Rally highlights social care crisis

About 100 disability rights activists gathered in Whitehall this week to highlight the current social care crisis and to urge government to adopt the independent living bill originally proposed by Lord [Jack] Ashley.

The event, organised by the Our Lives, Our Choices coalition – which includes the National Centre for Independent Living, RADAR and Scope - highlighted the tightening of eligibility criteria in local authorities, which has left many disabled people without the support they need to carry out daily tasks and live independently.

If the bill was adopted, it would create a legal right to social care support for disabled people.

A small group of demonstrators delivered a framed National Lottery ticket to 10 Downing Street for Gordon Brown, as a symbol of the postcode lottery in quality of care.

Alice Maynard, chair of Scope’s board of trustees, said: “Access to social care is a human rights issue. The current social care system is broken and routinely denies disabled people our human rights to freedom of movement, family life and dignity.

“The independent living bill would play a major role in preventing human rights abuses and guaranteeing disabled people access to the support they need to enjoy a reasonable standard of living.”

RADAR chief executive Liz Sayce, who also took part in the protest, said it was a priority to get the bill passed and ensure the rights of disabled people.
She said she welcomed the government’s Independent Living Strategy but felt that it needed some “legal teeth to back it up”.

After the rally, David Blunkett MP hosted a lobby in parliament.

A RADAR spokeswoman said she spoke at the lobby to several MPs who were not aware of the social care crisis, including issues such as the inability of disabled people to take their support packages with him if they moved to a different part of the country.

She said they told her that “portable” support was an obvious solution, once disabled people had explained to them the difficulties they faced when trying to move home or change job.
13 June, 2008