of society in our democracy who consistently support assisted dying” were “entitled” to the inquiry, so the issue could be “calmly and objectively considered, based on research and evidence, rather than on conjecture and speculation about what might happen by those who hope that it will not”.
But Lord Bach, the junior justice minister, said there was “little prospect” of the government setting up an independent inquiry during the final months of this parliament and it had “made clear” that any change to the law was “an issue of individual conscience” for peers and MPs.
9 February, 2010
Disabled students still facing ‘shocking’ grant delays
Furious campaigners say they are “appalled” and “dismayed” by new figures that show no improvement in the lengthy delays faced by disabled students applying for vital support grants.Three months ago, the Student Loans Company (SLC) apologised and launched an internal review after completing only 2,500 of the 14,000 disabled students’ allowance (DSA) applications it had received by late October.
But figures unearthed by the Conservative Party, through a Freedom of Information request, show no improvement in the delays and backlogs.
Of 19,006 eligible applications received, only 6,507 have been fully processed and approved by SLC.
Figures from 28 October showed SLC had yet to begin processing 2,000 applications. This fell to 1,361 by 25 January.
But the 28 October figures also showed 1,000 applications that had been returned after independent assessments and were waiting for SLC to complete the application process. This number has now risen to 1,662.
Barbara Waters, chief executive of Skill, the disabled students’ charity, said she was “appalled” at the latest figures.
Skill now plans to ask the Commons business, innovation and skills (BIS) committee to investigate, and will seek a meeting with BIS secretary Lord Mandelson.
The British Dyslexia Association said it was “dismayed” to learn of the “severe delays”, which it said could cause many disabled students to drop out of their courses and could have a “serious impact” on their future careers.
Shadow universities and skills secretary David Willetts said the figures were “truly shocking”.
He said: “Almost four months after term started, and two months after the government said the problems were being fixed, thousands of disabled students are still waiting for the funding they need to pay for vital equipment.
“Twice as many disabled students have not been paid their grants as have been paid them.”
An SLC spokeswoman said they were reviewing procedures and would be “improving the training of specialist advisors”.
She added: “We do recognise there is a problem. We are working as quickly as we can to resolve this issue. We have said and continue to say we are sorry to students who have experienced difficulties.”
A BIS spokeswoman said processing DSA applications was “inherently complex” and many students “choose not to apply” until after they start their course.
She said SLC had received more than 5,000 DSA applications since the start of November and was “taking action to deal with these as quickly as possible”.
News provided by John Pring
8 February, 2010
ParalympicsGB silent on BBC Winter Paralympics blow
The charity that manages Britain’s Paralympians has refused to criticise the BBC after the broadcaster admitted it would provide no live coverage of the Winter Paralympics on any of its four TV channels.The BBC is boasting that it will offer its “most comprehensive coverage in Winter Olympic history” of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, which last from 12 to 28 February, including 160 hours of TV coverage.
But the BBC has no plans for live TV coverage on its four channels of the tenth Paralympic Winter Games– taking place between March 12 and March 21 at the same venues in Canada.
A BBC Sport spokesman said it had “provisional” plans to “stream” the Paralympic curling live through the BBC Sport website and the digital TV “red button”, but only if the British team make it through to the medal rounds.
And there will be a one-hour highlights programme the day after the Games end, on BBC Two.
The BBC spokesman blamed “budget restrictions and the time zone factor” for the decision.
A ParalympicsGB spokeswoman said the Games would receive more coverage than the Turin Games four years ago, and that “any questions over the amount of coverage should be directed to the BBC”.
When asked whether ParalympicsGB was happy with the BBC’s plans, she declined to comment.
Meanwhile, ParalympicsGB has announced a 12-strong team for the Games, with six sit-skiers, a visually-impaired skier and five wheelchair curlers set to compete alongside about 600 other athletes from 44 countries.
The Games will feature wheelchair curling, alpine skiing, nordic skiing (biathlon and cross-country skiing) and ice-sledge hockey, although the British team will only compete in alpine ski-ing and curling.
Despite finishing fifth in last year’s world championships, the wheelchair curling team of Michael McCreadie, Tom Killin, Angie Malone, Aileen Neilson and Jim Sellar have a strong chance of a medal. McCreadie, Killin and Malone were part of the team that won silver at the last Games in Turin.
McCreadie, who will skipper the side, said he would lead a “truly world class” team that had “worked extremely hard to get back into winning ways”.
Britain can also boast a genuine medal prospect in alpine ski-ing, with Sean Rose winning downhill gold at the first World Cup event of the year last weekend.
Rose said: “My first Paralympics in Turin were a great experience and it is fantastic now to be going to Whistler (the Olympic and Paralympic ski-ing venue) with real medal potential.
“All the hard work in the summer has paid off. I had a great start to the season, am on good form, and I’m really looking forward to the main event.”
The other sit-skiers are two-time Paralympian Russell Docker, and four newcomers: Talan Skeels-Piggins, Anna Turney, Jane Sowerby and Tim Farr.
The skiing team is completed by another Paralympic debutant, Kelly Gallagher, who is visually-impaired and will compete with her guide, Claire Robb.
News provided by John Pring
8 February, 2010
Concerns raised over role and future of Equality 2025
Disabled activists have raised concerns about the work of the government’s Equality 2025 advisory body of disabled people, and changes to its role and membership.Equality 2025 was set up in 2006 to advise the government on achieving equality for disabled people by 2025.
But the government is cutting its membership from a maximum of 25 to just eight, and plans to turn it into a “high-level advisory group”.
Anne Novis, a disabled advisor to the Metropolitan police and the Home Office, said such an advisory group would never be able to represent disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) and she did not believe Equality 2025 would “actually make a difference or ensure equality by 2025”.
She added: “I may be wrong but as this group does not feed back on its work and what it has achieved so far it does not have the confidence of disabled people’s organisations and communities.”
Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, also raised concerns. She said: “I would like to see a body within government that can stop government in its tracks occasionally.
“There is a very strong case for having a well-resourced, representative, diverse group that can really help government mainstream effectively.
“I think Rowen Jade (chair of Equality 2025) is brilliant. I would just like to see it having more of a profile and given more clout.”
Jaspal Dhani, chief executive of the United Kingdom Disabled People’s Council, said the lack of communication about its work meant Equality 2025 risked becoming “invisible”, making it difficult for disabled people and DPOs to trust.
Jade stressed that Equality 2025 had never claimed to represent DPOs and that although many of its members had been grassroots campaigners, it was a non-departmental public body whose role was to advise government.
She said much of their work had to remain confidential to protect relationships with the government departments they advised on developing policies.
Another member of Equality 2025 said the need for confidentiality was “very frustrating” because “it looks like we do nothing, when in fact we have given vital advice to government on really key issues”.
Equality 2025 is advising the government on plans to set up a “network of networks” of disabled people to monitor the implementation of its independent living strategy, which Jade hoped would play a part in bringing about change.
She said a smaller Equality 2025 would mean the loss of “some very good thinkers and communicators” but was “confident that the quality of the advice that we give to government will not be downgraded in any way”.
She added: “If I didn’t believe in the work that Equality 2025 was doing I would be the first to resign.
“But I believe that our remit and that the work that we are doing is very definitely in the best interests of the majority of disabled people.”
News provided by John Pring
5 February, 2010
Deaf Alerter® recognised as the first inclusive access product for leisure operators
As demand increases within the leisure and fitness industry for accessible products to meet the legislative requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (1995 & 2005), Deaf Alerter® PLC’s DA2000 System is the first product to receive Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) Recognised Product status.IFI Recognised Products is an exciting new opportunity for suppliers to showcase their accessibly designed products, identifying them as market leaders of quality and inclusion within the UK sport & fitness market. The IFI are working closely with the industry to recognise many different types of access products from gripping aids to gym mats, lockers to lifts and water coolers to wheelchair ramps to name a few. Deaf Alerter® has been identified as the very first IFI Recognised Product and will be listed under Fire Evacuation Safety Products within the IFI Recognsied Products portfolio which will be available on-line, free of charge.
One in seven (9 million) of the UK’s population experience some degree of hearing loss; many of these people are unable to hear fire alarms or public address announcements.
IFI Recognised Products status has acknowledged the unique and original design of the Deaf Alerter® system and the benefits it provides to both Deaf people and leisure operators in reducing the time spent evacuating a facility.
In achieving this recognition, Deaf Alerter® has met all of the specific IFI Recognised Products Specification criteria focusing on the inclusive aspects of a fire alert system for Deaf and hard of hearing people.
Liz Parslow, Marketing Director of Deaf Alerter® comments
“Deaf Alerter plc is very proud that our DA2000 fire alarm warning and messaging system is the first product to achieve IFI Recognised Product status; we consider life safety to be of the utmost priority.
By installing the DA2000 system, facilities seeking IFI Mark Accreditation will be taking extra precautions to ensure that vital evacuation procedures are at their best. Inclusive fitness also needs an inclusive environment.”
With increasing demand from IFI Mark accredited fitness facilities and the growing numbers of both public & private facilities that are working towards meeting the requirements of the IFI Mark standards it is anticipated that the portfolio of IFI Recognised Products will provide a fast, effective and trusted resource which facilities will refer to in order to source access products and enhancements.
The IFI now boasts an extensive network of IFI Mark accredited facilities throughout England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The IFI’s strategy ‘Inclusion Works Out’ has identified a target to accredit 1000 fitness facilities throughout the UK by 2012. Leisure providers are already acknowledging IFI Recognised Products as a fantastic and welcomed addition to the support available in creating accessible and inclusive environments.
Further information about IFI Recognised Products is available at www.inclusivefitness.org
4 February, 2010
MP calls for evidence from disabled people for fuel poverty inquiry
Disabled campaigners have welcomed a new inquiry by MPs that will examine the extent of fuel poverty experienced by disabled people.The Commons energy and climate change committee announced last week that it was holding a short inquiry into the government’s efforts to tackle fuel poverty.
The committee’s acting chair, Labour MP Paddy Tipping, said this week that he wanted to hear evidence on fuel poverty – when at least 10 per cent of household income is spent on heating bills – from disabled people and disability organisations.
He said he was “particularly keen to have a look at people with a long-term illness and disability” as part of the inquiry.
Tipping said he was concerned that only 14 per cent of the £2.7 billion spent on winter fuel allowances for those over 60 went to those in fuel poverty, while the government was not meeting its own fuel poverty targets.
Tipping said: “If we are spending £2.7 billion and only 14 per cent are in fuel poverty, it raises questions about the effectiveness of it.
“There is a case for other groups of people, people with disabilities, with long-term illnesses maybe (receiving it).”
The government has consistently refused to extend winter fuel payments to severely disabled people under 60.
Dan Burden, head of public affairs for the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA), which plans to submit evidence to the committee, welcomed the inquiry and said the issue of fuel poverty was “very important”.
The charity has heard from people with spinal cord injuries who regular miss out on a daily hot meal in order to keep their heating on.
SIA wants winter fuel payments extended to people with spinal cord injury, because their condition means they need to keep their homes warmer.
Burden said many other disabled people under 60 with mobility impairments faced a similar need for winter fuel payments.
An energy bill that has reached its Commons report stage will include proposals to force fuel companies to reduce the bills of “vulnerable” people, replacing a voluntary agreement which runs out in 2011.
The agreement has reduced the bills of more than a million “vulnerable” households, about half of which include a disabled person or someone with a limiting long-term illness.
Last July, figures from the government’s own Fuel Poverty Advisory Group suggested that more than a million extra disabled people had fallen into fuel poverty in the four years between 2004 and 2008.
The deadline for submitting written evidence is 15 February.
For more information, visit www.parliament.uk/
News provided by John Pring
4 February, 2010
Minister’s verdict on EHRC: ‘Could do better’
An equalities minister has delivered a lukewarm verdict on the first two years of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), saying the watchdog “could do better”.Maria Eagle, a minister in the Government Equalities Office (GEO), said the EHRC had had a “tough” and “rocky start” over its first 27 months.
She told MPs on the Commons communities and local government committee: “I think it would be fair to say they have had a rocky start but that they are looking to the future with some confidence.”
She said the EHRC had “plenty of public money with which to deliver” and the government would want to see “some value for money”.
She added: “I think they have had a tough start and I think they could do better and I think they will do better.”
She said she hoped the new board of commissioners – including eight new members appointed in December – would be “a good solid team that will hold the officers and the staff to account in terms of delivery”.
Eagle avoided giving EHRC chair Trevor Phillips her full backing when asked if the government was right to re-appoint him last summer, replying instead that she was “confident” the troubles could be “firmly placed behind them”.
When pushed on whether Phillips was the person to lead them in this, she replied: “He is now in post to do that and he will be held to account by this committee and others and by the GEO to ensure that he does.”
Her comments, during a one-off evidence session on the work of the GEO, follow a difficult year for the commission.
Last summer, its two disabled commissioners, Baroness [Jane] Campbell and Sir Bert Massie, resigned over concerns about Phillips’s leadership.
The EHRC also had to change its structure after the government said it needed to put more emphasis on the individual equality “strands” such as disability and race.
And it was criticised by the National Audit Office over consultancy fees paid following its launch in October 2007.
An EHRC spokeswoman said Eagle’s comments related to historic issues that had been “well and truly discussed” in the past, while the commission was “progressing forward” with a “great body of work around disability”.
Mike Smith, the new chair of the EHRC’s disability committee, said this work included its inquiry into disability-related harassment, taking important legal cases, successfully lobbying for changes to the equality bill, and an initiative to improve job opportunities for disabled people.
News provided by John Pring
3 February, 2010
Mobility Roadshow – Go For It!
This year’s Mobility Roadshow moves to the East of England Showground at Peterborough on 1st, 2nd and 3rd July. For many disabled and older people this is the ‘not to be missed’ annual diary date: the UK’s premier mobility event with hundreds of products to try out in an impartial environment, as well as a wealth of information to be gleaned - all to help us on the go.As always there will be a great line-up of vehicles from major motor manufacturers to test drive (don’t forget to take your licence), accessible touring caravans and motorhomes to view, conversions and adaptations to consider, wheelchairs (including all-terrain models) and scooters to assess and compare, as well as specialist holiday, leisure and lifestyle options to explore.
A new feature for the show this year is Cyclefest, bringing together all kinds of cycling, trikes, wheelchair bikes, hand and companion cycling ideas for individuals and families, with experts on hand to advise. In the interactive Sports Arena you can join in disability sports such as basketball, rugby, tennis and boccia, and an accessible climbing wall too. There are free seminars with expert speakers on a range of mobility topics, as well as entertainment and activities for all the family to make it a great day out for all.
The Mobility Roadshow is open from 10 am each day. Parking, admission and showguide are free, wheelchairs and scooters available to hire - but do book in advance at www.mobilityroadshow.co.uk where you can also register for free tickets and keep in touch with the latest news as it develops. Or for more information email info@mobilityroadshow.co.uk, or call 0845 241 0390.
3 February, 2010
Smith pledges to make disabled people love the EHRC
The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) new lead on disability issues has pledged to help change the way it is viewed by disabled people, and to do more to explain and promote the work it is doing.Mike Smith, the new chair of the EHRC’s disability committee, said he believed the EHRC had done an “extraordinarily high” amount of work on disability in its first 27 months, but had been “less good” at letting disabled people know about this work.
Changing this was a priority, he said, as was making sure the EHRC “genuinely” listens to disabled people, and ensuring “we really are doing what people want and they get the benefit of it”.
He accepted that some disability organisations did not yet view the EHRC with the same affection as its predecessor, the Disability Rights Commission (DRC), and that “for some people there has been disenchantment” with its performance.
But he insisted that those people who had worked with the EHRC held it in high regard, and added: “I realise how important my role is for all disabled people in the UK.”
He said he wanted to help change the way disabled people, and the wider country, felt about the EHRC and its important role in creating an equal society.
He added: “I want people to feel about the EHRC the way they felt about the DRC.”
He said it was too soon to lay out the disability committee’s plans for 2010-11 as he will be consulting with his fellow committee members.
But his “personal” interests include independent living (he is chair of the National Centre for Independent Living) and the risk that disabled people’s rights could be eroded by the recession and subsequent public spending cuts.
He leads for the EHRC on lobbying for improvements to the equality bill and said he was “thrilled” that nearly every disability-related amendment it has worked on so far had been accepted by the government.
He will also be “taking a very close look” at how the EHRC’s inquiry into disability-related harassment is set up, “making sure that we really do challenge how public authorities take their responsibilities to prevent disability-related harassment and hate crime” and encouraging disabled people to contribute to the inquiry.
Another key area of work will be to lead the commission’s work on monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
He said the EHRC would look “quite hard” at the “reservations” the government negotiated in the areas of education, immigration, defence and benefits.
But he said the convention would be a “very important” tool in the medium term for “creating a society where disabled people are equal”.
Smith was also appointed in December as one of eight new EHRC commissioners, and will take responsibility for “championing” disability issues at board level.
He said he had spoken to both Sir Bert Massie and Baroness [Jane] Campbell about their resignations from the board last summer in protest at the leadership of EHRC chair Trevor Phillips.
He said: “I understand and I absolutely respect what they have done and how they have done it and I certainly respect them as individuals and their judgement.”
But he said the new board was “working very hard to work in a better way and a more inclusive way and to communicate better”.
News provided by John Pring
3 February, 2010
Our Access Guide goes 'live' in Greenwich
A unique on-line access guide that is designed to empower Greenwich’s disabled residents to get out and do what they want to do, has officially gone ‘live’ in the borough.Greenwich Council, which acquired Beacon Status in 2008-09 for its efforts in improving accessibility, has worked with DisabledGo and hundreds of shops, pubs, restaurants, theatres and other public venues to help create DisabledGo – Greenwich, which details how accessible a specific venue is.
By logging on to www.disabledgo.com, people with a disability and their families and friends, can find out within a matter of seconds information including how suitable a pub is for a wheelchair user to visit or whether a particular hotel offers adapted rooms.
The guide also carries accessibility information on many historic buildings in and around the centre of Greenwich.
Councillor Angela Cornforth, Cabinet member for Health and Adults & Older People, said, “I’m delighted with the creation of this new guide which will help assist so many of Greenwich’s residents. This information will make a huge difference to not only those people who have hearing, vision or mobility related access concerns but also to the friends and family of those with disabilities. I sincerely hope that residents take full advantage of what the guide has to offer.”
Commenting in advance of the access guide going live, the founder of DisabledGo, wheelchair user Dr Gregory Burke said, “The constant need to write or telephone to enquire about access really affects people’s confidence to get out and do what they want to do. Never knowing whether a building will be accessible or whether staff will have a helpful attitude makes you think twice before going out. DisabledGo ends that uncertainty by proving detailed access information and enabling people to judge for themselves whether to a shop, restaurant or theatre is accessible for their own requirements.”
Dr Burke concluded, “Disabled people are no small minority. One in six of the British population is disabled and disabled people have an annual spend of £80 billion. Those are numbers that any business should take seriously. I’m immensely grateful to Greenwich Council for the support they have given us, and I hope that this guide will open up all that Greenwich has to offer to everyone.”
For more information on the guide, contact Vicky Taylor, Partnership Manager of DisabledGo, at vicky.taylor@disabledgo.com or call 01438 842 710.
For more information on DisabledGo - Greenwich and Greenwich’s Beacon status for Improving Accessibility, visit the Greenwich Council website at www.greenwich.gov.uk
3 February, 2010
Find out how you make websites accessible
David Ames, DisabledGo Web DeveloperNot all websites are created the same - most people are unaware of the intricacies that go into creating a web site. However, those of us that create web sites should be aware of the impact the technology choices we make can have on people who use our web sites. As a web user you can use information and tools freely available to help keep a check on the accessibility of websites you visit.
For web site creators it is important to follow the guidelines from The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The W3C develop web standards that help enable the web to be as accessible as possible. To quote from the ‘Web for All’ principle in the W3C’s mission statement:
“The social value of the Web is that it enables human communication, commerce, and opportunities to share knowledge. One of W3C's primary goals is to make these benefits available to all people, whatever their hardware, software, network infrastructure, native language, culture, geographical location, or physical or mental ability”
Anyone who offers a website as part of their business or service should create their websites by following the current best practice, this includes using XHTML markup. XHTML is a markup language that can be used by website creators and is one step to making a website accessible.
A website creator that uses XHTML helps ensure that their web pages can be accessed by the widest range of browsers, screen readers and other devices like mobile phones. This ensures your website can be reached by a majority of potential visitors.
Another branch of the W3C work is the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and you can find more information from their website at http://www.w3.org/WAI/.
To quote from Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web:
“The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.”
The WAI develops guidelines to help website creators and lawmakers with enforcing website accessibility. Web developers can use the guidelines to check their sites and award themselves A, AA or AAA conformance.
The WAI additionally provides help and information for anyone who uses the web. For example they have a recent article about encouraging people to speak up and tell organisations if they find their website to be inaccessible. You can read the article here.
As a web user how can you tell if a website is accessible? Along with your own experience of using a website you can look for WAI compliance statements or images on the web site. Websites will often have an accessibility statement detailing the steps they have taken to ensure their site is accessible, so check their claims are being met.
You can also use free online validation services such as the one provided by the W3C at http://validator.w3.org/. To use the service enter the address of a website you use to see if it validates. If it does not validate correctly it could mean the website is inaccessible to some.
At DisabledGo we recently redesigned our website to give it a fresh new look and make it easier to use, developing it to meet with W3C standards.
Managing the redesign I found one of the main challenges was creating a site that looks interesting with interactive visual elements, such as our roll over maps, while ensuring it remains compatible with non graphical devices. It does take some extra effort to produce a website that meets these requirements but it pays off when you produce a website that looks good and functions well for all your website visitors.
3 February, 2010
Behind the scenes with a DisabledGo Surveyor
Tom Willdig, DisabledGo SurveyorI’ve worked for DisabledGo as an access surveyor for over a year now. In this time I’ve visited places from Belfast to Aberdeen, Cardiff to Southampton and lots of places in-between. The workload has been varied, involving working alongside local authorities, NHS Trusts, Universities and Colleges.
It’s true to say that no two days are ever quite the same. I’ve found myself working in everything from shopping malls, pubs and museums to university buildings and hospital wards.
Currently my primary role is working as an Education Surveyor. My most recent project was for two weeks working at Kirklees College, West Yorkshire. This took me back up north and close to my home city of Sheffield, giving me the chance to stay up there over the middle weekend and catch up with family and friends, including a night out in Manchester and a days hiking up in the Peak District!
As a surveyor, as in many jobs, you have to be prepared for obstacles which could threaten the timescale of completing a project. This was no different in Kirklees. In this instance, it was down to the weather. Heavy snow resulted in the college being closed for 1 and a half days in my first week, which did mean some extra free time initially, but some extra hard work was required to ensure the project was still finished on time!
Typically, Monday morning involves coming into the office and checking we are ready for the week ahead. Venue lists, points of contact, hotels and letters are all usually required. Late Monday morning we head off to our location for the week by car or where possible on public transport.
In Huddersfield, as in most projects, the first thing to do was check into the hotel. Next up was the pre-arranged meeting with our contact, obtaining some information, going over the details of what’s involved and what venues/services need including, as well as any appointments we need to make. After this, if there’s still time, I usually take a look around the site and start on the first guides. In the evenings there’s some free time to look around the local area and eat in one of the local establishments. It’s worth noting that we are given an allowance which covers our meals each day whilst away from home!
Day 2 and I start early and get on with the guides. A typical day will mean starting by 9am. With the aim of being on our feet working until about 3 – 3.30pm, with a lunch break included (Lunches in college/university refectories usually consist of good hearty portions at reasonable prices). Around this time I head back to the hotel and start editing my days work. This includes resizing/adjusting the brightness/contrast and naming of our photos and then attaching them to each relevant section within the guides. I also fill in the contact and location details and sequence the guide into the correct order. Some time is also spent making plans for the following day.
This goes on for the duration of the week up to Friday. Generally a Friday involves doing a couple of guides, then checking out of the hotel and heading back to the office. At the end of the week, or the following Monday morning, we upload our work onto the central database; ready for others to secondary check what we have done.
The people working at the Kirklees College were extremely helpful and friendly, often being more than willing to help with information, or even giving me a tour around one of the more complicated venues. Over the course of the two weeks I got to see everything from construction and transport sites to working up at Taylor Hill, the animal care and environmental centre. Whilst taking the details for an adapted toilet here I was temporarily deafened by a parrot that wouldn’t stop squawking at me, perhaps because it didn’t recognise me and wondered what I was doing. I also had a friendly dog follow me round; he kept appearing at doorways, his tail wagging away incessantly!
This most recent project has been my final one for a while. I have, very generously, been given the opportunity to take a sabbatical and next week I’m off to travel around Cuba, Mexico and Latin America for 3 months! Whilst here I plan to climb a volcano, improve my Spanish and hopefully, attempt to learn to salsa!
I have many fond memories from my time working as a surveyor so far, including working in the cafes that line the picturesque beach in Aberdeen, working amongst the attractive streets of St. Andrews in Scotland and the University of Greenwich site located next to the famous Cutty Sark. Whilst on a Belfast project last year, we opted to stay over the middle weekend and took the opportunity to go visit the spectacular Giants Causeway!
For me, as a keen traveller, one of the perks of the job has been the opportunity to travel the length and breadth of the UK, seeing many places I would otherwise never see, meeting local folks, staying in local hotels and sampling the local eateries. In fact, as an aside, I could probably start my own guide to some of the best (and worst!) cafes and pubs dotted around the country and where the friendliest places to visit can be found!
Ultimately, the reward is the feeling that the work we carry out really makes a difference to the everyday lives of thousands of people. I shall thoroughly enjoy my time off, allowing me to come back refreshed and ready to survey whatever projects come my way.
2 February, 2010
Report finds nearly a third of disabled people in poverty
An independent report on income inequalities – commissioned by the government – has concluded that nearly a third of disabled people are living in poverty.Official statistics previously estimated about a quarter of disabled people were in poverty, but An Anatomy of Economic Inequality in the UK says the figure is probably more than 30 per cent.
This is because the report’s authors believe official measures of poverty should not count those disability benefits – such as disability living allowance – that help cover the extra costs of an impairment.
The report also concludes that there appears to be “straightforward discrimination in recruitment” affecting disabled people, particularly in the private sector.
It says recent experiments suggest that “those disclosing a disability are less likely to be called for interview than those with otherwise identical CVs”.
And it calls for a stronger government focus on boosting the employment of disabled people, particularly those with mental health conditions.
The report says the problem “is most intense” for those with low or no qualifications, and that employment rates for disabled men with low or no qualifications have “fallen considerably” in the last 25 years.
Nearly a third of working age adults who are disabled according to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) – and also have a condition that limits the work they can do – have no qualifications, compared with 12 per cent of non-disabled adults.
The report says the average (median) weekly income of men who are both DDA-disabled and have a work-limiting condition is less than half that of non-disabled men (£157 compared with £316 per week). The corresponding figures for women are £131 and £198.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission welcomed the report. Neil Kinghan, its director general, said: “The value of this report is how it pinpoints the combinations of circumstance that create the most acute instances of disadvantage: that as well as socio-economic class, race, gender, disability and other factors still matter very deeply.”
The commission will soon publish research on how employers can improve workplace support for disabled people, for example through reasonable adjustments, and particularly focusing on those with mental health conditions.
Susan Scott-Parker, chief executive of the Employers’ Forum on Disability, said the findings were “a stark reminder” of the barriers disabled people can face, and showed that employers must ensure their appraisal and promotion processes do not discriminate against disabled people.
But she warned that “any work to tackle inequality through employment policies needs to position employers as part of the solution, not the problem”.
News provided by John Pring
2 February, 2010
Lib Dems lead the way on disabled MPs
The Liberal Democrats have become the first of the three main political parties to accept all of the disability-related recommendations of a committee set up to increase the diversity of MPs.The Speaker’s Conference on Parliamentary Representation made 71 recommendations aimed at increasing the number of disabled, female and minority ethnic MPs.
Recommendations include calling on parties to produce regular online reports on the diversity of their candidates, setting targets for the diversity of their MPs for 2015 and 2020, and publishing clear access policies and campaign documents in alternative formats.
The report also recommended setting up a ring-fenced scheme to support disabled candidates, and another fund to help disabled MPs make reasonable adjustments to support their constituency work, as well as organising mentoring or “buddy” schemes to match up first-time disabled candidates with seasoned MPs.
The Liberal Democrats said they were “happy to accept all of the recommendations” from the report that relate to disabled people, and already offered documents in alternative formats and a buddy scheme, which includes places for disabled candidates.
The Conservative Party said it would respond to the recommendations “in due course”, but already offered mentoring for candidates, including those who were disabled.
It also said it would set up a £1 million access to public life fund, which would meet extra costs of disabled candidates for public office, including Parliament and local councils. Reports suggest the money would be spread over four years.
A Labour Party spokesman said its disabled members group was considering the report and the party’s national executive committee would “listen to their recommendations before giving a final response”, although he said the party already ran a mentoring scheme and “ensures all the national party’s campaign literature complies with accessibility guidelines”.
A Government Equalities Office spokeswoman said it welcomed the report but would respond formally “in due course”.
She said the government was introducing an amendment to the equality bill to force political parties to report on the diversity of their candidate selections.
Meanwhile, the government has again signalled it is willing to remove a law that discriminates against MPs with mental health conditions.
The Mental Health Act states that MPs who are sectioned under the act for at least six months must lose their seats, but the Speaker’s Conference said the law should be repealed.
Now justice minister Michael Wills has described the current situation as “clearly untenable” and said the issue should be discussed by a select committee.
His comments were welcomed by Mark Harper, the Conservative shadow minister for disabled people, who originally attempted to change the law through an amendment to the equality bill last year.
Harper said: “Parliament needs to be able to lead the way in breaking down the stigma and prejudice faced by people with mental health problems, and that is very difficult when these outdated laws are still in force.”
News provided by John Pring
2 February, 2010
Improvements to equality bill will safeguard ‘holy grail’
A disabled peer has hailed improvements to the public sector equality duty – the “holy grail” of the equality bill – as a “huge breakthrough” in the fight to maintain disabled people’s protection from discrimination.Baroness [Jane] Campbell introduced the amendments to strengthen the equality duty in the bill so it did not provide a lower level of protection than the Disability Discrimination Act’s disability equality duty.
Her amendments make clear that public authorities – such as local councils or NHS trusts – must not only have “due regard” to eliminating discrimination against disabled people but in doing so must take account of people’s impairments, even if that means treating them more favourably than non-disabled people.
Baroness Campbell said: “Reasonable adjustments tailored to our particular disability-related needs lie at the heart of disability equality. Without them, we are marginalised at the fringes of society.”
The bill as it stood previously could have led to public bodies “thinking that they need to do less to take account of the needs of disabled people than they do under the current disability equality duty...the consequences of that would be disastrous.”
Baroness Thornton, for the government, said it would “under no circumstances” want public bodies to “misinterpret the new duty as imposing lesser requirements than the existing disability duty”.
She said the government was happy to accept the amendments, which were agreed as the bill continued its committee stage in the House of Lords.
Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, said the public sector duty was the most important part of the bill for disabled people, and that the amendments were “absolutely vital” as they ensure that public authorities know that disability “is different to all the other strands”.
Earlier this week, another disabled peer, Lord [Colin] Low, failed to persuade the government to remove the blanket ban on disabled people serving in the armed forces.
Lord Low told the Lords that the blanket ban was “based on a very narrow and outdated stereotype of disability”, that impairments such as severe disfigurement, diabetes and controlled epilepsy would not “necessarily disable a person from active service” and that “everyone should be considered on their merits”.
Baroness Royall said the government would “perhaps” work on his suggestion of drawing up a code of practice on employing disabled people that would meet the concerns of armed services chiefs. But she stressed that this would not be as a part of the equality bill.
1 February, 2010
Confusion after minister claims reserved posts are illegal
An equalities minister has caused bemusement among members of the disability movement after claiming it was illegal for them to reserve jobs solely for disabled people.Maria Eagle – a former disabled people’s minister – made the comments this week during a one-off evidence session on the work of the Government Equalities Office.
During questioning from MPs on the communities and local government committee about disability measures in the equality bill, Eagle made it clear that “positive action” – favouring the disabled person when faced with two equally qualified job candidates – was legal and would stay legal under the bill.
But she also appeared to say that only allowing disabled applicants to apply for a particular job was illegal and would remain so in the equality bill.
Asked whether it was legal to state in an advert that only disabled people could apply for a job, she replied: “That isn’t permissible, no, I don’t think that is permissible, no.
“There are some posts under previous – I think the race legislation – that were reserved in that way but not under the disability legislation.”
Reserving posts for disabled people is a widespread practice both in disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) and across the wider disability sector.
Jaspal Dhani, the new chief executive of the United Kingdom’s Disabled People’s Council – who himself was appointed to a “reserved post” – said he believed the minister’s comments were “inaccurate”.
He said: “It is important for DPOs because you want to have employees that represent the community you serve and have that personal experience.”
Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, said she also believed the minister had made a mistake.
She said: “If we wanted to reserve a post for a disabled person, there is nothing to stop us doing that.
“There is no limit to the extent in which you can do positive action. We do that and nobody has ever challenged that.”
She said recruiting to reserved posts was a widespread practice by DPOs, and added: “Basically, Eagle’s got it wrong.”
Dr Phyllis Starkey, the Labour MP who chairs the committee, said: “I understand how important it is to get clarity on this matter and once we have seen the record of what the minister actually did say, it may be that we will need to seek clarification from the minister.”
The Government Equalities Office said it could not comment until the “corrected oral evidence from the session” was available in writing.
News provided by John Pring
29 January, 2010
Figures show thousands missing out on employment support
New government figures have confirmed that only a small proportion of people applying for out-of-work disability benefits are “passing” the strict new test, the work capability assessment (WCA).The government claimed the figures showed that “thousands of people are now moving towards work rather than being left to claim sickness benefit”.
But of the 326,500 people who completed new claims between October 2008 and May 2009, only about 59,000 (18 per cent) were found eligible for the new employment and support allowance (ESA). Of these, about 18,000 (5.5 per cent) do not have to take part in work-related activity.
More than two in five (about 135,000 people) were found to be “fit for work” and so ineligible for ESA and the personalised support it would have entitled them to through the government’s Pathways to Work programme.
The remaining 133,000 claimants stopped claiming before completing the WCA.
Those who “fail” the WCA are placed on jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), and receive £25 less a week, although the Department for Work and Pensions said some JSA “customers” with health conditions can volunteer to be “fast-tracked” to receive “much more intensive help and one-to-one support to improve their employability”.
Campaigning organisations have repeatedly warned that the WCA is inflexible, riddled with errors and fails to reflect disabled people’s daily lives.
Neil Coyle, director of policy for Disability Alliance, said: “We are aware that too many disabled people are being misassessed in an overly rigid system and failing to access the support arrangements that could help them find work.”
But he said he was “hopeful” that the current government review of the WCA would “lead to a more effective system able to identify the needs of disabled people”, with Pathways to Work offered to more people.
Jonathan Shaw, the minister for disabled people, said the government was reviewing the WCA to “see where improvements and changes need to be made to ensure that it is working as it should be”.
The government will start rolling out the WCA to existing incapacity benefit claimants this October. It is also reviewing the effectiveness of Pathways and aims to publish proposals this spring.
The new figures also reveal that, by the end of November 2009, 8,800 claimants had completed appeals against a decision that they were ineligible for ESA, and 3,300 were successful (37.5 per cent).
Previous figures suggested less than a third of claimants were winning their appeals.
News provided by John Pring
29 January, 2010
New boss of UKDPC looks forward to ‘fantastic opportunity’
The new head of the UK’s leading disabled people’s organisation has described his appointment as a “fantastic opportunity” to help rebuild its credibility.Jaspal Dhani is the first permanent chief executive of the United Kingdom’s Disabled People’s Council (UKDPC) since Andy Rickell left to join Scope nearly six years ago.
Leading UKDPC figures have been working in recent months to review and restructure the organisation.
Julie Newman, UKDPC’s acting chair, said the board was “very, very pleased” with Dhani’s appointment. “UKDPC is stronger than it has been for some time and this is a very good time for a new chief executive to be appointed. He’s energetic, he has fresh ideas and a fresh perspective.”
Dhani agreed that his appointment provided a “fresh start” for UKDPC. He said UKDPC would now be “very focused” on key themes and not “thrash ourselves so much that we do not have impact in any area”.
UKDPC will now develop a new strategy, with input from other disabled people’s organisations (DPOs), but an immediate priority is to strengthen those DPOs in their battle for survival, as many councils put the services they provide out to tender.
By strengthening DPOs, Dhani hopes they can be more influential at a local level and have an input into the national – and international – agenda via UKDPC.
He also wants to collaborate with other organisations that are “strongly represented by disabled people”, such as RADAR and the new London-wide body Inclusion London.
Some other priorities are already emerging, such as monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and working with local DPOs to encourage the reporting of disability hate crime.
And Dhani said he was still deeply concerned about the government’s plans to abolish disability living allowance and attendance allowance for those over 65 and fold the savings into council care budgets.
Despite ministerial reassurance that no-one will lose out financially, Dhani believes such a policy could easily lead to another postcode lottery of support.
Dhani will draw on his experience in management roles in DPOs, including eight years as director of Disability Action in the Borough of Barnet. He is also chair of his local DPO, Redbridge Disability Association, in Essex.
He said UKDPC has “had its ups and downs” and that close friends “have told me how crazy I must be” and have even called the job “a poisoned chalice”.
But he said: “I don’t feel that way. I think it’s a fantastic opportunity. UKDPC is an organisation that is well recognised and respected.
“I have an opportunity to redevelop the agenda, to redevelop the brand to really get more people involved and make an impact in terms of disabled people’s lives. I am also a sucker for challenges.”
He added: “I am also coming into the post without baggage. My only agenda is to develop UKDPC into that credible organisation that everybody believes it could be.”
News provided by John Pring
29 January, 2010
Equality bill amendments ‘will transform rights’
Campaigners and disabled peers say two key sets of government amendments to the equality bill will transform disability rights in employment and education.One series of amendments will tighten the ban – added to the bill at an earlier stage – on employers using health questionnaires to discriminate against job applicants with hidden impairments.
The amendments, added during the bill’s committee stage in the Lords, mean there will be fewer exceptions to the ban and will allow the Equality and Human Rights Commission to enforce the new laws.
The mental health charity Rethink said the amendments “could mark a turning point in equal opportunities”.
They were also welcomed by the disabled peers Lord [Colin] Low and Baroness [Jane] Campbell, who said she felt “very strongly” about the amendments, “having gone through many interrogations from interview panels in the past”.
Liz Sayce, chief executive of RADAR, which has campaigned for more than ten years to outlaw the questionnaires, said banning them was “probably the single biggest difference and improvement that could be made through the equality bill” on employment of disabled people.
She said: “It will build confidence amongst people with HIV, mental health conditions and other hidden disabilities that they will be judged fairly, on merit.”
The second set of amendments lays out new measures to give disabled pupils the right to support at school through access to auxiliary aids and services – such as computer technology to help visually-impaired pupils, or adaptive keyboards – another key, longstanding demand of disability rights campaigners.
Education secretary Ed Balls had pledged to bring in such laws after they were recommended by the Lamb inquiry on special educational needs.
Baroness Royall, for the government, said it was “right and proper that all members of our society...have access to education and the educational aids they need in order to thrive as individuals and to participate as full members of our society.”
The disabled peer Baroness [Rosalie] Wilkins said: “Too many disabled children face barriers to participation in learning and school life, because if they do not have a statement of special educational needs, they have no enforceable entitlement to extra support.”
She said the amendments would “provide many thousands of disabled pupils, and their parents, with the confidence to get the practical support they need to take part in school life”.
The amendments were also backed by Lord Low and both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.
Caroline Ellis, RADAR’s joint deputy chief executive, described the new measures as “a big gain” and “a very practical way of boosting inclusion”.
News provided by John Pring
25 January, 2010
Campaigns call on political parties to cut the jargon
Two new campaigns aim to boost the number of people with learning difficulties who will vote at this year’s general election.At the last general election in 2005, of the people with learning difficulties who use services run by the charity United Response and were registered to vote, less than one in six (16 per cent) actually did so.
These figures were even lower than government statistics from the 2001 election which suggested that just under a third of people with learning difficulties voted.
United Response has been working for three years on a project funded by the Electoral Commission that aims to help politicians make their work more accessible, and to support people with learning difficulties to become more engaged in politics.
It hopes to boost the numbers using their vote to 40 per cent at this year’s election. And it is calling on all political parties to engage with the half a million people with learning difficulties who do not use their vote, encourage them to participate in the political process, and produce easy-read manifestos and campaign literature.
United Response’s Every Vote Counts report – launched this week at the House of Commons - says political jargon, complex voting systems and low awareness of their right to vote are major barriers to people with learning difficulties.
Lucy, a potential voter with learning difficulties, said: “Even people without learning disabilities find it hard to understand politics. They just speak jargon and don’t get to the point.
“They don’t involve us. If people with disabilities all vote, we will be heard. The more we get our voices heard, the more people will respect us.”
The United Response report follows the launch of a campaign by the learning difficulties charity Mencap earlier this month. Mencap’s Get My Vote campaign aims to persuade political parties to make their manifestos and information easier to understand.
More than 100 MPs have signed a joint United Response/Mencap early day motion backing their two campaigns.
Last year, United Response launched a website, www.everyvotecounts.org.uk , which aims to make the political process easier to understand and help parliamentary candidates communicate clearly with voters with learning difficulties.
And in November, it sent out guides to every MP, MEP, council, election team and political party in England on how to make manifestos, leaflets and other political information accessible.
News provided by John Pring
19 January, 2010
New scheme will help businesses with their growing pains
A new scheme will help disabled entrepreneurs expand their businesses, and challenge potential investors to see past negative stereotypes.Enabled4Growth (E4G) hopes to offer free business support to 700 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across London, helping many of them to secure the funding they need from investors.
The programme, being run by Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD) and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, aims to help disabled entrepreneurs bring in more than £1.6 million in investment funding over the next three years.
Disabled-led businesses in the capital will be given the support they need to become ready for investment, and then brought together with investors at “brokerage” events to pitch for finance.
LCD will also use these brokerage events to provide disability awareness training for investors, with the long-term aim of trying to level the playing field for other disabled entrepreneurs seeking business finance from banks, private investors and grant-making bodies.
Disabled entrepreneur Amar Latif, who runs Traveleyes, which provides holidays for visually-impaired travellers, said: “It was a real hurdle to get people to take me seriously. I was this blind guy who runs a travel business asking for a loan to expand.
“It is very tough to secure potential investment and from listening to fellow entrepreneurs I hear the same story time and time again.”
Kevin Davey, E4G’s senior business advisor, said much of the investment sector finds it difficult to spot good opportunities when confronted with businesses led by disabled entrepreneurs.
He said he hoped the training for investors would help them to “spot a disabled winner”, and he added: “Over the last decade there are many examples of high growth SMEs led by disabled entrepreneurs.
“Many of them have been able to secure credit lines and various forms of financial support to assist them in their growth, but they have really had to work extremely hard to secure them.”
He said the recession had made the market even more difficult for disabled entrepreneurs. “It is very crowded at the moment and there is a huge queue for credit and we will have to work very hard.”
For more information, visit www.enabled4growth.com.
News provided by John Pring
18 January, 2010
Minister attacks care reform ‘scaremongers’
Health secretary Andy Burnham has hit out at “scaremongering” campaigns that have attacked the government’s plans to abolish key disability benefits.Burnham made clear that the government would scrap both attendance allowance (AA) and disability living allowance (DLA) for all those over 65 as part of its plans to reform the social care funding system.
The government’s care and support green paper in July suggested that the money saved would be used to fund means-tested council care services.
But Burnham – giving evidence to the Commons health committee as part of its inquiry into the future of social care – pledged again that no-one receiving DLA or AA at the time of reform “would receive any less cash support, nor would they lose any control” over how they spent that money.
He said that some “very vulnerable people” had been “frightened” by “scaremongering” campaigns and that a Conservative campaign against scrapping AA and DLA had “misrepresented” government plans.
Burnham again ruled out scrapping DLA for those under the age of 65.
He said he wanted to publish a white paper on social care funding before this year’s general election, and “create unstoppable momentum” for legislation after the election.
He also dismissed criticism of the government’s personal care at home bill, which would offer free personal care at home to disabled people with the highest needs.
Campaigners have warned it could lead to a squeeze on services for those with lower needs.
But Burnham said the bill was “building the vision” laid out in the green paper, and would help “the most vulnerable people, who at the moment face a lottery”.
And he again squashed hopes that the government would opt for funding free personal care for all disabled people from taxation.
He said: “I think that the principle that the individual should make a contribution is the right one and it should not be just funded through general taxation.”
His evidence came as the Alzheimer’s Society called for parties’ election manifestos to address “serious failings in dementia care”, and include pledges not to scrap AA.
Its research found “overwhelming opposition” to scrapping AA and using the money to pay for care services.
A survey of nearly 1,500 carers and people with dementia also found less than a quarter were having all their care needs met.
A separate survey of 150 MPs found four in five believed a long-term solution to funding social care should be a high priority for their party.
News provided by John Pring
15 January, 2010
China faces embassy protest over execution
China is facing further protests over its execution of a British man with bipolar disorder.Protesters appalled at the execution of Akmal Shaikh on 29 December are due to hold a peaceful demonstration outside the Chinese embassy in London on Sunday (10 January).
Members of Shaikh’s family have also written to foreign secretary David Miliband, demanding an inquest into his death.
His brother Akbar said in the letter: “My family is suffering incredible grief and torment over the many unanswered questions surrounding Akmal’s death.
“We have begged the Chinese for answers ...but none have been forthcoming.”
He said an inquest would help answer some of the family’s questions so that the “terrible mysteries surrounding my brother’s apparent death, 7,000 miles from his family and all alone, can be resolved for us”.
Much of the anger of relatives and campaigners has been directed at the Chinese authorities’ refusal to carry out an assessment of Shaikh’s mental health, despite overwhelming evidence that he had bipolar disorder.
Clive Stafford Smith, director of Reprieve, which supports prisoners facing the death penalty and campaigned on Shaikh’s behalf, said: “An inquest would give this grieving family a crucial insight into Akmal’s final hours, his mental state and the extent to which he suffered before he died.
“Only then can they begin to recover from the trauma of Akmal’s lonely and senseless death.”
Shaikh, who was originally from Kentish Town, north London, was arrested in 2007 at an airport in northwest China and found to be carrying four kilogrammes of heroin in a suitcase.
Reprieve says he was taken advantage of by drug smugglers who knew about his mental health condition and befriended him after he moved to Poland.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman confirmed that they had received Akbar Shaikh’s letter, and were considering the request for an inquest.
News provided by John Pring
15 January, 2010
Government set to act on scooter safety
The government is set to attempt to improve mobility scooter safety, after new concerns were raised in parliament.Mobility campaigners have backed calls for action, with estimates suggesting as many as 330,000 scooters are now in use.
Labour MP Jeff Ennis told the Commons how a constituent’s two-year-old daughter was injured after being dragged underneath a scooter.
Ennis said he was concerned that there was no compulsory training for scooter-users, and praised Norfolk police, which has introduced short, voluntary training courses for scooter-users in Great Yarmouth.
He called for a new criminal offence of “riding a mobility scooter in a dangerous way”, and said: “The crux of the problem is how we can ensure that mobility scooter users are proficient at riding their machines and are safe for themselves and other road-users.”
Another Labour MP, Hugh Bayley, said one of his constituents was seriously injured after being hit by a scooter in 2008 but received no compensation as the driver had no insurance.
Transport minister Sadiq Khan suggested that the government would soon launch a consultation on possible new legislation.
He told MPs it would be important “to balance the rights of people with disabilities with the rights of other people to feel safe”, but stressed that injuries were “rare and mostly minor” and scooters were “reasonably safe” when compared with other transport.
Hospital data suggests fewer than 40 people a year are severely injured by scooters, with around 95 per cent of injuries to the drivers.
The debate came as the Commons transport committee launched an inquiry into mobility scooters.
Helen Smith, director of policy and campaigns for the mobility charity Mobilise, which will submit evidence to the inquiry, said they had been urging the government to examine the insurance issue.
She said: “I think it’s overdue. The numbers of scooters has grown enormously and we have phone calls from people saying, ‘I can’t drive anymore because of my eyesight, and I have just bought myself a scooter.’
“There’s nothing to stop people driving in an inappropriate way. Nobody really has insurance.
“There have been accidents, there have been injuries and I am sure there have been a lot more that have not been reported.”
But she added: “We wouldn’t want people’s mobility being restricted through unnecessary legislation.”
And she said action could possibly be taken to ensure safer design of scooters, many of which are “just hard lumps of metal”.
News provided by John Pring
14 January, 2010
Government launches ‘urgent review’ of Pathways to Work
The government has admitted that its Pathways to Work programme to help disabled people into work is “less effective” than it first thought, and has launched an urgent review.The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the programme – first piloted in 2003 – had not helped as many disabled people into work as it had hoped.
An independent study into Pathways to Work pilots had found that disabled people in Pathways areas were about 25 per cent more likely to be in work after 18 months than those in non-Pathways areas.
But a report published last October found that when Pathways – which can offer work-focused interviews, help applying for jobs and managing a health condition, and financial assistance – was rolled out to other Jobcentre Plus areas it had no effect on employment rates, compared with non-Pathways areas.
Now the government has launched an “evidence-gathering review” of the back-to-work support provided by Pathways to people on incapacity benefit and the new employment and support allowance.
It aims to publish proposals on the future of Pathways this spring, but says it wants to move to a “simpler, stronger, more personalised model of support”, with a focus on “rights and responsibilities” and value for money.
Adrian Whyatt, chair of the user group Neurodiversity International, said the government had awarded Pathways contracts to large organisations which failed to involve or understand disabled people, while disabled people’s organisations were too small to bid for contracts.
The contracts failed to ensure providers set up boards of disabled people to control the programmes, so there was a “lack of expertise” at “every stage of the process”, he added.
A DWP spokesman said Pathways had helped more than 173,000 people into work, and helped to “significantly” narrow the gap between the overall employment rate and that of disabled people.
But he said more needed to be done, which was why the government was reviewing Pathways “to explore how we can further support those who can work fulfil that goal”.
He said the government believed that “organisations of all sizes, small and large, from the public, private and voluntary sectors, have an important role to play in helping people back to work”.
He added: “We work continuously with providers to help them find ways to improve and enhance the service they provide to this customer group, actively encouraging prime contractors to engage with niche providers who have the specialist knowledge necessary.”
News provided by John Pring
14 January, 2010
Police force reviews hate crime policy after family’s five-year ordeal
A Welsh police force is reviewing how it deals with disability hate crime, after a disabled woman complained of a five-year campaign of harassment at the hands of local thugs.Irene Miles, a wheelchair-user from Newport, Gwent, revealed in a BBC Wales documentary how she and her daughter had called police 60 times in five years.
Bricks were thrown at her adapted car, creosote was poured over it, and paint was thrown over their back yard.
None of these incidents was treated as a disability hate crime.
The documentary showed CCTV footage of the latest incident, on 2 November last year, in which a hooded man smashed every window of her car.
Miles said she was convinced she was targeted because she was disabled, and compared her case with that of Fiona Pilkington, who was driven to kill herself and her disabled daughter after years of disablist harassment by local thugs.
Another disabled person interviewed for the documentary was Peter Wood, who spent weeks in hospital after an arson attack on his home in Barry, south Wales.
He became reclusive after years of abuse and name-calling by local thugs. After leaving hospital he moved to Devon to escape the harassment.
The programme was presented by Simon Green, a wheelchair-user from Bridgend, who used undercover filming to show the disablist name-calling and threats he receives on nights out.
Chief superintendent Paul Symes, head of neighbourhood policing for Gwent police, said: “We are currently reviewing the way we have dealt with the Miles family and their neighbours over a considerable period of time, to see if any lessons can be learnt.
“We have also redesigned our daily management meeting to give hate crime greater scrutiny.”
A force spokesman added: “Our hate crime policy is being reviewed and any lessons from the review of the handling of this case will be built in.”
He said the damage to the car on 2 November was not immediately viewed as a hate crime, but was reclassified as a disability hate crime several days later after contact from Victim Support.
No-one from South Wales police was available to comment on the arson attack in Barry.
News provided by John Pring
13 January, 2010
Seminars will help disabled people become NHS leaders
Disabled people who would like to take up senior roles within their local NHS are being urged to sign up for a seminar to help them make successful applications.The seminars in Manchester and London are being run by the disability charity RADAR and the Appointments Commission, the independent body that helps government departments and NHS trusts appoint their board members.
Those who attend will be told how to apply for roles as non-executive directors in primary care trusts, ambulance service trusts, acute or foundation NHS trusts, or strategic health authorities, and what their duties would involve if successful.
Government figures show that only one in 20 appointees to the boards of the UK’s 1,200 public bodies is disabled or has a long-term health condition.
The government aims to increase this to nearly one in seven new appointments (14 per cent) by March 2011.
Those who attend the free seminars will meet recruitment consultants and disabled people who have secured senior NHS positions, as well as the chief executives of RADAR and the Appointments Commission.
There are up to 20 places available at each seminar, all for people living with ill-health, injury or disability.
Mark Shrimpton, RADAR’s joint deputy chief executive, said: “These free of charge events are fantastic opportunities for people affected by ill health, injury or disability to prime themselves to make successful applications to help run their local NHS services in a paid capacity.
“Delegates will get a whole day’s access to the CEOs of both RADAR and the Appointments Commission, as well as other key movers and shakers.”
The Appointments Commission will also provide support in pursuing an appointment after the event for delegates with the right skills and experience.
The all-day seminars take place in London on 11 February and in Manchester on 1 March.
For more information, contact Nisha Patel at nisha.patel@radar.org.uk or tel: 020 7503 6177.
News provided by John Pring
12 January, 2010
Barry Stevenson appointed as DisabledGo's non executive Chairman
DisabledGo have announced the appointment of Barry Stevenson to the post of non executive Chairman. DisabledGo's Chief Executive, Dr. Gregory Burke said, 'The Board and I are pleased to appoint Barry to this important post within DisabledGo. He joins a strong team and it is a mark of our intent for the future that we have someone of his calibre on our board. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to DisabledGo from his extensive career in the retail sector'.Barry has held a range of high profile roles across a diverse range of retail businesses, including B and Q, Marks and Spencer, Allied Breweries and Wyevale. He is currently Chief Executive of Albemarle and Bond Holdings and is combining this with his post as our non executive Chairman.
Speaking about his appointment Barry said, ‘I am delighted to now work on a formal basis as the non executive Chairman of DisabledGo. Having worked and more recently mentored Gregory since 2002 when Marks and Spencer initially supported the formation of the business I am passionate about our aims and delighted with what has been achieved. There is still a lot to do and the company is well placed to achieve its potential and help many, many more disabled people to live fuller and more satisfying lives.’
Gregory commented, ‘Barry’s appointment is another example of DisabledGo forging ahead. Our partnership with Open Britain, our new website with great new features; our new marketing initiatives are evidence of a company on the front foot. As the strong market leader by any competent, objective standard, DisabledGo is totally focused on delivering the best, most reliable information for disabled people and the organisations that commission us. Barry’s gold-plated business-know-how is only going to make us even stronger so we can deliver more to those we serve.’
Barry first came into contact with DisabledGo in 2002 during his time as Retail Director at Marks and Spencer. Barry was responsible for all UK and Ireland store and property operations, with over 55,000 people reporting into the divisions he was accountable for. Barry met with Gregory (DisabledGo’s Chief Executive) to discuss Marks and Spencer’s commitment to corporate responsibility and potentially sponsoring DisabledGo. Impressed by the concept of DisabledGo and its aims to improve society, Barry agreed for Marks and Spencer to become DisabledGo’s Development Sponsor, match funding guides to the first set of UK towns and cities with local authorities.
Barry began his career in 1981 joining Allied Breweries as a Commercial Graduate Trainee. He quickly rose through the ranks to become (at the time) the youngest ever trading director of one of Allied Breweries subsidiaries at the age of 27. He held a number of different directorships where he was responsible for running large estates of managed and tenanted pubs, clubs, restaurants’ and hotels. His last role at Allied was as Retail Brands Operations Director where he was responsible for all the themed, and branded pub, restaurant and hotel operations across the UK.
He left in 1991 to join Kingfisher Group where he initially worked at Woolworths as Regional Manager, Regional Director and Project Director. In 1995 he moved within the group to B&Q where he held the roles of Operations Director, Retail Director and latterly Managing Director for B&Q Supercentres.
After working for Marks and Spencer for three years Barry developed and ran a successful retail consultancy business between 2004 and 2006. In 2006 he led a public to private acquisition of Wyevale Garden centres Group and became Chief Executive of the new company. Leaving Wyevale in 2008 Barry then started a new internet retail business called The Safe and Secure Store.com and resumed his non executive roles.
11 January, 2010
Rights campaigners honoured in new year list
A disability rights campaigner who has spent nearly 40 years promoting the social model of disability is among disabled people recognised in the new year honours list.Social worker David Halpin, who receives an MBE, worked with Manchester Coalition of Disabled People and other groups in the 1970s to persuade council managers to implement the social model.
Now, as coordinator of Lancashire County Council’s ageing population strategy, Halpin is encouraging disabled people to become role models to younger people in their local community.
Halpin, who said he was “completely shocked” to be honoured, added: “I have taken the social model wherever I have worked to try and bring it to life.”
Diane Mulligan was recognised with an OBE for nearly 20 years work with disabled people in developing countries and in the UK.
A former director of the charity VSO in Indonesia, she set up the Sussex Amputee Support Group, is a disability and social inclusion advisor for the development charity Sightsavers and is a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s disability committee.
She said: “It is a great honour to have such formal recognition for all the work I love so much, but most of all the award reflects all the support and mentoring that many people have given to me in order to further disability rights and equal opportunities.”
David Constantine, who receives an MBE, co-founded Motivation, which empowers people with mobility impairments in developing countries, and designs and provides them with suitable wheelchairs.
David Butler receives an MBE for services to disability sport, after campaigning for 40 years for disabled people to have the right to compete in motor sports.
Because of his impairment, Butler was refused a licence to race 14 times by the Motor Sports Association (MSA) before finally winning the right to race.
Butler has chaired the British Motor Sports Association for the Disabled for 15 years, and now sits on the MSA’s medical panel, which decides whether other disabled drivers can be granted racing licences.
There is also an MBE for singer-songwriter Pino Frumiento, who helped found the disability arts organisation Heart n Soul 25 years ago and has toured internationally and become a role model to other artists with learning difficulties.
He said he was “really surprised” when he heard about the MBE and now feels “very proud”.
He said: “I never thought when I started out all those years ago that something like this could happen to me.
“I hope this will inspire other people with learning disabilities to go for it and follow their dreams. You never know what’s around the corner.”
Heart n Soul produces music, clubs, live art, dance and films by more than 100 artists with learning difficulties. Its director and co-founder Mark Williams also receives an MBE.
Lilian Baker, who receives an MBE, set up Advocacy in Wirral 17 years ago with other mental health service-users, and is still its chair. Her organisation now employs 50 people.
Linda Hoggarth, who chairs Optua, the user-led disability charity she co-founded in Suffolk in 1981 and which now employs 290 people, also receives an MBE.
She said: “Although the honour comes to me, it is recognition of the huge contribution Optua has made to the lives of disabled people in Suffolk.”
Bill Gray, a long-standing member of Fife Independent Disability Network, receives an MBE for services to diversity and disability training in Scotland.
There is also an MBE for Philip Mason, who has been promoting the idea of independent living in Hampshire for more than 30 years.
He said: “Although one person gets the award, it is really for the work of a lot of people. I am just one of many.”
Grassroots campaigner Robert Brown, who chairs a community residents’ forum in Brighton, also receives an MBE, as does Paul Willgoss, who chairs the Health and Safety Executive’s disability network. Willgoss has a heart condition, and has undertaken a series of physical challenges to raise funds and awareness of medical treatments.
News provided by John Pring
8 January, 2010
Disabled duo set to fight again in court for direct payments
Two disabled people will challenge the government in court this month over its refusal to allow them to use direct payments to manage their own long-term healthcare.They will argue that the decision discriminates against them and breaches their human rights.
The government is fighting the case despite passing new legislation in November that will allow the NHS to use direct payments. It is now preparing to pilot their use in some primary care trusts (PCTs).
Valerie Garnham, who has a progressive neuromuscular condition, was one of the first residents of Islington in London to receive direct payments for care services, but a serious illness seven years ago meant she needed a permanent tracheotomy and ventilator.
She became eligible for NHS continuing care and began receiving direct payments for her health needs from Islington PCT, paid through her council.
But two years ago, the PCT told her she would have to receive her healthcare through an agency, because of new government guidance.
Garnham lost a court battle to challenge this decision last year, but won an interim injunction forcing the PCT to allow her to continue receiving direct payments until her appeal was over.
Now lawyers for her and Steven Harrison, from Yorkshire – who is also fighting for the right to healthcare direct payments – will argue their case at the court of appeal.
They will say the Department of Health (DH) has the power to allow direct payments to be paid to service-users, and by denying them to those receiving healthcare services, it is discriminating against disabled people and breaching their right to a private and family life, under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Garnham said it could cost three times as much to provide agency nurses than her current arrangement, her quality of life would suffer, and she would feel less secure than she does with the trusted staff she has helped train herself.
She said: “It would remove my control. It would be impossible to match the flexibility that we have at the moment.”
Her solicitor, Frances Lipman, from the Disability Law Service, said: “This is a very important case.
“What is the difference between someone on NHS and someone on social care?
“It goes to the heart of disabled people’s lives and how they manage their care.”
The DH said it could not comment because of the pending appeal.
News provided by John Pring
7 January, 2010
Camping In Style
When the word ‘camping’ comes to mind, I automatically think ‘no way’ I envision a scenario of rain, mud and creepy-crawlies and as a lady who enjoys her luxuries and with being disabled, in a wheelchair, you pretty much get the picture that camping in a tent outdoors is highly unappealing.However a friend and I recently discovered a glamorous type of camping at Pentre Mawr, in beautiful North Wales. Five star camping in a canvas lodge, can you believe it? This is the first place in the UK to take camping to a distinctive level.
Pentre Mawr country house is located in the pleasant and serene countryside of Llandyrnog, deep in the heart of the Vale of Clwyd, near Denbigh.
Upon arriving, my initial impression was ‘wow it looks so posh’ the gorgeous, grand white historic country house loitered ahead. I felt like I was being driven through the gates of some fairy tale story.
Our lovely hosts, Bre and Graham Carrington-Sykes have been inspired to bring Africa into North Wales, a notion from holidaying in Africa.
They have invented three safari style canvas lodges, each with a private terrace and a hot tub.
Our canvas lodge set aside from the main house, was easily accessible. It was level with the ground and once we got inside, the ample room and my lavish surroundings amiably surprised me. Complimentary wine and chocolates greeted us.
The Canvas lodge was truly luxurious. Consisting of a super king-sized leather bed with a sitting area of African ambience. A TV with Freeview and a DVD player were also supplied. Not to mention the camouflaged fridge.
My favourite was the romantically stunning bathroom. It was thoroughly spacious with a big freestanding bath and a separate shower facility. Bre and Graham provide a shower chair if essential to your needs. What’s more, the bathroom consisted of under floor heating. If that isn’t luxury then what is.
Despite being content with my surroundings I was still anxious of how the rest of the holiday would pan out. Being a permanent wheelchair user, one has to be aware of accessibility in all places.
So how did this adventure commence, and was it accessible? Well to begin with Bre and Graham immediately welcomed us and kindly assisted us with our luggage to our canvas lodge. We were invited to the main house once we were settled, for a refreshing drink, certainly needed after the long four-hour drive we had.
The walk to the main house was a little awkward as the pathway was found to be a bit too bumpy with gravel attacking my wheelchair tyres. Nevertheless my friend managed to successfully push me to the house without tipping me out of my chair in the process.
Once in the house, in the drawing room, I swallowed the grand beauty and on receiving my desired cup of tea with homemade cakes, I devoured the bliss. Bre gave us the menus for the evening meal and insisted that if we were unhappy with the menu then they would happily cater otherwise.
With evening on the horizon, I was feeling apprehensive as I normally do when I dine at a new eatery. Being a food lover, all it takes is a slight thing to put me off my appetite.
However the complete dining experience at Pentre Mawr house is a key feature as Graham, a trained chef is talented and versatile in catering for all tastes. The restaurant in the main house itself is spacious with the suitable height of tables for a wheelchair user to be comfortable at.
I was expecting my chicken curry and basmati rice dish to be an out-of-a-jar curry but surprisingly it was a fine dish, exquisitely made. The chicken was tender enhanced with the tantalising flavours of the curry.
My friend enjoyed a Malayan fish curry that contained a mild spiced sauce served with basmati rice. She claimed it was beautiful. For dessert we were both enticed to the delectable chocolate torte, simply divine. I’m not surprised that Pentre Mawr has an AA food award.
After dinner, in the dark of the night outside, the floor night lamps guided us back to our lodge. I was aware of the silence. No hustle and bustle or noisy traffic whatsoever, just the sound of my wheelchair being pushed and my friend’s dainty feet on the gravel. True seclusion.
The next day, unfortunately it rained so Bre came to our lodge and kindly insisted on bringing us our breakfast to the lodge to avoid the rain on the walk to the main house. A full English breakfast was on offer every morning but we opted for the lighter choice. Hence a tray with fresh fruits, warm croissants, tea, coffee, cereal, and fresh orange juice were bought to us. Star treatment.
Soon the weather picked up so we went exploring on foot and did a spot of sightseeing just nearby.
We happened to see some of Bre and Grahams friendly pets and especially took an instant fondness to one of their cats, Maurice who occasionally paid us a pleasant visit to our lodge.
Due to the weather being harsh we couldn’t explore as much as we had planned, though on the last day were determined to brave the weather and made a trip to the nearby town, Denbigh.
It was a fifteen-minute drive to arrive there but worth it as we discovered the sensational ‘Denbigh Chocolate Shop’ bringing you the freshest hand-made chocolates. Pure indulgence.
I was content to see that Denbigh town was reasonably accessible with dipped kerbs for easy wheelchair manoeuvring.
Once back home, I realised what a unique experience it really was. For those of you who have always been against camping well why not attempt it in style at Pentre Mawr canvas lodges? You won’t be disappointed.
With stunning surroundings, good disabled facilities, scrumptious food and wonderful hosts; you’ll definitely be back for more.
By Sarabjit Parmar
7 January, 2010
RADAR People of the Year Awards 2009
On the evening of Monday 30th November 2009, members of the DisabledGo team were thrilled to attend the RADAR People of the Year Awards 2009. Along with colleagues from partnering local authorities we saw RADAR announce this year’s winners at a glittering ceremony at Battersea Evolution.Awards covered a diverse range of categories and were judged by high profile figures such as Jonathan Shaw MP, Minister for Disabled People and Trevor Philips, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Full details of all the awards and the winners can be found at -
http://www.radar.org.uk/radarwebsite/tabid/265/default.aspx.
We were really pleased to see Promote the Vote – Speaking up win the Doing Access Differently Award. The work done by Promote the Vote by six young people with learning disabilities has inspired hundreds to register to vote for the first time and has been promoted on www.disabledgo.com. You can find out more at www.promotethevote.co.uk.
Working in the IT field ourselves we were all interested to hear the nominees for the Doing IT Differently Award. The award looks for example of innovation that have embraced inclusion and opened up the possibilities for disabled people to really participate in society. The award was presented by Dame Evelyn Glennie, the world famous deaf percussionist. The winner was Signed Stories – ITV SignPost, they have created a fun webspace where deaf children can share the joy of stories with siblings, family, friends. We thought that this initiative was incredibly inspiring and a very worthy winner.
Proving how diverse the awards were the fantastic BBC3 programme Otto: Love, Lust and Las Vegas won the Doing Media Differently Award for Factual Programming. The one hour documentary charts the journey into adulthood of 21 year old Otto Baxter, as he deals with the concerns of most 21 year old young men - how to get a job and a girl. For Otto, negotiating his way is made more complex by the fact that he has Down's Syndrome.
Highlighting the importance of fighting discrimination the Award for Disabled Young Person of the Year was made to Riam Dean. Riam who wears a prosthetic arm, brought a successful DDA case against Abercrombie & Fitch when they took her off the shop floor. We are sure that Riam’s story will raise awareness and inspire other disabled people to take action.
The final award of the evening was Person of the Year, the shortlist contained examples of extraordinary achievements. The winner was Mike Adams, Chief Executive of Essex Coalition of Disabled People. Mike was nominated for his leadership in creating sustainable and successful user-led organisations (ULOs). Mike has turned Essex Coalition of Disabled People into a beacon ULO: empowering disabled people to influence local services and forging new partnerships.
All of us left the awards feeling inspired by all of those nominated. We had a fantastic evening and already have the event in our diaries for 2010.
7 January, 2010
Thalidomide survivors to win government apology after 50 years
Survivors of the drug Thalidomide have hailed a new £20 million package of support, and the promise of a long-awaited government apology.The prime minister is expected to deliver a “statement of regret” in the Commons early in the new year.
Guy Tweedy, a leading campaigner, said the announcement was “wonderful news”.
Tweedy, deputy chair of the Thalidomide Trust’s national advisory council (NAC), an elected committee representing those with impairments caused by Thalidomide, said an apology would be just as important as the new funding.
He said: “It is just as important to the parents as it is to the Thalidomiders themselves.
“For a lot of people it has been a trauma for 50 years. They have battled against social services, the drug companies and the government.
“This drug could have been avoided. It was avoided in America. It was a [UK] government agency that said it was a great drug and should be used.
“This will be a recognition that mistakes were made and they recognise it and they will say sorry. It will make a difference to a lot of people.”
Tweedy is one of about 460 people in the UK born with impairments caused by their mothers taking Thalidomide while pregnant in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
He said he regretted that 18 others who have died since he began campaigning in 2002 would not hear the apology.
The funding will provide more personalised support for those with Thalidomide impairments, and will be paid over three years from April 2010.
Tweedy said it would fund their “unmet needs”, such as paying for adaptations to homes and buying adapted cars and electric wheelchairs.
Many survivors have found it increasingly difficult to survive on the compensation they receive from the company that marketed the drug in the UK, because of equipment costs and deteriorating health.
The announcement followed lengthy discussions between the Department of Health (DH), the Thalidomide Trust – which administers the compensation – and the NAC.
The DH will hand the funding to the trust, which will distribute money to Thalidomide survivors, all now aged between 47 and 50, to give them “more control over their long-term health needs”.
The DH said the scheme would be evaluated to “explore how the health needs of Thalidomiders can be best met in the longer term” and it would examine how this approach of working through an expert national body might be used with other small groups of people with “specialised needs”.
News provided by John Pring
7 January, 2010
Outrage after China executes disabled Briton
Campaigners and politicians have reacted with horror and outrage after China refused pleas for clemency and executed a British man with bipolar disorder.Despite repeated appeals from the prime minister, Gordon Brown, and the foreign secretary, David Miliband, Akmal Shaikh was executed on the morning of 29 December in Urumqi, north-west China.
Much of the anger has been directed at the Chinese authorities’ refusal to carry out an assessment of Shaikh’s mental health, despite overwhelming evidence that he had bipolar disorder.
The prime minister, Gordon Brown, condemned the execution and said he was “appalled and disappointed” that the government’s “persistent requests for clemency” had not been granted.
He added: “I am particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken.”
Foreign Office minister Ivan Lewis described the failure to carry out an assessment as “reprehensible” and added: “There is absolutely no doubt that this man had mental health problems.
“The Chinese had all of this information and they made a point not to undergo this medical assessment and that cannot be right in a civilised world.”
Two of Shaikh’s cousins had flown to China to appeal for clemency and visited him in the secure hospital where he was being kept.
Shaikh’s family also wrote to the Chinese president, and relatives joined a peaceful vigil outside the Chinese embassy in London in the hours before the execution.
Nearly 6,500 people joined a Facebook group calling on China to halt the execution, the first of a European in China for more than 50 years.
The UK charity Reprieve, which supports prisoners facing the death penalty and campaigned on Shaikh’s behalf, said it had given the Chinese authorities six new witness statements that clearly showed his mental health condition.
Reprieve said it was “appalled” that no mercy had been shown to a man who clearly had a mental health condition and “disgusted” that China had refused to allow a proper medical evaluation.
Shaikh, who was married with five children and was originally from Kentish Town, north London, was arrested in 2007 at an airport in northwest China and found to be carrying four kilogrammes of heroin in suitcase.
Reprieve says he was taken advantage of by drug smugglers who knew about his mental health condition and befriended him after he moved to Poland.
News provided by John Pring
6 January, 2010
Recession hitting disabled people hard, says report
Disabled people are facing rising levels of poverty and discrimination as a result of the recession, according to a new report.The Disability and the Downturn report, by Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD), is the latest to suggest that disabled people could be suffering disproportionately from the recession.
The report says there is “little cause for optimism”, with disabled people facing “rising levels of poverty and discrimination, underpinned by extensive pre-existing disadvantage”.
LCD’s research suggests disabled people are “increasingly struggling to meet even the basic costs of living during the downturn”, the report adds.
And it says that public spending cuts would have a “disastrous impact” on disabled people, as they are more likely to rely on the NHS, social services and public transport.
The report comes less than three weeks after a campaigning coalition led by Disability Alliance published a “disability manifesto” that called for an end to disability poverty by 2025, and for political parties to back 17 suggested policies that would provide disabled people with “routes out of poverty”.
The LCD report points to figures published in November, in its annual Disability Review, in which more than two in five disabled people (42 per cent) said they were finding it difficult to manage on their present income – up nearly 10 percentage points since 2007.
The review – based on a survey of more than 1,200 disabled people from across the UK in January 2009 – also found less than one in seven disabled people were living “comfortably” on their present income.
The new report says restrictions on state-funded social care “continue to have a detrimental impact on disabled people’s financial, physical and emotional wellbeing”.
This must be tackled, it adds, because they already face inequality in employment, income levels, skills and qualifications, and savings.
The report says there is a “compelling business case for putting disabled people’s interests at the centre of the nation’s response to recession”.
It also calls on the government to draw up a dedicated strategy to tackle disability poverty, protect public spending, reform welfare in a way that supports disabled people, and ensure support is available to everyone with social care needs.
News provided by John Pring
5 January, 2010
President’s award marks two decades of campaigning work
A UK-based development agency has been recognised by an African president for nearly 20 years of campaigning work with disabled people’s organisations in his country.Action on Disability and Development International (ADDI), which is based in Somerset, received the Chevalier of Merit award from president Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso.
ADDI was one of 20 voluntary organisations to receive the award at the presidential palace, at an event held to mark the 49th anniversary of Burkina Faso’s independence from France.
ADDI is supporting projects in Burkina Faso to strengthen disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) and campaign for inclusive education, access to employment and an accessible environment, and to empower disabled women.
ADDI said the country had introduced a series of measures to improve the lives of disabled people, including setting up a department for disability issues, providing new employment rights, and ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Emilienne Sanon, ADDI’s regional director, said the award was a sign that the UN convention was having an impact on disabled people’s lives.
She said: “As a result of ADDI’s awareness-raising campaign on the convention and its support to the advocacy campaigns of networks of DPOs, the convention was ratified by the government of Burkina Faso, which adopted subsequently a domestic law to protect and promote disabled people’s rights.”
But she said there was “still much to be done” to ensure the convention had an impact on people’s lives, so ADDI would support DPOs to lobby the government to introduce the necessary laws.
Sanon added: “This honour rewards the hard work and dedication of our staff, the brave leaders of the disabled people’s organisations we work with and the commitment of the disabled people they represent.”
ADDI works with DPOs in 11 African and Asian countries, supporting and mentoring them in their fight for the right to earn a living and enjoy a family life, and access education and healthcare.
News provided by John Pring
4 January, 2010
Transport for London will miss step-free target
London’s tube network is set to miss its latest target for providing step-free access, after Transport for London (TfL) halted improvements at a series of stations.Campaigners are angry that the target – to make a quarter of the capital’s 270 stations accessible to wheelchair-users – will not be reached.
In April, mayor Boris Johnson’s transport adviser said 68 stations would be step-free by the end of 2010.
But TfL, which is chaired by the mayor, now says that only 62 stations will be step-free by the end of 2010.
It said it has stopped work to provide step-free access at the six other tube stations because of financial pressure caused by the recession and extra costs resulting from the collapse of the tube maintenance company Metronet.
The previous mayor, Ken Livingstone, had pledged that a third of stations would be step-free by the end of 2013.
TfL has also scrapped its accessible transport magazine, Getting There, which was issued to about 100,000 members of the Taxicard and Dial-a-Ride accessible transport schemes – again in a bid to cut costs.
Faryal Velmi, director of the campaigning accessible transport charity Transport for All, said she was “very disappointed” that the target would not be achieved.
She said promises had “essentially been put aside”, which would “severely impact” on disabled visitors to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
A TfL spokeswoman denied that the postponed step-free work would have a negative impact on the 2012 Games.
She said London Underground was “working closely” with the Olympic Delivery Authority on the accessible elements of its transport plan.
She said TfL was focusing on “core projects” that would deliver the mayor’s transport priorities, including the tube upgrade, Crossrail and 2012 preparations.
She said step-free investment was being targeted at “key interchange stations” to “deliver the greatest benefit for the largest number of customers”, with step-free access before 2012 at Southfields and Green Park stations, which will both have “a key role” in the 2012 transport plan.
Other access improvements, such as tactile paving and induction loops, will be added to stations “as modernisations and refurbishments are completed”, while TfL was also replacing and refurbishing its train fleet, she said.
She confirmed that Getting There was being scrapped, and said TfL believed it could provide the information “using less expensive methods”.
News provided by John Pring
24 December, 2009
Hate crime prosecutions more than double in one year
The number of disability hate crime cases prosecuted in the courts has more than doubled in a year, according to a government report.The Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) annual hate crime report says it prosecuted 393 cases of disability hate crime in England and Wales in 2008-09, compared with just 183 the previous year.
The report says the increase in volume is “very encouraging” and suggests police and prosecutors are “improving their ability to recognise and flag these cases”.
Any criminal offence found by a court to be a disability hate crime – after it is brought to the judge or magistrates’ attention by a prosecutor – should earn a harsher sentence.
But the number of prosecutions is still far lower than homophobic hate crimes (more than 1,000 prosecuted) and racist and religious hate crimes (more than 11,500).
The conviction rate for disability hate crimes fell slightly, from 77 to 76 per cent, while the proportion of cases referred to the CPS in which prosecutors decided to charge a defendant also fell slightly, from 67 to 66 per cent.
Anne Novis, who leads on disability hate crime for the United Kingdom’s Disabled People’s Council, said the figures were still “very low” compared with the true extent of hate crime reported to disabled people’s organisations.
She said: “It’s great that it is an increase but it is not enough of an increase.”
She added: “We are still not getting it right on the frontline with the police, with the way they respond, with disabled people having the chance to report appropriately in accessible ways.
“These things we need, so people are reporting and police are investigating appropriately so the CPS can follow it through.”
But she said she believed the CPS was now taking the issue seriously, although it needed to work more closely with disabled people’s organisations and pledge to use the social model of disability as a “key driver” in its work.
Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, says in the report that the CPS has made progress on bringing all hate crimes to justice, but accepts the need to “focus our efforts to continue to increase the volume of disability hate crime cases in particular”.
The report says the CPS is “not complacent” about the improvements needed, and has acted on concerns from disabled people about low reporting and prosecution rates.
News provided by John Pring
24 December, 2009
New alliance will open up access information on tourism venues
A new partnership between two leading disability organisations is set to provide in-depth access information on venues across the UK to disabled tourists.The link-up will see the online access guide DisabledGo providing detailed information on leisure and tourism venues to online visitors to OpenBritain, the website for disabled travellers launched this summer.
From early 2010, visitors to OpenBritain will be able to search for access details on more than 50,000 leisure and tourism venues throughout the UK – including hotels, shops, cinemas and restaurants – which have all been visited by a trained access surveyor for DisabledGo.
OpenBritain is a joint project between the disability charities RADAR, Tourism for All UK and the National Federation of Shopmobility, and was launched by two government ministers in July.
Jenifer Littman, Tourism for All’s chief executive, said: “The new partnership with DisabledGo transforms OpenBritain’s ability to provide high-quality, comprehensive information, while at the same time reinforcing the value of access guides commissioned by local authorities and available on one of disability’s best kept secrets, www.disabledgo.com .”
Dr Gregory Burke, founder and chief executive of DisabledGo, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working with Tourism for All UK on OpenBritain.
“It is a fantastic initiative and so important for those wanting to travel, holiday and enjoy everything Britain has to offer.”
For more information, visit www.openbritain.net or www.disabledgo.com
News provided by John Pring
24 December, 2009
Power-lifter’s deportation reprieve after last-minute court move
A disabled power-lifter has secured a last-minute reprieve from being deported to Nigeria, after campaigners wrote to the home secretary to complain about his treatment.Vincent Onwubiko, who has won five gold medals representing Britain in international competition, has lived in the UK since 1994.
But the government began moves to deport him two years ago after he was convicted of driving while disqualified.
He was due to be deported on 11 December, but his solicitor, Michael Ukwuoma, secured a last-minute judicial review on the grounds that Onwubiko had a case with the European Court of Human Rights.
He has now been taken to a detention centre at Colnbrook, near Heathrow airport, but Ukwuoma plans to lodge high court papers tomorrow (18 December) seeking his release from detention while his legal battle is ongoing.
His case follows that of disabled asylum-seeker Abbas Sharifi, who was deported to Afghanistan in July, despite desperate pleas from disability rights campaigners.
The disability charity RADAR wrote to the home secretary Alan Johnson on the day Onwubiko was due to be deported, saying it “strongly” believed such action would breach his right to a family life.
RADAR said the government might also be breaching the Disability Discrimination Act, as Onwubiko would return to a country with little practical support and without his close family, and that it may have failed in its legal duty to promote disability equality.
The letter, from RADAR’s chief executive Liz Sayce and joint deputy chief executive Caroline Ellis, said: “We cannot understand why having lived here for so long and contributed to this country he should be the subject of deportation at all.”
They also expressed “grave concerns” about allegations concerning the way Onwubiko was treated in prison and at an immigration removal centre.
Speaking before the judicial review was granted, David Wood, head of criminality and detentions for the UK Border Agency, said: “We have fully considered his case and made sure that his human rights are not breached. “This decision has been reviewed and upheld by an immigration judge.”
After the judicial review was granted, a Home Office spokesman added: “I can confirm that the removal was postponed after Mr Onwubiko made further representations to the high court.
“A decision will be taken in due course by a judge to see if there is any new evidence that will affect his asylum claim.”
News provided by John Pring
23 December, 2009
SEN inquiry: report is ‘missed opportunity’ on school inclusion
Inclusive education campaigners have criticised the Lamb inquiry on special educational needs (SEN) for missing a “golden opportunity” for major reform of the system.The Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE) said recommendations in the inquiry’s final report would have a “limited positive impact” on children with SEN, who will still have no right to a mainstream school place and can be forced to attend a special school.
Simone Aspis, ALLFIE’s campaigns and policy co-ordinator, said they had hoped Lamb would use the opportunity to “eradicate the inequality of access to mainstream education” in the SEN system.
The Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE) said many of Lamb’s recommendations were “highly pertinent and desirable”, but merely “sticking plasters” for a system that could not be fixed.
Chris Goodey, CSIE’s assistant director, said Lamb’s report fails to explain how disabled children can achieve “ordinary lives” in a system where some are educated separately in special schools.
He said the SEN framework should be replaced with a personalised system, with each child given a personal budget – combined with any other state funding they receive – to buy the support they and their parents choose.
Goodey said: “This was a golden opportunity missed. Even though the recommendations are pertinent, they are pertinent to a system that has failed.”
The National Autistic Society said the recommendations would only make a difference if the government forced councils to comply with the law.
But it said new rights of appeal on SEN statements, and the duty on Ofsted inspections to focus more on SEN, would help parents and make schools more accountable.
The disabled children’s charity Whizz-Kidz particularly welcomed the government’s pledge to tackle bullying and legislate to give disabled pupils the right to auxiliary aids and services.
It said access to equipment would “greatly enhance the inclusion and equality of disabled pupils in mainstream education”, while early results from its own survey of disabled pupils showed bullying was “an all too frequent experience”.
Scope said the report’s recommendations would make the system fairer, and welcomed the emphasis on “system-wide reform” to ensure parents and schools work together.
It also welcomed the recommendations on auxiliary aids, strengthened rights to appeal, and Ofsted’s new duties.
The Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM) campaign praised the report’s call for a “core offer” to provide parents with “information, assessment, transparency, participation and feedback”, and said the government should set a timetable for its implementation.
News provided by John Pring
23 December, 2009
SEN inquiry: report calls for end to culture of low expectations
An inquiry has called for urgent and major reform of the special educational needs (SEN) system, and an end to the “culture of low expectations” for disabled children and those with SEN.The plea came in the final report of an inquiry set up by the government to improve confidence in England’s SEN system, which heard from thousands of parents and children over 21 months.
SEN expert Brian Lamb, who led the inquiry, said a “radical overhaul” should “ruthlessly” refocus the system to provide stronger rights for children with SEN, and a “culture change” in how schools and local authorities work with those children and their parents.
The inquiry’s clear message was that “parents need to be listened to more and the system needs to be more ambitious for their children”, said Lamb.
He added: “We need to act urgently to ensure we do not let a generation of children leave school ill-equipped to lead an independent life and make a contribution to society.”
Lamb said the inquiry found “many examples where disabled children and children with SEN were sidelined rather than challenged to be the best that they could possibly be”.
About one in five children in England have SEN, while just under three per cent – 222,000 – have a statement of SEN, which sets out the support the child should receive.
Lamb said children with SEN were eight times more likely to be excluded than their peers, and called for more support and new guidance to tackle the problem.
And he called for “good, honest and open communication” with parents, who should have access to independent advice through a national helpline – one of 51 wide-ranging recommendations in the report.
Lamb said many parents found assessments “stressful and difficult”, and often faced poor information and support and negative attitudes.
The report says school governors and Ofsted inspectors should focus more on SEN, while the government should do more to use the available evidence to hold local authorities to account when they fail on SEN.
It also says parents are frequently unaware of the protection offered by the Disability Discrimination Act, while public bodies often fail to comply with their duties under the act.
The report concludes: “In many places and for many parents [the SEN system] can and does work well, but for too many parents it represents an unwarranted and unnecessary struggle.”
But Lamb says in the report that there is “nothing I am recommending that is not being done by the best teachers, schools and local authorities across the country already”.
News provided by John Pring
23 December, 2009
SEN inquiry: Balls pledges ‘stronger voice’ for parents and children
The government has promised parents and children “a stronger voice at the heart of the special educational needs (SEN) system”, in its response to a major inquiry.Responding to the final report of the Lamb inquiry on the SEN system – commissioned by the government – education secretary Ed Balls said he wanted to make the system “more transparent and give parents more help”.
And he pledged to find a “suitable legislative opportunity” to bring in laws to give all disabled children the right to support at school through access to auxiliary aids and services – a key, longstanding demand of disability rights campaigners and the Disability Rights Commission.
Balls said the government would publish detailed plans for implementing Lamb’s recommendations in January, but he announced several immediate measures aimed at helping parents with “the least confidence in the system”.
A new national SEN helpline will provide parents with independent, expert advice.
The government will also provide funding for the Local Government Ombudsman to deal with parents’ SEN complaints about schools and local authorities.
Balls said: “Brian Lamb’s report tells us that parents must have access to the information they need, when they need it, in ways that are convenient to them.
“Where parents aren’t happy with the system, they will be able to complain to the Local Government Ombudsman.”
Balls also announced improved guidance on exclusions for governors and independent appeals panels, and new pilot projects aimed at improving SEN assessments and the “transparency” of local authority decision-making.
He also promised a review of legal aid funding for tribunals, and announced funding for a new project by the Anti-Bullying Alliance.
Over the last year, Balls has announced a series of measures following interim inquiry reports, on issues such as the high level of exclusions of children with SEN, assessments, SEN statements, teacher training, bullying, and improved information for parents.
He has also said Ofsted would be given new duties to use inspections to investigate how schools are supporting disabled children and those with SEN.
Meanwhile, new government figures have shown a small increase in parents’ satisfaction with services for disabled children.
The national score increased to 61 out of 100, up two points from last year.
The results come from a survey of parents in England between July and November, including their experiences of health, education, and care and family support.
This year, every council and primary care trust was also scored for the first time.
News provided by John Pring
22 December, 2009
Thalidomide campaigners hopeful on government funding
Disabled people born with impairments caused by the drug Thalidomide say they are “cautiously optimistic” that the government will provide them with new financial support.They have been campaigning since last year for government funding for the 463 people in the UK who were born with impairments caused by their mothers taking the drug while pregnant in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
The campaign has been run by the national advisory council (NAC), an elected committee representing all those born with Thalidomide impairments and supported by the Thalidomide Trust.
The trust administers payments from the compensation paid by Distillers, the company that marketed Thalidomide in the UK (and now a non-trading subsidiary of Diageo PLC).
But many of those born with Thalidomide impairments – all now aged between 47 and 50 – are finding it increasingly difficult to survive on the compensation they receive.
Already having to cope with the cost of equipment such as adapted vehicles and electric wheelchairs, many also face deteriorating health caused by an accelerated wear of joints and limbs, leading to pain and further impairments.
A parliamentary early day motion (EDM) calling for a government financial assistance package for those with Thalidomide impairments has secured the signatures of 275 MPs, far above the average level of support for an EDM.
NAC member Nick Dobrik said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the progress of talks with the government over funding, and said negotiations over the last couple of months had been “intense”.
He said: “We are looking for an annual payment to the trust in order to improve the quality of life of Thalidomiders, so they can maintain their independence.”
Guy Tweedy, deputy chair of the NAC, said: “Our bodies weren’t designed for what we are using them for.”
He added: “Hopefully we will get somewhere. The government have been very amenable.
“This is about justice and not entitlement, helping Thalidomiders with their unmet needs.
“This would make a difference. There are a lot of people really struggling out there.”
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “Everyone has the greatest sympathy for individuals and families affected by Thalidomide and we take their concerns very seriously.
“Mike O’Brien, minister of state for health, is holding continuing meetings with representatives of the trust to further discuss their concerns.
“Those affected by Thalidomide continue to get compensated through a private settlement with Diageo PLC, which is administered by the Thalidomide Trust. Diageo continues to make annual payments to the trust.”
News provided by John Pring
22 December, 2009
Disabled peers ready for battle on equality bill
Three disabled peers say they will fight to ensure that the equality bill does not lower the level of protection for disabled people currently provided by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).Baroness [Jane] Campbell, Baroness [Rosalie] Wilkins and Lord [Colin] Low were speaking during the second reading of the bill in the Lords.
Each welcomed the bill – which streamlines existing equality laws – but warned that parts of it provide less protection than the DDA.
Baroness Campbell said the bill could “genuinely transform opportunities over time” but gains made through the DDA must not be “lost in translation in the equality bill”.
She said she was particularly concerned that the public sector duty to promote equality would be weaker on disability equality than the DDA.
And she said the bill fails to make it “absolutely clear” that service-providers cannot charge to provide reasonable adjustments.
She also expressed concern that an immigration measure in the bill could lead to seriously-ill disabled people being denied entry or leave to remain in the UK “in contravention of the most basic human rights”.
Baroness Wilkins said she was disappointed the bill had not adopted a more “social model” definition of disability, to improve on the current situation where discrimination can only be proved if an impairment has lasted a year.
She said it was “a travesty” that so much tribunal time was wasted “arguing about how disabled someone is, rather than focusing on the discrimination that may have taken place”.
But she said she was “delighted” the bill would make it illegal for landlords to prevent reasonable requests from disabled tenants to make physical alterations to communal hallways and entrances, so they are not “imprisoned in their own home”, something she has campaigned for since 2004.
Lord Low said parts of the bill were “particularly welcome to disabled people”, including its reversal of the 2008 Lewisham v Malcolm Lords ruling, which “threatened to wreak so much havoc with the concept of disability-related discrimination”.
But he said several parts “remain of concern to disabled people”, including a clause that “explicitly authorises an exam system that disadvantages disabled candidates” and says minimising this is “merely desirable, not necessary”.
And Lord Low said he would table an amendment to “introduce an explicit duty to provide accessible information”.
Baroness Royall, for the government, said she was “carefully” considering the comments of the three peers, and others, on the public sector equality duty, and would discuss further the issue around reasonable adjustment costs.
News provided by John Pring
22 December, 2009
Still no justice on disability hate crime, say professionals
The criminal justice system is still failing to take the issue of disability hate crime seriously enough, according to a poll of professionals.Nearly 50 delegates from local authorities, the Crown Prosecution Service, police forces, central government and voluntary organisations attended the Overcoming a Crisis of Justice conference on disability hate crime.
During a voting session at the conference – organised by Westminster Briefing – nearly four-fifths of delegates said the criminal justice system failed to take disability hate crime as seriously as other hate crimes.
Nearly seven in ten said the court process was “unfriendly and inaccessible” to disabled people.
And 86 per cent said they believed that not enough was being done to ensure that disabled people were seen as targets of hostility, and not just “easy targets”.
But nearly half the delegates said that tackling disability hate crime was high on the agenda in their local area.
Katharine Quarmby, author of the Getting Away With Murder report on disability hate crime, who spoke at the conference, said there was a feeling of “real disappointment and frustration” that the criminal justice system was still failing to treat disabled people equally.
She said: “It was an audience of very highly-skilled professionals with a really good understanding of what’s happening on the ground.
“If they are so disappointed in the criminal justice system, it really shows that the system hasn’t changed.”
Quarmby said the conference also underlined the urgent need for research to discover what motivates offenders to target disabled people in hate crimes.
But she said she was encouraged that criminal justice agencies appeared to be much clearer that lower-level harassment of disabled people often develops into something much more serious, such as hate crime murders.
Stephen Brookes, coordinator of the National Disability Hate Crime Network, who chaired the conference, said he was encouraged that delegates had recognised the importance of taking such harassment seriously and “looking more systematically at this lower level of crime”.
News provided by John Pring
21 December, 2009
Office for Disability Issues
On International Day of Disabled People DisabledGo's Chief Executive Dr. Gregory Burke facilitated the Office for Disability Issues event on Equality 2025 held at the Emirates Stadium, London. The day examined progress towards the goal of equality for disabled people by 2025 and launched the ODI's Roadmap document.The event had many high profile speakers including Jonathan Shaw MP, Minister for Disabled People, Tessa Jowell MP, Minister for the Olympics and Tim Cooper, Director of the ODI. The day brought together disabled people and disability organisations to discuss key issues, examples of good practice and a plan for the future.
Jonathan Shaw, Minister for Disabled People spoke about the work undertaken in the last year, including the ratification of the UN Convention on the rights of disabled people and the introduced of the new Equality Bill that received its third reading in the House of Commons the night before the event. He reinforced Government's commitment to greater choice and control for disabled people and the five-year independent living strategy.
Employment opportunities were discussed with the Minister telling attendees about further money channeled into access to work and the Value Employment Now strategy, implemented to help reduce the still unacceptably large employment gap between people with learning disabilities and the population as a whole. He also spoke about plans for the Department of Work and Pensions to create opportunities for 400 people with learning disabilities to work within the Department, including the minister's office.
All speakers spoke about hate crime and the case of Fiona Pilkington. Jonathan Shaw MP said, 'one of the most depressing features of the events surrounding Fiona Pilkington's case was that she had no expectation that anyone could do anything about it. That is simply unacceptable.' The Minister described how hate crime needed to be tackled strategically and at the grassroots to bring about change.
Tessa Jowell MP highlighted that 3rd December 2009 marked 1,000 days until the Paralympics. There will be more than 4,000 athletes with 461 medals to win in 20 sporting disciplines over 11 days. When Britain won the right to host the Olympic and the Paralympic Games, the promise was to make London 25 everybody's games. For the whole country inspired, included and engaged in the most accessible and inclusive games in history, with the best ever facilities for disabled people. The Minister encouraged everyone to visit the Olympic site to see for themselves the
progress being made there.
Following ministerial speeches attendees discussed Roadmap 2025, for your copy and to feedback your views please follow this link:
http://www.officefordisability.gov.uk/research/annual-report.php#roadmap
21 December, 2009
Personal care bill will only help 20,000 more younger adults
The government's personal care at home bill will only provide free care to an extra 20,000 younger disabled adults, the government has admitted.Health secretary Andy Burnham revealed the figure during the second reading of the bill in the Commons.
The government had said its bill would provide free personal care at home for 280,000 disabled people with the highest needs.
But Burnham told MPs about 80,000 older people with the highest needs who would benefit already receive free care, although the bill would help 40,000 older people currently paying part of their costs and 50,000 who pay all their costs.
He said the bill would also help 20,000 younger disabled adults who pay all or part of their costs, while 90,000 already receive free care.
Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat shadow health secretary, said the total number of disabled people who would benefit was only 110,000.
He said councils might avoid these costs by forcing people into residential care or arguing that people do not have "critical" needs.
He added: "We are likely to see a bureaucratic and time-consuming process of social workers carrying out assessments to determine whether someone's needs are 'substantial' or 'critical'."
But Burnham said the bill would "end the lottery in home care" for those with "the highest needs" and "make the existing system fairer now and pave the way for a bigger reform of social care" after the general election.
He said the bill would provide a "bridge" towards a national care service that was "geared around promoting people's independence, good health and supporting them to stay at home".
He said Isle of Wight council reduced residential care placements by two-fifths after introducing free personal care at home.
Andrew Lansley, the Conservative shadow health secretary, questioned why the government was providing free care at home when its care and support green paper ruled out the option of taxpayer-funded free social care.
He said Scotland’s experience showed free personal care was "unaffordable", while the bill's estimated £670 million annual cost might rise even higher because people currently receiving informal care or paying for care privately might also want to benefit.
Lamb said the bill - which will also provide intensive "re-ablement" support for around 130,000 people who need home care for the first time – was inconsistent with the green paper, was "not joined up" and "helps one group, but not all".
He called for an immediate cross-party commission aimed at reaching a consensus over care funding.
News provided by John Pring
21 December, 2009
Guidance on assisted suicide law 'must be toughened'
New guidance aimed at clarifying the law on assisted suicide must make it clear that nearly everyone who helps a person to kill themselves will be prosecuted, according to leading disabled activists.Not Dead Yet UK (NDY UK) was responding to a public consultation on interim guidance published by the director of public prosecutions (DPP) in September.
The DPP laid out interim guidelines for England, Wales and Northern Ireland after the Law Lords backed Debbie Purdy's demand for the law to be clarified.
Purdy, who has multiple sclerosis, wanted to know in which circumstances her husband would be prosecuted if he helped her end her life at the Dignitas assisted suicide centre in Switzerland.
But NDY UK – whose members are disabled people campaigning against assisted suicide – says pro-euthanasia campaigners are trying to use Purdy's case to "change the law by the back door" by "creating the impression that those who assist in a suicide will be immune from prosecution".
NDY UK's views have been endorsed by a swathe of influential disabled people's organisations, including the United Kingdom's Disabled People's Council, RADAR and the National Centre for Independent Living.
Many disabled campaigners were angered by the interim guidance, which lists factors to be considered in deciding whether to prosecute.
It says a prosecution is less likely if the victim had a terminal illness, a "severe and incurable physical disability" or a "severe degenerative physical condition".
But NDY UK says in its response to the consultation that a presumption that anyone assisting in a suicide would be prosecuted would protect those who feel pressured to kill themselves and reassure them that society valued their lives.
It would also send a message to those working in palliative care and hospices that their work was valued and "put the brakes on a growing negative culture, which does not value the lives of all people equally".
And it would ensure the policy does not discriminate against disabled people, sending out "a very clear message that all people should be protected under the law, in the same way, with the same respect".
NDY UK says the DPP should only be able to decline to prosecute if the suspect only assisted after "protracted and persistent pressure from the victim".
NDY UK says this is the "only potentially acceptable factor against prosecution", although there should be evidence that the suspect resisted this pressure and sought help from professionals to try to avoid the suicide.
A final policy is expected in the spring.
News provided by John Pring
21 December, 2009
Government’s blood scandal response is a 'running sore'
A succession of peers have attacked the government for failing to implement the recommendations of an inquiry into the NHS contaminated blood scandal.They were speaking during the second reading of a private members' bill introduced in the Lords by the former disabled people's minister, Lord [Alf] Morris.
Nearly 5,000 people with haemophilia were exposed to hepatitis C, and more than 1,200 were also infected with HIV, following treatment with contaminated NHS blood and blood products in the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly 2,000 have died, with many more terminally ill.
Lord Morris's contaminated blood (support for infected and bereaved persons) bill would implement all of the recommendations of an independent public inquiry into the scandal, led by Lord Archer of Sandwell.
The bill would increase compensation; improve medical care and review the support available for those infected; and set up a new committee to advise on treatment.
Lord Morris said there was "anguish", "despair" and "anger" among people with haemophilia at the government's treatment of the inquiry report, while the bill would produce "priceless benefits in enabling haemophilia patients to live fuller and more fulfilling lives".
The government has refused to increase compensation payments for those infected with hepatitis C, although it will "review" the compensation scheme in 2014, while annual compensation for people infected with HIV will double to £12,800.
Lord Archer said the government's response to his inquiry did "not reverberate with a sense of urgency" and people with haemophilia believe "their concerns pass unnoticed and that their voices are not listened to".
Among a string of peers who criticised the government's response to the inquiry, the disabled peer Baroness Masham, a vice-president of the Haemophilia Society, said the treatment of those infected was "a running sore that will not heal until there is a satisfactory solution".
Baroness Thornton, responding for the government, said it was "fully committed" to supporting those affected by the "appalling tragedy".
The Department of Health meets twice a year with a partnership of people with haemophilia and professionals, and prescription charges for patients with long-term conditions in England were being phased out, she said.
Other services, such as counselling and physiotherapy, were already available under the NHS.
She added: "We have put our money where our mouth is. I also recognise that this is never enough."
But she claimed many of the bill's provisions were "either already in place, or are being put in place", so there was "no need" for legislation.
News provided by John Pring
18 December, 2009
Benefits increase now seems not quite so generous
Disabled people will receive an above-inflation increase in disability benefits in April, the chancellor has announced in his pre-budget report.But there were criticisms of the move later, when it emerged that the recipients will have to cope with a lower settlement in 2011 to make up for the 2010 increase.
The chancellor, Alistair Darling, said inflation-linked benefits were not due to rise in April 2010 because such payments will be linked to the September retail prices index (RPI), which was minus 1.4 per cent.
He said such a freeze would not have been fair and announced that child benefit and some disability benefits – including attendance allowance, disability living allowance and employment and support allowance – would increase by 1.5 per cent.
Incapacity benefit will rise by 1.8 per cent, slightly higher for technical reasons.
Pensions minister Angela Eagle said later: "Despite negative RPI, we don’t want the disabled, carers and other vulnerable groups to miss out on an increase this year.
"Rather than freezing these benefits we are providing support now to help them through the recession."
But a Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman admitted that the inflation-linked increase in 2011 would be reduced by 1.5 percentage points.
She said: "Essentially we decided to do it sooner rather than later. It is providing help to people now when they need it."
Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrat shadow work and pensions secretary, said: "Alistair Darling appears to have hoodwinked those listening to his pre-budget report about what this could mean for people with disabilities and families in the long run.
"This ruse will mean a real terms cut in benefits for children and people with disabilities in 2011 and all ministers must take responsibility for this."
Meanwhile, Darling's promise to protect the NHS budget from cuts raised concerns that this pledge could come at the price of cuts to social care spending.
Andrew Harrop‚ head of public policy at Age Concern and Help the Aged‚ said: "With huge public spending cuts now likely outside the NHS‚ schools and policing‚ people reliant on care services can only fear the worst."
He added: "Ministers have said that addressing the crisis in the care system is one of their top priorities‚ but the chancellor has failed to match this rhetoric with a commitment on funding."
News provided by John Pring
18 December, 2009
Battle begins again to bring best out of equality bill
Campaigners are preparing to continue the battle to strengthen disabled people's protection from discrimination in the equality bill.Although they have welcomed amendments made by the government earlier this month, as the bill completed its progress through the Commons, they say there is still room for major improvement.
The disability charity RADAR believes there are still at least four areas where the bill could provide "a step back" from the rights and protection offered by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), including protection for disabled immigrants.
There are also at least two gaps in existing laws that RADAR and other campaigners hope will be filled through new amendments to the bill during its passage through the Lords.
One improvement they are hoping to push is for disabled pupils to have the right to support through auxiliary aids and services, such as the provision of information in alternative formats.
Another is for an improvement to the definition of disability, so that most disabled people will not have to prove the impact of their impairment has lasted for at least a year to gain protection from discrimination.
RADAR has broadly welcomed a government amendment added earlier this month, which should solve problems caused by the controversial Lewisham v Malcolm House of Lords ruling in 2008.
RADAR has called the Malcolm ruling a "potentially fatal blow" to the concept of disability-related discrimination.
But RADAR said there were "lingering concerns" over another amendment the government made to the bill this month, this time on the issue of direct discrimination and whether disabled people can be treated more favourably than non-disabled people.
And a new government amendment that aims to stop employers using questionnaires that include health and disability-related questions to discriminate against job applicants with hidden impairments also received less than whole-hearted backing.
RADAR welcomed the "progress" on tackling the issue but said the new amendment fails to introduce a complete ban on the use of irrelevant health questions, instead allowing a disabled job applicant to use such questions as evidence of discrimination at a tribunal.
Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, said there was a "fair bit of work to do" to ensure there was "no element of regression from the DDA" when the equality bill becomes law.
But she said there "may also be an opportunity to make further gains" through the bill, which is due to receive its second reading in the Lords on 15 December.
News provided by John Pring
17 December, 2009
Government takes next step on path towards right to control
The government has announced which sources of funding will be included in pilot projects that aim to give disabled people more choice and control over their state support.Jonathan Shaw, the minister for disabled people, said the new right to control (RTC) scheme could have an impact on "every area of disabled people’s lives".
RTC will put money from different funding streams into single pots of money for disabled people to use as they wish, and is due to be tested in "around" eight English local authorities from late 2010.
Following pressure from campaigners such as Baroness [Jane] Campbell and the charity RADAR, and strong views expressed by disabled people in a public consultation on RTC, the government has decided to include adult community care services as one of the funding streams.
But the government has decided not to include disabled student's allowance, although this could be added later, and it will not include benefits such as disability living allowance, attendance allowance and employment and support allowance.
The other funding streams that will be included in the RTC pots will be: access to work; work choice, the new specialist disability employment programme; independent living funds; supporting people housing support; and disabled facilities grants.
Those disabled people taking part in the RTC pilots will have a legal right to be told how much support they are eligible for, and will then be able to choose and control how they receive and use this support.
Disabled people made it clear in the consultation that they and their organisations should be closely involved in implementing RTC.
And they said there must be "clear, consistent and accessible information" for disabled people in the RTC areas, as well as "joined-up support".
The government said applications from councils keen to take part in the RTC pilots would be judged partly on their plans for providing information, advice, support and advocacy.
News provided by John Pring
17 December, 2009
Campaigners call for 'radical' changes to mayor's plan for London
Deaf and disabled activists have called on London's mayor to make "radical improvements" to his strategy for developing the capital over the next 20 years.Mayor Boris Johnson is carrying out a full review of the London plan produced five years ago by his predecessor Ken Livingstone.
Inclusion London, the new organisation working for the city's Deaf and disabled people and their organisations, organised a conference of more than 60 campaigners at City Hall to discover their views on Johnson's draft replacement London plan.
The conference also heard from RADAR, Transport for All, the mayor's London plan team, and Jenny Jones, chair of the London Assembly's planning and housing committee.
Delegates called on the mayor to rethink his plans to lower targets for affordable homes and social housing, and said he should scrap his commitment to controversial "shared space" street design.
They also wanted him to ensure the implementation of proposals in the existing London Plan for lifetime homes standards in all new housing developments, for ten per cent of new housing to be wheelchair-accessible, and of its emphasis on inclusive environments, or "lifetime neighbourhoods".
They also called for "significant" improvements to the mayor's transport strategy, including a return to the original timetables for introducing step-free access to the capital's tube stations, after the mayor deferred work on a number of stations to cut costs.
And delegates expressed concern that the draft plan fails to refer to the social model of disability and lacks analysis of the specific barriers facing disabled Londoners.
Johnson has faced similar criticism of his equality framework, which Inclusion London says is also "lacking many specifics" and omits any mention of disability hate crime.
The draft plan is out for consultation until 12 January.
Inclusion London said it would include comments from the conference in its responses to the draft London plan and the mayor's transport strategy, and campaign for the needs of Deaf and disabled people to be "much higher up the political agenda in London".
Jones said the assembly's planning committee would make use of delegates' comments and wanted the social model to be "reasserted explicitly at the heart of these mayoral strategies".
Andrew Little, chief executive of Inclusion London, said he was "surprised" and "excited" by the level of energy shown at the conference – its first major event – by campaigners keen to fight for disabled people's rights.
He added: "To get so many people at our first event was really encouraging."
News provided by John Pring
16 December, 2009
Coalition lays down route out of poverty
A campaigning coalition is hoping that a new "disability manifesto" will help to end disability poverty by 2025.Tackling Disability Poverty, published by the disability poverty charity Disability Alliance and backed by 16 organisations, outlines 17 "routes out of poverty" that could help eradicate the "avoidable and unacceptable" poverty faced by disabled people.
Disability Alliance called on political parties to say how they would prioritise the 17 measures in time for next year's general election.
Vanessa Stanislas, chief executive of Disability Alliance, said: "Our evidence reveals the persistent poverty which blights disabled people's lives from childhood to older age.
"We need the main UK political parties to commit to ensuring 'efficiency savings' and other spending plans do not mean cuts to support for disabled people and their families."
The manifesto says research has found that disabled people are twice as likely to live in poverty than non-disabled people, while a third of working-age disabled adults live in poverty.
The manifesto says the first step should be the development of a new approach to measuring disability poverty.
Stanislas said existing evidence should be "collected in a way that presents the proper picture of disability poverty".
The manifesto also calls for campaigns to encourage benefit take-up, particularly targeting disabled older people and parents of children with a statement of special educational needs (SEN).
Many of the "routes out of poverty" would save the government money, according to the manifesto.
Among recommendations are a focus on tackling disabled 16-18-year-olds who are not in employment, education or training, and additional support to help disabled 18-25-year-olds find and retain work.
Supporting disabled children to gain skills and improving support to help disabled adults into work could save more than £40 billion, it says.
And tackling disability poverty could cut ill-health and avoidable NHS costs.
The manifesto also says there should be an end to care charges for all disabled people; a simpler benefits system; and a review of the impact of the new employment and support allowance.
At the manifesto's Commons launch, Terry Rooney MP, chair of the Commons work and pensions select committee, said the document was "ambitious", but added: "Do we really as a society want a situation where disabled people could grow up in poverty, spend their working age life in poverty and spend their retirement in poverty? Because that is what is being said at the moment."
News provided by John Pring
15 December, 2009
Council to use PFI to fund new centre for independent living
A London council is hoping to become the first local authority to use funding from the controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI) to set up a centre for independent living (CIL).The London borough of Barnet – seen as a flagship Conservative-run council – has applied for £11.2 million in PFI funding (or "PFI credits") from the Department of Health (DH).
If successful, it would use the credits to fund the building of a social care resource centre, which will house the new CIL.
The CIL would be led by disabled people and "host" services currently provided by the council-run Barnet Independent Living Service (BILS), including advice, support and information for disabled people.
The cost of building the centre has been estimated at £5.9 million, and if successful in its bid, the council would receive DH funding every year to lease the centre from the private sector companies that will build it.
The PFI credits would also help pay for ongoing maintenance and management of the building over the 25-year contract.
In its Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People report, the government said every area should have its own user-led CIL.
But this is believed to be the first time a council has tried to use the PFI to house a CIL, although Barnet has stressed that the PFI will only be used to fund the centre's design, building and maintenance, and not to run the CIL itself.
A Barnet council spokesman said the DH funding would allow the council to build a "state-of-the-art bespoke facility with minimal input from its own finances" and deliver the project quicker, so "realising a long-held ambition of the disabled community in Barnet to have a centre for independent living".
But there could still be controversy over the use of the PFI, as such projects can generate larger than normal profits for the private sector companies that provide the financing and assume the risk.
A DH spokeswoman said: "The key principle of PFI is that it transfers the risk of time and cost overruns to the private sector partner, whose entire capital investment is at risk if they do not deliver."
A decision by the DH on whether the Barnet bid has been successful is likely this spring.
Bernd Sass, policy and external relations manager for the National Centre for Independent Living, said: "As long as there is a building for a CIL to develop and flourish, that is what counts.
"It would be a very different response if it was about the financing of the service provision. We would not accept a gamble associated with a PFI when it came to service delivery."
News provided by John Pring
15 December, 2009
Mental health launch: new strategy 'will lead to lower prejudice'
The government's new mental health and employment strategy will help reduce discrimination and prejudice, according to the minister for disabled people.The first national mental health and employment strategy for England, Scotland and Wales aims to encourage employers to take on more people with mental health conditions.
Working our Way to Better Mental Health was one of four mental health reports launched by the government on 7 December.
As part of the strategy, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has set up a new network of Jobcentre Plus mental health coordinators, with one in every district, to improve links between health and employment services.
The access to work programme will be redesigned to offer more help to people with mental health conditions – a move backed by the Employers' Forum on Disability (EFD).
The DWP is also working on a training programme to raise GPs' awareness of the positive links between health and work.
And nine new pilot schemes – including one in Wales and one in Scotland – will offer occupational health telephone advice lines to help small businesses keep staff with ill-health in their jobs.
EFD welcomed the advice lines but said the providers would need "an understanding of the workplace and what adjustments are available".
Jonathan Shaw, minister for disabled people, said providing the right support to employers and employees would ensure a "critical mass" of people with mental health conditions in work.
This would "demonstrate the pool of talent", leading to "less prejudice" and more confident employers.
Although he did not rule out taking action under the Disability Discrimination Act against local authorities and health trusts that fail to act on employment and mental health, he said: "Before we start threatening legal action, we need to give them the opportunity to use the tools we are offering."
Shaw also said the government was considering results from an internal review of the work capability assessment, the test for new claimants of out-of-work disability benefits.
The new test has been criticised for its inflexibility, amid concerns that it is failing those with mental health and other fluctuating conditions.
Shaw said: "I am certainly alert to the fact that there have been criticisms around fluctuating conditions.
"We want to ensure the assessment process is doing what we wanted it to do."
The government also published Work, Recovery and Inclusion, which describes its plans for a "radical increase" in the number of people with the most severe mental health conditions in work by 2025.
News provided by John Pring
14 December, 2009
Mental health launch: intensive support will boost numbers in work
Prejudice, low expectations and a lack of support are denying people with mental health conditions the chance to work, according to a major new review.Realising Ambitions – commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) – says more than a million people with mental health conditions are claiming welfare benefits, with probably twice as many out-of-work.
It was one of four reports around mental health launched by the government on 7 December.
The review, led by Dr Rachel Perkins, a mental health service-user and a director at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, examines what can be done – outside the benefits system – to help people with mental health conditions into work.
The report calls for intensive, specialised support, based on the individual placement and support (IPS) approach Perkins has pioneered in the UK, in which people are helped to get a job and there is long-term support for both employers and employees.
Perkins said there should be "quite significant" changes to the access to work (ATW) scheme, so people can discover their eligibility before applying for a job, and employees and employer can call on support when needed.
Currently, less than one per cent of ATW claimants have a mental health condition.
The review also says small businesses should be able to use ATW to fund temporary cover if an employee is on long-term sick leave for an impairment-related reason.
And it recommends further changes to the "permitted work" rules, which allow people to work part-time while still receiving benefits so as to ease their path towards full-time work.
The government already allows those on employment and support allowance or incapacity benefit to earn £93 a week for up to a year without their benefits being affected.
But the review says this should be extended to all who could benefit, including many people with mental health conditions on income support or jobseeker's allowance.
Perkins said she was also "very concerned" at the lack of connection between employment services and health and social services.
Other recommendations include: more focus in the welfare-to-work system on assisting people with mental health conditions, and regular monitoring of their job status by health, social services and the DWP; employment specialists to be "embedded" in all mental health and social services teams; and Jobcentre Plus to arrange internships to ease people's transition from benefits to paid work.
The review concludes that the government and public sector have often "lagged behind" the private sector in providing jobs for those with mental health conditions.
Perkins said she was "really pleased" that the government had appeared to accept the ATW recommendations, but hoped it would go further on permitted work.
Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, said the review, if implemented in full, would "make the right to work real for hundreds of thousands of talented people", ending injustice and reaping "huge dividends for our economy".
A Department of Health spokeswoman said it knew that IPS can be "effective and cost-effective" and the review had formed a "blueprint" for local areas to put it into practice.
News provided by John Pring
14 December, 2009
Mental health launch: strategy 'will replace prejudice with opportunity'
The government has launched a new "over-arching" mental health strategy for England, with the twin aims of providing better services and improving the nation's mental health.The cross-government New Horizons strategy was launched alongside three linked publications around mental health and employment.
New Horizons promises that services for people with mental ill health will be "safe, accessible and personal" while "opportunity...will replace prejudice".
But it warns that all plans arising from New Horizons would be "subject to a review of affordability".
The strategy includes 120 cross-government actions, with measures to improve services for younger people and the transition to adult services, boost personalisation, and improve the physical healthcare of people with mental health conditions and the mental health of those in the armed forces and service veterans.
There will also be a "refreshed" strategy on suicide prevention.
A section of the strategy is devoted to tackling stigma, including a planned "summit" meeting of ministers to discuss cross-government action, and funding for a website that will allow the public to praise or complain to journalists writing about mental health.
Health secretary Andy Burnham described the strategy as "a bold statement of intent" and a "radical new approach" which "lays the foundation for further action" after a decade of record investment in mental health services.
And the prime minister, Gordon Brown, said the strategy combined "service improvement with a new partnership of central and local government, the third sector and the professions".
Paul Jenkins, chief executive of the charity Rethink, said New Horizons could "revolutionise" services and the lives of people with severe mental health conditions, but warned that mental health budgets were vulnerable to cuts in a recession and called for government funding guarantees.
Mind said New Horizons had "broken new ground" and was "a turning point that no new government can turn back from", but that its aim to "improve everyone's wellbeing" should not draw attention from the poor services and lack of support in many areas.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said investment in adult mental health services had increased in real terms by 50 per cent, or £2 billion, since 2001-02, and "we cannot depend on that scale of extra investment being repeated".
But she said the strategy demonstrates "how we can make enormous progress" through prevention, earlier intervention, innovation, collaboration and improved productivity.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Shaw, the minister for disabled people, has given the strongest sign yet that the government will act to remove a law that says MPs sectioned for at least six months must lose their seats.
He said: "It is an anachronism and it needs to be dumped. We need to find the right legislation to attach it to. I am sure that that is what we will do."
News provided by John Pring
11 December, 2009
Sports bodies launch last hunt for athletes with Paralympic X factor
Three major UK sports bodies have launched one final search for disabled potential medal-winners, with just 1,000 days to go until the start of the London 2012 Paralympics.Talent2012: Paralympic Potential is a nationwide talent drive being run by ParalympicsGB, UK Sport and The English Institute of Sport.
Their message, as they launched the scheme on 3 December – the International Day of Disabled People – was that there was still time for athletes currently outside the elite training programmes to win medals in 2012.
They said such a campaign – less than three years from the start of the Games – was "unprecedented".
And they said that, although it can take athletes up to eight years to reach an Olympics, research has shown that potential participants for a Paralympic Games can reach elite level far quicker.
At the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, a third of British medallists had been part of an elite sporting programme for less than two years, with 15 of the 42 British gold medals won by first-time Paralympians.
Phil Lane, ParalympicsGB's chief executive, said: "Whilst we have come second in the medal table at the past four Games, there are many events that we simply haven't been able to field an athlete in.
"With the competition getting tougher all the time it is vital that we have explored all avenues to recruit new athletes."
Dave Smith, who only began training 12 months ago after switching from the GB bobsleigh team, has already become a world champion in adaptive rowing.
He joined a ParalympicsGB initiative on the advice of a coach and was spotted by rowing coaches.
He now hopes to compete for Britain in London in 2012, and said: "I think my story demonstrates that with the right coaching and determination anything is possible.
"I hope other athletes in a similar position to me will grab their 2012 opportunity."
The campaign is open to athletes aged between 15 and 35. To register your interest, visit www.uksport.gov.uk/talent before 11 January 2010.
News provided by John Pring
11 December, 2009
Jobs measure in bill could help stop discrimination by employers
A new measure in the equality bill should provide greater protection from discrimination for disabled people looking for jobs.The government amendment to the bill aims to tackle the problem of employers who use questionnaires that include health and disability-related questions to discriminate against job applicants with hidden impairments.
It was added to the bill – which will streamline existing equality laws and introduce new measures around disability discrimination – as it completed its progress through the Commons.
Vera Baird, the solicitor general, told the Commons that MPs had heard "compelling evidence" from disability organisations that many disabled people were having job applications rejected once employers became aware of their impairments.
Pre-employment inquiries can also deter some disabled people from applying for jobs, she said.
RADAR told MPs at an earlier stage of the bill's progress that restricting the use of pre-employment inquiries was "probably the single biggest difference and improvement that could be made through the equality bill in relation to the employment of disabled people".
Baird said the new amendment would deter employers from asking health and disability-related questions and then using the information "for discriminatory purposes".
There are some situations where employers will be able to ask such questions before they short-list a candidate after a job interview, such as to allow them to make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process.
But there have been concerns over the way the amendment has been phrased, with some campaigners apparently saying it is too complicated.
The Conservative MP John Penrose told the Commons that both Rethink and the Terrence Higgins Trust had expressed concerns, although he said parliament was "making steady progress in the right direction".
The government also introduced two other amendments to the bill that aim to tighten up protection from disability discrimination.
One amendment aims to make it clear that disabled people can legally be treated more favourably in order to address the barriers they face.
Another aims to clarify how disabled people are protected from being discriminated against because of issues arising from their impairment.
It is so far unclear how disabled people's organisations will react to these two amendments.
News provided by John Pring
10 December, 2009
Independent living strategy is probably on course, say experts
The government's five-year independent living strategy is probably "on course", according to the first report of a committee set up to scrutinise its progress.The independent living scrutiny group (ILSG), chaired by Baroness [Jane] Campbell and only set up in June, concluded that it was too early to draw "meaningful conclusions" about progress as they were still awaiting much of the relevant data.
But she said that "overall...we are satisfied that, at this early stage, progress on the ILS can be considered to be on course".
And she pointed to "signs of positive developments" since the cross-government strategy was launched in March 2008.
These include employment rates for disabled people rising from 47.8 per cent in 2007 to 48.5 per cent in 2009.
The report also welcomes participation rates in informal volunteering rising from 33 per cent in 2007/08 to 36 per cent in 2008/09, and the percentage of buses with low floor wheelchair access increasing regularly since 2001/02.
But Baroness Campbell says in the report that the group – whose members include some of the country’s leading disabled experts on independent living – were "concerned" that 23 per cent of disabled people say they do not frequently have choice and control over their lives.
She said the committee would be "looking for a significant reduction in this figure in the coming years".
News provided by John Pring
10 December, 2009
Goal of equality by 2025 is closer, says government
The minister for disabled people has said the government is "moving closer" to its target of achieving equality for disabled people by 2025.The comment from Jonathan Shaw MP came as the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) published its annual report on the government's progress towards its goal of equality by 2025.
The report says the government has made "significant progress" during 2009 and now has a "clear map for the road ahead".
In Roadmap 2025, published alongside the annual report, the ODI lays out a series of measures taken by the government since its Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People report in 2005 set out the vision of equality by 2025.
The Roadmap says the employment rate of disabled people increased from 44.5 per cent in 2005 to 48.4 per cent in 2008.
It also points to the government's independent living strategy, co-produced with disabled people, and its transforming adult social care strategy, which aims to give people more choice and control over services.
And it says it is investing £370 million in improving access to train stations between 2006 and 2015.
The Roadmap also points to the Aiming High for Disabled Children strategy, which aims to improve services for disabled children and their families.
The Roadmap also lays out the latest steps the government is taking to achieve equality, including spending £370 million to support short breaks for families with disabled children; its new equality bill; its hate crime action plan, published in September; and its pledge to double the access to work budget by 2013.
It also says that hosting a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2012 will promote inclusion, positive attitudes and the active participation of disabled people.
The Roadmap also highlights the reform of the blue badge parking system for disabled motorists.
But, more controversially, it says that beginning the transfer of disabled people on incapacity benefit to the new employment and support allowance (ESA) from next year – with "increased work-related support" – will also help achieve equality.
Campaigners have repeatedly warned that only a small proportion of those applying for ESA – currently only available to new claimants – are "passing" the strict new test.
They have raised concerns that too many disabled people are not accessing ESA and are ending up on jobseeker's allowance, where they do not get tailored support and receive a lower level of benefit.
News provided by John Pring
10 December, 2009
CQC finds improvements in care, but concerns remain
The care regulator has welcomed improvements in the quality of adult social care, but has raised a number of concerns about areas such as personalisation and eligibility for services.In its first report on adult social care since its launch in April as the regulator for adult social care and health services in England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found 140 of 148 councils (95 per cent) were performing well or excellently in commissioning adult social care.
The report says 27 councils have improved since last year, while a11 have deteriorated.
And for the sixth year running, no councils have been assessed as performing poorly overall.
But the number of councils performing excellently at increasing choice and control for adults using social care fell to 26 (from 32 in 2008), with nearly a quarter only performing adequately.
Although the CQC said this may partly be because its assessment in this area had "sharpened up", it highlighted this as a "priority" for improvement.
The CQC also said that nearly two in five councils needed improvement to increase the number of adults using self-directed support and individual budgets.
And about a third of councils are only performing adequately in maintaining the dignity and respect of service-users, about the same level as last year.
Three councils restrict eligibility for care-managed services to those with "critical" needs, while 103 set their threshold at "substantial" needs, 39 at moderate and three low. Three have raised their criteria and three have lowered them since 2008.
The CQC said it was "encouraged" that eligibility thresholds remained "largely unchanged" since last year, despite the recession, but it said it was still "concerned" that some councils could have to raise eligibility criteria further as public spending is squeezed in future years.
The quality of care homes and domiciliary services has also improved – over the year, the proportion of services rated as good or excellent increased from just over two-thirds (69 per cent) to just over three-quarters (77 per cent).
The CQC highlighted eight councils where improvements in adult social care were a priority, with a further 16 selected for in-depth inspections.
Cynthia Bower, the CQC’s chief executive, welcomed the "steady improvements" but said she was concerned that many care homes and agencies "have more to do to deliver the quality of care expected of them".
She added: "There are also serious issues for councils to address in areas such as giving people more control over their care, treating people with dignity, and ensuring commissioning is as effective as possible."
News provided by John Pring
9 December, 2009
Equality watchdog to launch inquiry into violence and harassment
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has announced a major inquiry that aims to discover the true extent of the harassment and violence experienced by disabled people in England and Wales.The commission announced in April that it would review how public bodies – such as local authorities and social landlords – were meeting their duties under the Disability Discrimination Act to take action to address violence and hostility targeted at disabled people.
But it has become so concerned by evidence it has heard since then of incidents of violence and harassment across the country that it has decided to hold a formal inquiry.
After the inquiry ends, the EHRC could decide to take legal action to force public authorities to comply with their duties.
The commission has pledged to put disabled people and their organisations at the heart of the inquiry, and there are likely to be public sessions around the country at which they can give evidence.
Neil Crowther, the EHRC's disability programme director, said: "At its heart there needs to be a very strong involvement of disabled people and public authorities in a conversation about what needs to change."
And he said there would probably be parts of the country where disabled people were at greater risk of harassment and violence than others.
Disabled anti-hate crime campaigners have welcomed the inquiry.
Anne Novis, who leads on hate crime issues for the United Kingdom's Disabled People's Council, said it was long overdue, and hoped the EHRC would work closely with disabled people and their organisations, which have been raising concerns around hate crime for "many years".
And Stephen Brookes, coordinator of the National Disability Hate Crime Network, said the inquiry was a "good first step" in tackling the problem.
The inquiry's results are likely to feed into a major EHRC report, due in 2011, in which it will analyse the UK government's progress on implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The announcement follows a string of high-profile cases of targeted violence and harassment against disabled people, including the death of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter Francecca following a sustained hate campaign by a local gang.
Mike Smith, the EHRC's new disabled commissioner, said: "There have been many well-documented cases where targeted hostility, bullying and antisocial behaviour has escalated into more serious violence, murder or the death of disabled people."
He said the Pilkington tragedy showed the importance of early intervention and preventative action, and warned that disabled people experiencing harassment can become "conditioned to hostile treatment", are told to ignore it, or go to "enormous lengths" to avoid putting themselves at risk.
Draft terms of reference are expected early in the new year, with the inquiry likely to begin in early February and report within a year.
News provided by John Pring
9 December, 2009
Business award provides extras reward for Pickup
An amputee whose company provides extras to the film and television industry has won an annual award for disabled entrepreneurs – and a cheque for £50,000.John Pickup began Amputees in Action in 2004, and has supplied amputee extras – often for action scenes - to Hollywood movies such as Atonement and 28 Weeks Later, as well as to television productions and "casualty simulations".
Pickup has now won the 2009 Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs, an award programme run by Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD) in partnership with easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou.
Pickup said the prize would help his company invest in a project to develop a recognised qualification system that would allow amputees to perform film stunts as well as working as extras.
He said: "I believe that a positive approach is the way to overcome the fear, prejudice and misconception that often stand in the way of disabled people."
Sir Stelios, who funds the award and will arrange business mentoring for Pickup and two runners-up, said it was vital to remove the barriers disabled people face in business.
But he added: "Self-employment is a more viable option for many disabled people as it offers flexibility and helps bypass much of the prejudice that unfortunately still exists amongst employers."
Sophie Down, LCD's corporate partnerships officer, said: "Our partnership with Sir Stelios is helping the charity highlight the barriers disabled people face in the workplace and recognise the outstanding achievement of disabled entrepreneurs."
8 December, 2009
Civil Service seeks disabled students for internship scheme
The Civil Service is seeking talented disabled students for a summer internship scheme that will provide new skills and work experience at the heart of government.Although the 2010 Fast Stream summer placement scheme does not offer permanent jobs, it is seen as a stepping stone for those seeking a career in the Civil Service.
Successful interns will work in a government department on tasks such as research, helping to prepare policy documents, shadowing senior civil servants, and attending meetings with senior advisors.
Placements last up to nine weeks, and usually start in late June, with interns given a training allowance of £350 per week if based in London or £300 if outside London.
The skills and experience gained could lead to a career in the Civil Service and possible entry to the Fast Stream graduate programme, aimed at those with the potential to become senior civil servants.
The disability charity Scope is helping the Cabinet Office on the scheme, helping to recruit disabled people, providing support for disabled interns, and offering advice on reasonable adjustments and disability equality training for line managers.
Rhonda Calder, head of Fast Stream marketing and outreach diversity at the Cabinet Office, said: "Organisations that seek to include talent from as wide a range of people as possible ultimately benefit in the long term.
"This scheme will help these students make their first step on the career ladder and gain the skills and experience that could potentially lead to a career in the Civil Service."
Applicants must be in the final or penultimate year of their degree, considered disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act, and expect to gain at least a 2:2 degree.
The closing date for applications is 4 January 2010. For further information, visit: www.civilservice.gov.uk/summerdiversity.
News provided by John Pring
8 December, 2009
Home secretary attacked by MPs over McKinnon extradition
MPs and campaigners have attacked the home secretary's latest refusal to halt the extradition of disabled computer hacker Gary McKinnon to the United States.Alan Johnson MP had been considering new evidence relating to McKinnon's mental health, which suggested that he was highly likely to try to kill himself if extradited.
McKinnon's lawyers have now been given until 10 December to lodge papers seeking a judicial review of Johnson’s decision. If that fails, they could also appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
McKinnon, from north London, who has Asperger's syndrome, faces a trial for allegedly hacking into US defense department computer systems, and a possible prison sentence of 60 years if convicted.
During an emergency debate in the Commons, McKinnon's MP, David Burrowes, accused Johnson and the government of being "spineless" and said the new medical evidence showed that "suicide is now a real probability and will be an almost certain inevitability should he experience extradition".
He said: "Putting it more bluntly, how ill and vulnerable does Gary McKinnon need to be not to be extradited to the United States?"
A string of other MPs from across the political spectrum attacked the home secretary's failure to halt the extradition.
But Johnson told MPs he had "looked at every single word submitted by Gary McKinnon's lawyers on the evidence of his medical condition" and his decision was that extraditing McKinnon would not breach his rights under the European Convention of Human Rights.
He added: "There are legitimate concerns about Mr McKinnon's health, and the United States authorities have provided assurances, which were before the high court in July, that his needs will be met."
And he said it was "clear" there was "no real risk" that McKinnon would serve any of his sentence in a "supermax" prison, if convicted.
He added: "Should Mr McKinnon be extradited, charged and convicted in the US and seek repatriation to the UK to serve his sentence in this country, the government will progress his application at the very earliest opportunity."
The Royal Association for Disability Rights (RADAR) condemned the home secretary's decision and said many disabled people had expressed their "outrage" at a decision that "flies in the face of justice and human rights".
The National Autistic Society, which has provided emergency care for McKinnon – detailed in the new evidence – said it was "bitterly disappointed" by the home secretary's decision.
News provided by John Pring
7 December, 2009
HIV stigma 'still a significant challenge'
More than a fifth of people living with HIV in the UK have been verbally assaulted, threatened or harassed in the last year because of their HIV status, according to a new report.And more than ten per cent of those questioned in a survey for the report said they had been physically harassed because of their HIV status.
The report, Give Stigma the Index Finger!, is based on research developed by people living with HIV and was funded by the M.A.C AIDS Fund, and is part of an international initiative, The People Living with HIV Stigma Index.
The new research found that about one in six of the 867 people questioned had been denied health services because of their HIV status at least once in the previous year.
And about the same number said they were convinced their medical records were not being kept confidential.
But the research also found that people living with HIV were leading efforts to overcome stigma.
Nearly half those questioned had personally confronted, challenged or educated people who were stigmatizing them, while 84 per cent had supported other people living with HIV.
The report concludes that stigma remains a "significant challenge" in the UK, and affects access to health, legal, care and support services and the self-esteem and quality of life of people living with HIV.
Health secretary Andy Burnham welcomed the report and said the government would "carefully consider" its findings.
He said the government had worked with voluntary organisations and funded schemes to tackle stigma as part of its national strategy for sexual health and HIV.
He said: "Effective treatments have transformed the lives of people with HIV and today many more people with HIV can plan for their future with more certainty.
"But even in the UK, individuals and families affected by HIV can experience stigma and discrimination."
The People Living with HIV Stigma Index – which had initial start-up funding from the UK's Department for International Development – is part of a global initiative between the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the UN's HIV/AIDS programme and two international networks of people living with HIV, the Global Network of People living with HIV/AIDS and the International Community of Women with HIV/AIDS.
News provided by John Pring
7 December, 2009
DPOs recognised in awards ceremony
Two disabled activists have won prestigious awards that recognise their work with pioneering disabled people's organisations.Mike Adams, chief executive of Essex Coalition of Disabled People (ECDP), said he was "honoured" to win RADAR’s person of the year award.
Adams has helped create a "beacon" user-led organisation that empowers disabled people to influence local services.
ECDP also provides high quality services to disabled people across Essex, and increasingly influences policy, both locally and nationally.
Since he took the post in 2007, Adams has overseen an increase in ECDP's funding by 53 per cent, staffing by over 25 per cent and membership from 80 to nearly 1,500.
He said: "Our challenge is to make it the business of disabled people and disabled people's organisations everywhere to lead the change required to enhance the everyday lives of disabled people in Essex and beyond."
RADAR's lifetime achievement award was won by Julie Jaye Charles, who has built up Equalities National Council (ENC), a national movement for black and minority ethnic (BME) disabled people and carers, since founding it in 2000.
Charles has helped develop advocacy, promote the take-up of direct payments in BME communities and helped tackle race discrimination in mental health services.
She said she was "still in shock" and "very humbled" by the award and hoped it would push the needs of BME disabled people higher up the agenda.
She said: "My pride comes from the amount of service-users that actually want to be part of ENC, who continue to knock on our door, just to be part of something that recognises their needs."
The disabled young person of the year award was won by Riam Dean, who triumphed in a high-profile discrimination case after taking on the might of the American clothing giant Abercrombie & Fitch.
Other winners at the annual People of the Year Awards included the Association of Disabled Professionals, which won the careers award for its work in providing advice, peer support and networking opportunities for disabled people in professional and managerial positions.
And the efforts of a group of people with learning difficulties to encourage other disabled people to register to vote for the first time was recognised with RADAR's access award.
Members of Promote the Vote, run by Cambridgeshire-based Speaking Up, have led 50 workshops explaining to other people with learning difficulties why they should vote, and have set up an accessible website to spread the message.
News provided by John Pring
7 December, 2009
Call for action on adult communication
A disability charity has called on the government to carry out a national audit to find out how many disabled adults in the UK have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).Scope also wants the National Audit Office to discover what services are available, and how many adults are not receiving the support they need.
The recommendations are included in the final report from Scope's No Voice, No Choice campaign, which says that everyone who can benefit from augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) – such as high-tech communication aids, sign systems and symbols – should receive the equipment and support they need to communicate.
The charity says "radical" improvements are needed to services providing communication-related equipment and support, and has called for a network of regional centres of AAC expertise to support local services.
The report criticises the "fragmented approach" to provision of AAC services and the "lack of specialist expertise", and calls for a guarantee of lifelong provision and ongoing support for those who use AAC, as well as improvements to the AAC workforce.
Labour MP Roger Berry has tabled a Commons early day motion backing calls for an audit.
In 2007, Scope estimated that as many as 600,000 people in the UK could benefit from AAC, but it believes the real level of need could be much higher.
The campaign has secured a government commitment to improving services for children with communication impairments, but it wants this extended to adults.
Martin Pistorius spent 14 years unable to communicate before he met someone who introduced him to AAC.
He said: "I had no real way to communicate and even when I did make attempts to communicate, nobody understood me.
“In fact, they didn't even see it as an attempt to communicate.”
He can now communicate by using an infra-red head-mouse, an alphabet board and hand signs.
Ruth Scott, Scope's director of policy and campaigns, said: "The government has made good progress on improved communication-based support for children.
"It now needs to turn its attention to tackling the woeful situation for adults with communication impairments.
"Without knowing the true picture of how many disabled adults have communication needs, little can be done to ensure they are provided with the right support."
The Department of Health was unable to comment.
News provided by John Pring
1 December, 2009
DisabledGo has changed!
Over the past two years disabled people have been letting us know how we can improve our website and what new services we can provide. The result has been an 8 month redevelopment project to implement those suggestions by our web team, the ever patient and positive Dave and Kev.You can now post your views, ideas and event adverts on our newly launched forum. You can become a fan of us on Facebook and you can keep track of new developments and upcoming events on Twitter.
The new website gives you lots of different ways to search for information including a clickable map and a quick search box where you can search for a particular venue or a type of venue within a set distance of a town or postcode. It is a great way to find information quickly.
Another new feature is our news section which will update each week with interesting stories. If you would like to submit an article please get in touch.
There will be more features on the way soon so why not add us to your favourites or make us your homepage to keep in touch.
A huge thank you to everyone who has given us their ideas and helped us improve.
30 November, 2009
Unique Access Guide set to launch
DisabledGo, the UK's foremost provider of disabled access information, has produced a unique new online guide to local healthcare services in Nottingham. The aim of the guide is to provide detailed, accurate information so people can find out more about the access they will find when they come to visit healthcare services. Put together thanks to sponsorship from Nottingham University Hospitals Trust, the DisabledGo guide covers all patient services within Nottingham University Hospitals, Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital. By logging on to www.disabledgo.com people can check where their consultation room is in relation to the main entrance, how far the car park is from the entrance, whether there are lifts to access other floors, whether a hearing loop is fitted at reception, the type of announcements in waiting areas, whether information is available in alternative formats and in-depth information about adapted toilets.
The availability of the online access guide will help increase patient choice, improve the clinical experience for patients, reduce agitation and distress, lower missed appointments by removing uncertainty and increase staff awareness of disability.Giles Matsell, Head of Equality and Diversity, Nottingham University Hospitals said "Our vision is to be the best acute teaching Trust in the country by 2016 and therefore accessibility of our services and facilities to all of our patients, carers and visitors is essential. We are extremely pleased to launch our DisabledGo website which will enable people to make informed decisions as to how best access our services according to their individual requirements. We will update the pages as we make continuous improvements to disability access."
The DisabledGo –Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust guide will be available to use from Monday 30th November on www.disabledgo.com.
If you would like more information on the guide please contact Samantha Flaxman, Partnership Manager, DisabledGo, sam.flaxman@disabledgo.com T: 01438 842710
26 November, 2009
Personal care bill 'will squeeze services'
Government proposals to offer free personal care at home to disabled people with the highest needs will probably lead to a squeeze on services for those with lower needs, say campaigners.Deep concerns emerged after the government published its new personal care at home bill, which would provide free care for the estimated 280,000 disabled people in England with "critical" needs.
But £250 million of the estimated £670 million a year costs of the bill - which will also provide intensive "re-ablement" support for around 130,000 people who need home care for the first time – are intended to come from local government "efficiency savings".
But both the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services have raised doubts over whether these savings are achievable.
Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of the disability charity RADAR, said the assumption that councils would "do the right thing" and could make the necessary efficiency savings was "a joke".
She said: "They will take the money from somewhere else and the somewhere else as likely as not will be other disabled people who are not on the critical list."
She said she was already deeply concerned about the number of disabled people who were having their care packages "slashed" by councils, putting the jobs of many working age people at risk.
Neil Coyle, director of policy for Disability Alliance, the disability poverty charity, said he welcomed any bill that provides free care for disabled people.
But he said that if local government did not receive the necessary funding from central government, councils might start reassessing disabled people with critical needs as having "substantial" needs – the next level down – and so not eligible for free care.
Councils might also increase care charges, and cut services such as welfare rights advice.
Coyle said: "Our worry is that some disabled people will be significantly adversely affected by this policy when it should be extremely positive."
The bill comes, he said, after the government ruled out free personal care for all disabled people – funded by taxation – in July’s care and support green paper, despite public backing for such a policy.
Meanwhile, Lord [Jack] Ashley has introduced his own health and social care (independent living) bill in the Lords.
His bill – backed by a number of disabled people’s organisations, including RADAR – would provide a legal right to independent living, clear rights to independent advocacy, and enforceable entitlements to enough care and support to enable disabled people to live in dignity and contribute widely to society.
News provided by John Pring
26 November, 2009
Mystery over appointment of equality watchdog commissioners
The government has been unable to explain why it has performed a U-turn on cutting the number of commissioners appointed to the board of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).Last week, the Government Equalities Office (GEO) announced the names of eight new commissioners, and two reappointed commissioners.
They will join five other EHRC board members who did not have to seek re-appointment, including the chair, Trevor Phillips.
But in July, the GEO said the number of commissioners would be cut from 15 to a maximum of 10 to "reflect a more streamlined and cost-effective board focused on delivering the equality bill".
This week, a GEO spokesman insisted the U-turn was due to the "strong and impressive" field of more than 600 applicants.
He said: "In the summer we said that the board would be restructured with a new focus on delivery, and to ensure the commission has the right mix of skills for the next phase.
"Our priority was to ensure the recruitment of the best possible field of commissioners, bearing in mind our stated need for the board to be more tightly focused on delivery, with the right mix of skills, covering all the equality strands and more business expertise."
But he said the strength of applicants allowed the GEO to appoint a "very strong board" who would "join the existing commissioners to create a stronger team to take forward the EHRC and help put the flesh on the bones of the equality bill".
Meanwhile, the EHRC has announced the names of 61 community and voluntary organisations that will receive nearly £10 million in grants, as part of its strategic funding programme.
Several disabled people's organisations secured large grants to develop advice, guidance and advocacy services.
They include Breakthrough UK, which secured £140,000; Darlington Association on Disability, which will receive £210,000; £150,000 for Disability Action Waltham Forest; and £300,000 for Disability Hackney.
Other recipients include Glasgow Disability Alliance, which secured £225,565 to develop the "next generation of disabled leaders", in conjunction with Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living; and Living Options Devon, which has been given £351,306 to test a new, Deaf-led, rural advocacy, information and peer support service.
News provided by John Pring
26 November, 2009
Amendment to bill 'could lead to more disabled MPs'
Political parties should be required by law to publish information on how many disabled people – and other under-represented groups – are selected to fight parliamentary seats, according to a Commons committee.The recommendation came in an interim report by the historic Speaker's Conference, which aims to find ways to increase the number of disabled, female and minority ethnic MPs.
The conference will introduce an amendment to the government's equality bill which would force registered political parties to report every six months on the diversity of their candidate selection process, and publish the reports online.
The report says such a move "may help, over time, to secure a House of Commons which is more effective, more representative of our society and in which the public feels better able to place its confidence".
Disabled people, women and those from minority ethnic groups who put themselves forward for selection as a parliamentary candidate are less likely to be selected than white men, and less likely to be selected for a seat the party thinks it can win, according to the report.
The disabled MP Anne Begg, the vice-chair of the conference, said: "Unless the performance of the different parties can be compared with each other, or with the performance of parties throughout the world, there is likely to be insufficient pressure for the political parties to pursue the cultural change which is needed from them before we can have a House of Commons fit for the 21st century."
The interim report follows evidence to the conference given by the leaders of the three main political parties in which they each admitted they needed to improve the diversity of representation within their parties.
They also agreed in principle to publish future reports on the results of candidate selections.
A Government Equalities Office spokeswoman said they were "carefully considering the content of the report".
The equality bill is due to begin its Commons report stage on 2 December.
News provided by John Pring
25 November, 2009
EastEnders scoops mental health media award
The TV soap EastEnders has been recognised at an annual awards ceremony for its commitment to tackling mental health storylines realistically and sensitively.The award was one of six won by the BBC in the Mind Mental Health Media Awards, which mark the best radio and TV treatments of mental distress over the year.
The Making a Difference award was collected by EastEnders actors Gillian Wright and Lacey Turner, who play mother and daughter Jean Slater and Stacy Branning, who both have bipolar disorder.
Following the episode earlier this year when Stacy's condition was revealed, nearly 7,000 people in five days visited a website set up to provide information about bipolar disorder.
EastEnders scriptwriters had interviewed members of the user-led charity MDF The Bipolar Organisation, and scripts were approved and revised by MDF patron Neil Tinning.
The BBC also picked up the award for best radio drama, for Radio 4's Do's and Don'ts for the Mentally Interesting, based on a blog about her life and condition by Seaneen Molloy, who has bipolar disorder.
Another award was collected for the BBC Two documentary Cracking Up, in which former Downing Street communications director Alastair Campbell reflected on his own mental health experiences.
And Tom Perry, Alastair Rolfe and Mark Payge, who were contributors to the Channel 4 documentary Chosen, won the Speaking Out award for talking about the impact of being abused as children at an English prep school.
Paul Farmer, Mind's chief executive, said: "The quality of entries has been incredibly high this year and demonstrates that positive and authentic portrayals of mental health are compatible with the kind of original, creative and groundbreaking programming we have seen this evening."
News provided by John Pring
25 November, 2009
MPs and peers highlight discrimination faced by disabled children
A report by an influential group of MPs and peers has highlighted some of the discrimination experienced by disabled children in the UK.The report on children's rights by the joint committee on human rights includes evidence of discriminatory attitudes towards disabled children by medical professionals and the "high incidence" of "bullying" of children with learning difficulties.
The committee was also told of disabled children whose chances of having children themselves when they were older was damaged by non-essential medical treatment.
And it heard evidence of 16 and 17-year-olds who find it difficult to access mental health services because they fall between child and adult services.
The report calls on the government to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into UK law, a call backed by all four of the UK's children's commissioners.
The report also calls on the government to "review and explain" why there are so many children with autism in the criminal justice system, as well as those from other marginalised groups, such as Gypsies and Travellers, and why existing strategies to deal with this "appear to be failing".
It adds: "Such children, who are already likely to have experienced significant disadvantage and even discrimination in their early lives, require specific and targeted measures and support, outside of the criminal justice system."
The report also says that children with mental health conditions and learning difficulties are over-represented in youth custody, and instead need targeted support outside the criminal justice system.
Witnesses who gave evidence to the committee also raised concerns around education, such as the lack of a national strategy for including all disabled pupils in mainstream schools.
The report concludes that there have been many positive developments in the UK in the 20 years since the UN adopted the convention.
But is says there is "still much more for the UK to do, particularly for those children who live on the margins of society or who come from groups which do not always command popular public support".
No-one from the Department for Children, Schools and Families was available to comment.
Meanwhile, Baroness Walmsley, a Liberal Democrat children, schools and families spokeswoman, has introduced a children's rights bill into the Lords.
The private members' bill, which would incorporate the UN convention into UK law, was drafted with the support of members of the Rights of the Child UK (ROCK) coalition, whose members include the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education and Scope.
News provided by John Pring
24 November, 2009
Disabled artists praise dancer's avant-garde epilepsy experiment
A dancer with epilepsy who will try to induce a seizure in front of an audience has won praise from other disabled artists for bringing the condition "out of the closet".Award-winning dancer and choreographer Rita Marcalo will spend 24 hours trying to induce a seizure as part of Involuntary Dances, a "24-hour event" at Bradford Playhouse on 11 and 12 December.
Marcalo has stopped taking medication and, during the performance, will try to induce a seizure, for example by drinking alcohol, eating dark chocolate and using strobe lights and "specially designed computer programmes".
If she has a seizure, a "loud alarm will sound" and cameras will start recording, with the audience also encouraged to take pictures.
The Bradford event is the first in a planned trilogy by Marcalo – who has a background in physics – examining the relationships between dance, epilepsy and drug research, in collaboration with neuroscientists from Leeds University.
The 24-hour event will be a one-off, but will also be used as the basis for a film installation.
Poet Peter Street, who has epilepsy, described the performance as "a major, major move forward", as epilepsy-based art was "probably one of the last avant-garde art forms to be brought out".
He said Marcalo was "taking control" of her condition, and added: "It is all about us coming out of the closet and this is really going to bring it out with a big bang, and good luck to her."
Philip Lee, chief executive of Epilepsy Action, said his charity had received "several complaints" about Marcalo’s planned performance, which he said was "potentially very dangerous".
He added: "At the very least, the performance should carry a health warning advising people that they should not attempt this themselves under any circumstances."
But a spokeswoman for Arts Council England, which is part-funding the work, said there would be a "full personal and public risk assessment", with "appropriate medical support" during the performance.
She added: "She is an important artist whose work deserves to be seen, and Arts Council both respects the creative decisions she makes in her work and supports her right as a disabled person to be heard."
Allan Sutherland, a writer with epilepsy, criticised opposition from "old-fashioned and paternalistic" epilepsy charities.
He said: "It seems to me that she is doing a carefully thought-out piece of work which I think is very interesting."
He said epilepsy was still "demonised" but usually not visible, so people with the condition do not tend to meet each other and the themes explored by Marcalo are not debated.
Sutherland said Marcalo's control over her own performance would contrast with intrusive films of seizures that are taken without permission and placed on YouTube.
Peter Street's fifth collection of poems, Thumbing from Lipik to Pakrac, was published earlier this year by Waterloo Press.
News provided by John Pring
24 November, 2009
Lifting of ban means athletes with learning difficulties will compete at 2012
Athletes with learning difficulties will be able to compete at the London 2012 Paralympics, after a ban was finally lifted by the world governing body.The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) imposed the ban after the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, when nearly all the gold medal-winning Spanish basketball team were found not to have learning difficulties (or intellectual disabilities (ID), as they are categorised by the IPC).
The ban was lifted after the IPC and the International Federation for Sport for Athletes with an Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID) agreed on a strict new testing regime.
Athletes with ID will now fight for medals in four sports at London 2012: athletics, swimming, rowing and table-tennis.
Athletes who want to compete in IPC events – including the Paralympics – will have to submit information including an intelligence test and medical evidence to INAS-FID.
Eligible athletes will then undergo "on-site testing", which will focus on "sports intelligence" and include tests relevant to that sport.
These on-site tests are not expected to be ready until mid-2010, but eligible athletes can compete until then at the discretion of individual sports federations.
ID swimmers have already competed in the IPC European championships in October in Iceland – their first big competition since Sydney. Seven British swimmers won a total of 12 medals.
One of them was Craig Rodgie, from Fife in Scotland, who won gold in the S14 100m backstroke.
He said "words can't describe" how he and other ID athletes felt when they realised they would be able to compete at London 2012.
He said: "We have been waiting so long for the inclusion. Just getting the opportunity to be at one of the biggest events in the world, it's just unbelievable."
Although he is keen to focus on "one step at a time", with his next objective next year's world championships in Eindhoven, he said London 2012 was "where I want to be".
Tim Reddish, chairman of ParalympicsGB, said: "We have lobbied hard for the re-inclusion of athletes with a learning disability, subject to a robust classification system, and are delighted that IPC and INAS-FID have got us to that point.
"The Paralympic Games represent the pinnacle of high performance sport, so any athletes with a learning disability will have to meet the same exacting performance and qualification standards as all other GB athletes - we will now work hard with the sports to ensure that these athletes are best prepared."
News provided by John Pring
23 November, 2009
Bank loses appeal over 'landmark' access ruling
A bank will have to install a lift at a city centre branch after a disabled customer won an appeal court victory in a landmark discrimination case.The Royal Bank of Scotland will have to carry out the building work - at an estimated cost of £200,000 – in order to make its Sheffield city centre branch accessible to wheelchair-users.
The case was brought by teenager David Allen, an electric wheelchair-user, who could not access the branch because the entrance was at the top of four steps.
Allen was forced to discuss personal details about his account in the street outside the branch.
Lord Justice Wall, one of the three court of appeal judges, said there were "reasonable steps" the bank could have taken to make the branch accessible.
He added: "The bank did not take those steps, giving as its reason, not the disproportionate cost of carrying out the work, but simply the fact that it would lose the use of an interview room."
The bank had appealed against a decision by Sheffield county court in January that it had breached the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) – the first time an injunction had been granted ordering work to be carried out to make business premises accessible.
The county court had rejected the argument that Allen should use internet banking instead, ruling that it was not the same service.
Sheffield Law Centre, which helped Allen bring the case, with funding from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said the appeal court judgement stressed that services for disabled people must be as close as possible to those provided to the general public.
Allen's compensation of £6,500 was the highest awarded for a failure to make reasonable adjustments under part three of the DDA, which relates to goods and services.
Allen was awarded an extra £3,000 compensation for ongoing discrimination, as the lift will not be installed until August 2010 – the total award of £9,500 is now the largest by a court under part three of the DDA.
After the judgement, Allen said: "I'm glad the bank finally had to apologise in court and acknowledge they treated me badly."
But he added: "They just failed to understand anything about the need for privacy and dignity."
Douglas Johnson, of Sheffield Law Centre, said the judgement would "make it easier and simpler" for courts to deal with complaints of disability discrimination.
He added: "The real access issue is about people and attitudes, not ramps and steps."
News provided by John Pring
11 November, 2009
DisabledGo Community Forum Goes Live
After months of consultation with our many steering groups, DisabledGo is pleased to announce our community forum is now live. You can access the information in two ways; simply go to www.disabledgo.com and at the bottom of the homepage follow the link. Alternatively, you can log straight in by going to forum.disabledgo.comWe are putting this forum in the very capable hands of our users; we want the forum to become a lively, busy part of the site where people can share their views, ideas and experiences. The forum is a great way to discuss upcoming events in your area, keep track of what DisabledGo is up to and also to talk to other people who may have access concerns and want to share your knowledge.
If you are a keen blogger and have some stories you think need telling, why not become a regular contributor to our forum. Simply get in touch with us to discuss what topics you would like to cover.
Look out for the DisabledGo team popping in to answer questions and to hold live steering groups throughout the month.
We look forward to reading your posts, see you in there!
6 November, 2009
DisabledGo attend Enable 09
On November 6th a team of us from DisabledGo headed to Coventry's Ricoh Arena for the National Exhibition for Disabled People. This is only the second year the event has been running and after having had a stall last year, we had high hopes for the event.This year we were proud to be the online partner for Enable 09 and keen to meet as many people as possible over the two days. The event is backed by a number of national UK Charities including Leonard Cheshire, MS Society, ASBAH, The Blue Badge Network, Asthma UK and Diabetes UK.
The event gives disabled people the unique chance to trial products; view services and grab as much information as possible. With over 120 exhibitors they certainly weren’t short of choice!So, with eclairs in one hand and furry bugs in the other the DisabledGo team set to work letting as many people know about www.disabledgo.com as possible! We had a great couple of days meeting new and interesting people who now follow us on Twitter and Facebook, we also saw many familiar faces that attend our steering groups across the UK and Ireland and are now regulars on our Brand New Community Forum!
The event finished on the Saturday evening and although tired we were all very happy that more people no longer had to leave access to chance. Another successful event - thank you Enable we look forward to seeing you again next year!
15 October, 2009
DisabledGo launches new guide to healthcare
On 15th October DisabledGo launched a new service for healthcare. Disabled people and those with an interest in access can find detailed information to hospitals, dentists, opticians, GPs and more, free of charge at www.disabledgo.com.The new guide has been launched in response to years of research and feedback from disabled people about the barriers disabled people face accessing healthcare.
Speaking at the launch, Founder and Chief Executive of DisabledGo, Dr. Gregory Burke said: "We want to empower disabled people, their families, carers and friends to make the sort of autonomous choices regarding healthcare that non-disabled people take for granted. Over 25 NHS trusts are already working with us".
The availability of the online access guide will help increase patient choice, improve the clinical experience for patients, reduce agitation and distress, lower missed appointments by removing uncertainty and increase staff awareness of disability.
Carole Taylor Brown, Chief Executive NHS Suffolk and keynote speaker said: "DisabledGo touches all of our strategic goals; it I a core requirement to make our services accessible, ensuring patient experience, dignity and respect. DisabledGo is a fantastic example of best value, making my services accessible to those I serve for 0.01% of my budget. As a patient with persistent pain and some mobility restrictions I know how daunting accessing services without the right information can be. The NHS should be accessible to all – and this initiative is vital to making that a reality."
4 January, 1974
Peers approve bill to right wrongs of NHS’s ‘worst treatment disaster’
A bill that would provide vital financial support to the disabled victims of the “worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS” has been approved by the House of Lords.The contaminated blood (support for infected and bereaved persons) bill was introduced and steered through the Lords by the former disabled people’s minister, Lord [Alf] Morris.
He told fellow peers that of about 5,000 people with haemophilia, 95 per cent were infected with hepatitis C and a quarter with HIV, after being treated with contaminated NHS blood and blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.
Lord Morris, president of the Haemophilia Society, said an estimated 1,974 people had died due to being infected, and that statisticians found the disaster “involved the haemophilia community in a loss of life more savage in proportion to the number of people at risk than the Black Death”.
His bill would implement all the recommendations of an independent public inquiry into the scandal, led by Lord Archer of Sandwell.
The bill would increase compensation; improve medical care and review the support available for those infected; and set up a new committee to advise on treatment.
Lord Archer said many of those infected were now “suffering severe financial embarrassment” and that the bill was “a test of the priorities of our community”.
Lord Morris welcomed an amendment to his bill, introduced by the disabled peer Baroness Masham, a vice-president of the Haemophilia Society, that would ensure NHS blood was filtered to remove the infective prions that cause variant CJD.
Lord Morris said hundreds of people with haemophilia had been told by the Department of Health that they had been given blood from donors who subsequently died of variant CJD.
He said the public apology and financial support announced by the government for those affected by the thalidomide scandal “must very strongly support the case for the government now to endorse the provisions of this bill”.
His bill will now be debated by MPs, with its second reading due on 5 February.
The Haemophilia Society has organised a lobby of parliament on 3 February, while an early day motion backing the bill has been signed by more than 100 MPs.
The charity welcomed the bill’s passage through the Lords and said it would be an “outrage” if the government attempted to block its progress.
4 January, 1974
Campaigners fight again to hold the line on assisted suicide
Disability organisations have had to line up yet again against any weakening of the law on assisted suicide, following two high profile court cases and the publication of proposed new laws in Scotland.Kay Gilderdale, from Stonegate, East Sussex, was cleared of attempted murder, having admitted a charge of assisting in the suicide of her disabled daughter, Lynn, who had chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). She was given a conditional discharge.
Frances Inglis, from Dagenham, east London, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life, and a recommended minimum of nine years in prison, after a court heard how she used a heroin overdose to kill her disabled son Tom, who had brain damage, because she felt his life was not worth living.
And Margo MacDonald MSP, who has Parkinson’s disease, published her end of life assistance (Scotland) bill, which would allow those “whose life has become intolerable”, and who met a series of conditions, to “legally access assistance to end their life”.
Those who were terminally ill – or “permanently physically incapacitated” as a result of a progressive condition or “trauma” and “unable to live independently” – would qualify.
The disability charity RADAR said it was committed to the principle that “those who have a hand in the death of another person, regardless of that person’s disability or the stated motivation of the perpetrator, should have to answer for their actions before a court of law”.
It said that Tom Inglis’s impairment “did not give another person, even his mother, the right to take his life based on their own judgements”.
And it said that he had “the same rights to legal protection and justice as anyone else, and the prospect of setting out circumstances in which people whose lives are deemed by others to be intolerable can be stripped of those rights is chilling beyond measure”.
Caroline Ellis, RADAR’s joint deputy chief executive, whose teenage son has CFS, said: “Singling out individuals for legalised killing based on their medical condition or prognosis would be discriminatory and repugnant.”
She said the “real outrage” was the lack of effective treatment or support for people with CFS and that she never wants her son to “feel like society is giving up on him”.
She added: “The idea that the law could be relaxed in future to encourage people to give up sends chills down my spine.”
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has yet to finalise its position on assisted suicide, but Mike Smith, the new chair of its disability committee, said he personally did not believe there were “adequate safeguards to protect disabled and older people to allow assisted dying”.
He said: “It is too easy for society to view disability as a negative thing and whilst that is the case there will be coercion and in the current world we live in and the negative views of disability, I have very grave reservations about relaxing laws on assisted dying.”
Alison Davis, national co-ordinator of No Less Human, which campaigns for disabled people’s right to life, said “sick and disabled people living in Scotland will immediately be viewed as suitable candidates for death” if MacDonald’s bill becomes law.
She said this would “inevitably” make it easier for similar laws to be passed elsewhere in the UK.
A poll last year for the Care Not Killing Alliance in Scotland found 65 MSPs were opposed to legalising assisted suicide, with 18 in favour and 24 undecided.
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