"Independent living for disabled people is in reverse, six years on from a government strategy to deliver improved choice and opportunity". So says the Community Care website review of a report by Jenny Morris for In Control and Disability Rights UK.
Read Jenny Morris's blog here on her report "Independent Living Strategy: a Review of Progress"
Or read the Community Care website review here
Or download the full report here.
Or, if you would like something altogether more challenging and provocative, you might find it in a blog post by Sue Bott, Director of Policy and Development at Disability Rights UK. She argues that "current campaigning for reversals in cuts or increased resources for the NHS and social care or against the closure of the Independent Living Fund will not, alone, bring about independent living. Instead she proposes that disabled people should concentrate their campaigning towards achieving a single integrated system that assesses people’s needs and allocates assistance and support based on the outcomes people could achieve in their communities and contribute to society. "
Meanwhile, "In response to the report, a spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions, which leads on disability for the government, said: 'The UK has a generous system of support for disabled people, spending around £50bn a year on benefits and services. Our reforms will make sure the billions spent give more targeted support and better reflect today’s understanding of disability" ... which is as fine an example of comprehensively missing the point as you could find.
