URGENT ACTION: #SaveILF judgement due Monday

Received from Inclusion London. Please share with your networks.

URGENT ACTION: #SaveILF judgement due Monday!!!

10am – Monday 8th December 2014

As the future of disabled people’s right to independent living hangs in the balance, disabled people will not be beaten.

 

Join us to get the message out loud and clear: whatever the legal ruling, we will not be pushed back into the margins of society, we will not go back into the institutions, our place is in the community alongside our family and friends and neighbours and we are fighting to stay.

 

On 10am Monday 8th December the judgment in the most recent legal challenge against the closure of the Independent Living Fund will be passed down.

 

In November last year the Court of Appeal quashed the government’s decision to close the ILF with the Court of Appeal judges unanimous in their view that the closure of the fund would have an ‘inevitable and considerable adverse effect which the closure of the fund will have, particularly on those who will as a consequence lose the ability to live independently.”

 

In March this year the then Minister for Disabled People Mike Penning retook the decision and announced a new date of June 2015 for permanent closure of the Fund that provides essential support enabling disabled people with the highest support needs to live in the community when the alternative would be residential care.

 

In October a second legal challenge was heard in the high court brought by disabled claimants claiming that the Minister had not considered any new information to properly assess the practical effect of closure on the particular needs of ILF users. The Department for Work and Pensions mounted a defence based on their assertion that the Minister had adequate information to realise that the independent living of the majority of ILF users will be significantly impacted by the closure of the fund.

 

The closure of the ILF effectively signals the end of the right to independent living for disabled people in the UK. Whilst never perfect the ILF represents a model of support that has enabled thousands of disabled people to enjoy meaningfully lives and to contribute to society as equal citizens. The closure of the Fund to new applicants in December 2010 has resulted in disabled people trapped indoors without their basic needs being met, treated worse that animals and if they complain to their local authorities about needing more support, threatened with residential care.

 

The fight to #SaveILF is part of a much wider fight for social justice for all disabled people.

 

Whatever happens on Monday disabled people are not going away. We will be in the faces of government until our rights to live as equal citizens in society is recognised and valued.

 

What you can do:

Come down to the high court. The court have said there will be no hearing. We say we will be there anyway to find out the judgment together in solidarity. We are asking all supporters who can to get down to the high court on Monday and join us. If travel costs are the only thing holding you back let us know.

 

Organise your own #SaveILF vigil outside your town hall and invite your local politicians and press along. More and more councils are coming out and saying that if the ILF closes and funding is devolved to local authorities that they will ringfence for existing ILF recipients any money they are given from central government as part of the closure. This will mitigate against the loss of independent living for those individuals which is an inevitable consequence of the government proposals. If your council has come out and committed to ring fence then use this as a chance to congratulate them – if they haven’t as a chance to mount pressure.

 

Get involved on-line and through social media to get the message out loud and clear: disabled people are not going away until we have reclaimed our rights.

Best wishes,

Ellen Clifford                                                        

Campaigns and Communications Officer

Inclusion London

 

336 Brixton Road, London, SW9 7AA

Tel: 020 7237 3181, office SMS: 0771 839 4687

Ellen.Clifford@inclusionlondon.co.uk

www.inclusionlondon.co.uk   

Independent Living fund Drop in tomorrow – House of Commons

Independent Living fund Drop in

 

– with BBC Silent Witness actress Liz Carr

 

2 September 2014; 2 – 4pm; House of Commons Committee Room 19

 

pic from BBC

This drop in session will be a chance for MPs to find out more about the closure of the ILF which currently supports nearly 18,000 disabled people with the highest support needs to live independently in the community, to contribute to society in employment, education, volunteering, as family members, friends and as members of our communities and to build the local economy through employing teams of Personal Assistants.

The surgery will be an opportunity to ask questions and to speak to Liz who has been enabled, through support from the ILF, to progress an acting career that has spanned stand-up comedy, presenting for BBC and primetime television.

Also in attendance to answer your questions will be an ILF staff representative and a disabled person who missed out on the ILF through its closure to new applicants in 2010 and whose experiences reflect those of many other disabled people now excluded from participating in areas of life that non-disabled people take for granted.

The Drop in is being organized by PCS Union, Disabled People Against Cuts and Inclusion London.

For more information contact ellen.clifford@inclusionlondon.co.uk or Natasha@pcs.org.uk

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July 4th DPAC Independent Living Day -party and picnic, London and around the country

Received from DPAC

DPAC is delighted to extend an open invitation to celebrate Independent Living Day with us on the 4th of July at the ‘Independent Living Tea Party ‘.

The party will begin at 2pm at the DWP, Caxton House in Tothill Street SW1. There will be fun & games, and entertainment; and of course, some civil disobedience.

We have come a long way since the demand for Independent Living was first made nearly 50 years ago. Then, as now, IL was our solution for how society supports disabled people to take our place as equals. For how society addresses inaccessible institutions, structures and process it created, which do more to disable people than their impairments ever could.

There are many strands of Independent Living, and all are under threat. Cuts to:

• Support funding – such Social Care, the ILF & Disabled Students Allowance;
• Education – in areas like the wholesale destruction of SEN Statements and the continued segregation of disabled children into ‘special’ schools;
• Transport – the withdrawal of Taxi-cards, freedom passes and the halting of planned works to make infrastructure more accessible, amongst a host of other cuts combine to make disabled people second-class citizens in society.

But we have fought this fight before – and won. Our Disabled Peoples Organisations, legal gains and the policy victories we have won previously are testament to the

To achieve success we must ALL take action – WoW Petition

 

The Coalition government have been relentless in their welfare reforms, cuts to services. Warnings taken to them time and time again have been ignored.  Many grassroot groups, charities, church leaders and  think tanks have taken numerous actions, in their attempts to show the reality of how many disabled people and carers are being hit disproportionately by the cuts to benefits and services.

YOU may be someone affected now

 It may be YOU next, if you suddenly become seriously ill/disabled and/or a family carer.

You may be campaign weary, wondering how much more you can give. However, we must always rise up that one more time than we  fall.

TAKE ACTION OR ACCEPT THE REFORMS – WHICH IS IT TO BE?

 

On Feb 27th 2014, there is to be a debate in the House of Commons. This was won by WoW petition team, and all their supporters. Full wording of the petition can be found here

It is vital as many MPs as possible attend, to participate in this debate and speak up on your behalf about how the reforms are impacting on your lives. 

Details how to contact your MP can be found here  

 

You will be able to watch the debate live on the day from approximately 11.30am, links will be provided nearer the time. Those on twitter will be using the hash-tag  #WowDebate2014

 

If you require further information, or want to inform WoW if your MP is/is not attending, please contact WoW team direct   info@wowpetition.com

 

 

 

Countdown to end of WOW petition – Have YOU signed

 

 

Daily we read stories informing us of the impact of welfare benefit changes, on many disabled people, carers and families. Campaigners have worked tirelessly to raise these issues with politicians and media.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN

There is one month till  WOW petition ends ( sign here ),  time to give this another push. With YOUR help they can achieve the required number of 100,000.

Tomorrow, Thursday 14/11/2013 there is to be mass tweetathons at –

9 – 10 am

12 – 1 pm   and

7 – 8 pm

All details, including which hash tags to use can be found on WOW blog here

URGENT – CARERS DEBATE, contact your MP

Following Carers Week, a debate on carers will take place in the House of Commons on Thursday 20th June

Full details can be found here  and you will be able to watch it LIVE via this link

It is vital you contact your MP , ask them to attend – and raise any/all issues that you are concerned about. Time is of the essence, so it may be worth phoning their office and following up with an email outlining your worries.

Questions can be asked on benefits, juggling work and care, social care, support from the NHS and all the other policy areas which affect carers.

Please share this with family, friends, contacts. The more MPs we have there, the more issues that can get discussed.

Share via Facebook and Twitter too. Hashtag during the event will be #CarersDebate

Unable to apply for Independent Living Fund – Barry and Natassia’s stories

After a long wait the day for the court hearing re Independent Living Fund is now here. Full details about the hearing and vigil can be found here.

There will also be an interview shown on Ch4 news at 7pm March 13th.

Please show your support throughout the afternoon by sharing these details as wide as possible. A few attending will hopefully be tweeting using hashtag  #ILF

I am Barry McDonald, I am 28 years old. I am a wheelchair user. I enjoy watching football and going out to the pub with my friends. I do a lot of volunteering around sports and improving services for Deaf and disabled people. I am ambitious as I have life goals I want to achieve: to be in a long term paid job, to move out on my own and to be in a position where I can be actively involved in doing all I can to improve services provided for disabled people and working towards a world that can one day be fully accessible for all.

I can’t do these things on the level of support I get from my local authority. I receive 45 minutes of social care per day for personal care. I receive nothing for domestic, social or leisure activities because my local authority will only fund support for basic personal care needs.

As a young person the hardest thing I find is not being able to

DAY 7 – Independent Living Fund, Kathys story

Kathy’s  Story

Without a Personal Assistant my quality of life would be greatly diminished.  I suffer from clinical depression, and become very lethargic and inclined to withdraw into myself and miss meals, if alone for long periods and unable to get out.  My deaf blindness makes me feel very isolated and I am unable to deal with paperwork mail and form filling without assistance.

Having a PA helps me to access local services such as Doctor’s, Dentists and hospital appointments, also to the bank and library. It enables me to take exercise like swimming; or shopping for food,  and clothes as one needs to be told what is there in order to make  choices.  I need someone to guide me to a place:  to get drinks and find toilets: to interpret what is being said in noisy environments or if people have accents.

I need assistance to make phone calls because of dexterity problems as well as not being able to hear.

I want to participate in meetings, and also be enabled to socialize with friends or other groups

I have little useful sight which is blurred, so it is not safe to go out alone to avoid hazards which I don’t see, both inside and out and to prevent falling, because my balance is poor, so I use an assisted wheelchair and sometimes a walking stick with support from my PA.

My PA also assists with meal,  personal care and domestic chores, with choosing clothes which match and saying if they are stained.

It is important to me to gain knowledge which involves reading study material and visiting places of interest; the theatre or cinema.  I feel it is important to stimulate my brain, as my short-term memory sometimes lets me down and I can’t remember where things are and occasionally need reminding of things I need to do.

This overview is by no means exhaustive, but shows the importance of PA’s in all aspects of my life.  I have suffered from mental illness and dread slipping into that downward spiral of self neglect and deeper depression.

Please allow me to keep my PA’s and lead a more balanced and fulfilled life than would be possible without their support.  In order to have this I need financial assistance, which has been possible through the ILF. Those who administer the service have an understanding of the needs of participants whereas other agencies may not.

Also with the government cut backs, there is no guarantee that necessary funding will be available from Local Authorities.

Further information of court hearing can be found here

 

 

DAY 3 – John, Paul and Evonne’s Independent Living Fund story

Ahead of the court case in London on March 13th 2013, several disabled people are sharing their stories of how the Independent Living Fund has such a positive impact on their lives.

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John, Paul and Evonne’s story

Through support from the Independent Living Fund my step son John is able to enjoy a much more independent way of life, than would otherwise be possible. He can at the moment, go out & access his local community and feel part of society and valued as a person. He is a young man of 30 who wants to continue to live at home and have the best possible chance of some Independence in his life. His mother has been able to set up her own small florist’s market business because the support John receives through the ILF means she does not have to support him full time.

The support John receives now through the ILF is working for him and for our family.

John stays with me now every weekend from 3pm on Friday to 9pm on Monday, which allows Evonne to work the market and to go to the wholesalers too. I also go over several evenings and mornings to bath and shower John. Because of the ILF John gets to

Update – Campaign for Benefit Justice

.Come and have your say (details here)

7pm   Thursday 14^th February 2013

at Camden Town Hall, Council Chamber

Judd St, WC1H 9JE

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UPDATE

Further information received. Please share with your networks.

Campaign for Benefit Justice

Cuts in benefit are an unjust attack on the poor and they must stop. People are already being driven into debt, hunger and homelessness. From April millions more will be hit by the Bedroom tax, cuts in council tax benefit, ending Disability Living Allowance and further vicious cuts. In one of the richest countries in the world, the rise of food banks, destitution and poverty is not acceptable. People receiving benefits did not cause the banking and economic crisis and we do not accept them being scapegoated to pay for it.

The Campaign for Benefit Justice, a network of grassroots campaigns fighting the Tory attacks invites