In December 2016, the UK Independent Mechanism wrote to the UK Government to raise its concerns about the recently published CRPD Committee UK inquiry report (CRPD, 2016) and UK Government’s response rights (UK Government, 2016). The inquiry examined the impact of law and policy changes since 2010 on disabled people’s CRPD rights to: living independently and being included in the community, work and employment; and adequate standard of living and social protection. The inquiry concluded that: is reliable evidence that the threshold of grave or ‘There systematic violations of the rights of persons with disabilities has been met in the State Party’ (CRPD, 2016, para. 113). However, the UK Government strongly disagreed with the conclusions reached in the report and did not accept there were grave violations of CRPD rights (UK Government, 2016). England The Independent Living Fund was available to those receiving the higher rate of Disability Living Allowance, providing access to a package of joint Independent Living Fund/local authority care to enable them to live in the local community rather than in residential care. It closed on 30 June 2015. Responsibility in England has been passed to local authorities; each received a monetary transfer from the Independent Living Fund, however, none of this was ring-fenced, allowing local authorities to spend it as they pleased (Inclusion London, 2016). There is also considerable inconsistency in how Independent Living Fund recipients have been treated. An Inclusion London report concludes that this is a clear step back in independent living for disabled people and puts forward a number of recommendations, including establishing a national system based on need, independent of local authorities, and for previous Independent Living Fund transfers to be ring-fenced for provision of independent living support (Inclusion London, 2016). Wales The Welsh Government set up the Welsh Independent Living Grant in July 2015 following closure of the Independent Living Fund. Its draft budget for 2016-17 earmarked £27 million for the grant to enable it to continue until the end of March 2017. Future arrangements have yet to be put in place for when the current grant ends (Welsh Government, 2016b). The Welsh Government has been critical of the UK Government’s policies on welfare reform and their impact on disabled people, and estimated that approximately 37,000 people in Wales will receive around £1,500 less each year due to changes to the Employment and Support Allowance, with households likely to be hit the hardest (Welsh Government, 2016c).
In December 2016, the UK Independent Mechanism wrote to the UK Government to raise its concerns about the recently published CRPD Committee UK inquiry report (CRPD, 2016) and UK Government’s response rights (UK Government, 2016). The inquiry examined the impact of law and policy changes since 2010 on disabled people’s CRPD rights to: living independently and being included in the community, work and employment; and adequate standard of living and social protection. The inquiry concluded that: ‘There is reliable evidence that the threshold of grave or systematic violations of the rights of persons with disabilities has been met in the State Party’ (CRPD, 2016, para. 113). However, the UK Government strongly disagreed with the conclusions reached in the report and did not accept there were grave violations of CRPD rights (UK Government, 2016). England The Independent Living Fund was available to those receiving the higher rate of Disability Living Allowance, providing access to a package of joint Independent Living Fund/local authority care to enable them to live in the local community rather than in residential care. It closed on 30 June 2015. Responsibility in England has been passed to local authorities; each received a monetary transfer from the Independent Living Fund, however, none of this was ring-fenced, allowing local authorities to spend it as they pleased (Inclusion London, 2016). There is also considerable inconsistency in how Independent Living Fund recipients have been treated. An Inclusion London report concludes that this is a clear step back in independent living for disabled people and puts forward a number of recommendations, including establishing a national system based on need, independent of local authorities, and for previous Independent Living Fund transfers to be ring-fenced for provision of independent living support (Inclusion London, 2016). Wales The Welsh Government set up the Welsh Independent Living Grant in July 2015 following closure of the Independent Living Fund. Its draft budget for 2016-17 earmarked £27 million for the grant to enable it to continue until the end of March 2017. Future arrangements have yet to be put in place for when the current grant ends (Welsh Government, 2016b). The Welsh Government has been critical of the UK Government’s policies on welfare reform and their impact on disabled people, and estimated that approximately 37,000 people in Wales will receive around £1,500 less each year due to changes to the Employment and Support Allowance, with households likely to be hit the hardest (Welsh Government, 2016c).
being-disabled-in-britain.docx