News in: DSA

Disability Rights UK E-Newsletter December 2013

Disabled people leading change

Our reach

· Blog from our new Policy and Communications Manager

· Building a National Voice of Disabled People Conference report

• Disability Rights UK condemns Government’s sham consultation on PIP mobility rules
  
• FDR and job creation
  
• Health and Social Care update from our work as Strategic Partner to the Department of Health, NHS England and Public Health England
  
• Liz Sayce criticises non work programme
  
• Our response to ILF Court of Appeal victory
  
• Our “Taking Control of Employment Support” report
  
• Shared ownership for disabled people
  
• Social care limps on from crisis to crisis
  
• Social Care Portability now accepted as a right
  
• We want more access to FE for those with autism

Our services

• Benefits training courses
  
• Helplines
  
• Join us to make your voice heard

Our publications

• Disability Rights Handbook (38th edition)
  
• Disability and Welfare Rights Updates and Handbook Updater
  
• New factsheet on social care brokerage
  
• Our free Into Higher Education 2014 is now available
  
• Personal Independence Payment - Our free guide to claiming has been updated

Getting Involved

• Baroness Campbell is urging individuals and organisations to fill in this Lobbying Bill survey
  
• Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee vacancies
  
• Equally Ours launch and seminar
  
• Free Disability Hate Crime events
  
• International day of disabled people
  
• Support human rights protections in care homes
  
  
• Win a pair of tickets to a captioned or audio-described show by helping us understand the value of accessible theatre to you
  

Influencing our Policy work

• Are you 18 to 25? Want to know what would help you and others to create or obtain work?
  
• Disability Rights UK supporting the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to inform key lines of enquiry around forthcoming inspections in all nine regions
  
• Making things more fair for disabled people – a research initiative by The University of Bristol and Disability Rights UK
  
• Policy Network of Members
  
• Take our Peer support networks survey

Other News

• Accessible information standard initiative
  
• Autumn statement 2013
  
• Benefit cuts threaten independent living says Habinteg report
  
• Disabled child wins right to attend primary school
  
• Government loses Work Capability Assessment Appeal Court case against key mental health decision
  
• How you can use the Social Value Act
  
• Ipsos Mori Survey indicates the public thinks the bedroom tax unfair when it is explained to them
  
• 'My Sport, My Voice!’ project
  
• New Money Advice Service for disabled people
  
• Personalisation is now independent living ‘lite’
  
• Scottish devolution proposals on PIP, the bedroom tax and human rights
  
• Views wanted on Scottish future welfare options

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Disclaimer:
Please note that inclusion of information in this newsletter does not imply endorsement of products, campaigns or services by Disability Rights UK. Disability Rights UK is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Our reach

Blog from our new Policy and Communications Manager
Arriving at Disability Rights UK – Philip Connolly introduces himself and outlines his aspirations in his role as DR UK’s Policy and Communications Manager. To read his blog go to http://disabilityrightsuk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/welcome-to-philip-connolly-our-new.html

Building a National Voice of Disabled People Conference report
Our second Conference considered how we can build a strong and loud national voice of disabled people. Given the affects of social security reforms, local government spending cuts, the rise in incidents of disability hate crime and the continuing lack of employment opportunities there has never been a more important time for the voice of disabled people and people living with long term health conditions to be heard. Thank you to all those who attended and participated to make the day a success. You can view a conference report at http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/september/building-national-voice-disabled-people-2013/building-national-voice-disabled

Disability Rights UK condemns Government’s sham consultation on PIP mobility rules
When Government suddenly did a 6 week consultation on the specific question of whether being unable to walk 20 metres or 50 metres should be the threshold for claiming Personal Independence Payment, many disabled people viewed the consultation as a sham designed to head off a judicial review. The judicial review action was being brought against the withdrawal of the DLA higher mobility rate to all those who can walk more than 20 metres.
Disabled people and our organisations wondered if responding to the consultation was a complete waste of time. It now seems they were right. You can view our statement at http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/october/govt-ignores-disabled-people-over-pip

FDR and job creation
New blog by Roger Berry. Roger Berry is a trustee of Disability Rights UK and former MP for Kingswood between 1992 and 2010. Ypu can view this at http://disabilityrightsuk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/fdr-and-job-creation.html

Health and Social Care update from our work as Strategic Partner to the Department of Health, NHS England and Public Health England
This month’s update includes a report from the latest Strategic Partners meeting, reflections on Disability Rights UK’s events and workplan, and on how this will support local user-led membership organisations and finally news and insights on social care eligibility criteria, working with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), personal health budgets, peer support and The Light Touch Regime and Accessible EU Procurement. for more information go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/november/strategic-partner-updates-october-2013

Liz Sayce criticises non work programme
Speaking on Channel 4 Liz Sayce described the work programme as the “non-work programme” and demanded a more personalised approach to supporting disabled people into work. To view this article and see a related video go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/october/liz-sayce-criticises-non-work-programme

Our response to ILF Court of Appeal victory
Disability Rights UK welcomes the decision by the Court of Appeal that the closure of the Independent Living Fund has not been pursued lawfully. To view our press release go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/november/our-response-ilf-court-appeal-victory

Our “Taking Control of Employment Support” report
Disability Rights UK's new report argues that the government's huge Work Programme is failing disabled people (with at least an 88% failure rate) and is very poor value for money. Work Choice - a more specialist programme - does some good work in spite of a payment incentive system which steers them away from the very people the programme is supposed to help (those facing complex barriers). We call upon the Government to radically re-think, cut out the middle man (the Work Programme or Work Choice provider) and put power in the hands of the people who can really make employment support work - disabled people, and employers - with advice available to them as needed. To view the report go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/policy-campaigns/reports-and-research/taking-control-employment-support

Shared ownership for disabled people
Advance, a provider of housing, support and employment for disabled people and Disability Rights UK, have launched a joint report on shared ownership housing for severely disabled people. For more information go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/november/home-ownership-option-disabled-people

Social care limps on from crisis to crisis
In this blog Sue Bott, Director of Policy and Development at Disability Rights UK identifies seven needs for independent living. She suggests that we should join up these needs to make the best use of the resources available so that they work for each other and give us the support we need? You can view the blog at http://disabilityrightsuk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/social-care-limps-on-from-crisis-to.html

Social Care Portability now accepted as a right
Disability Rights UK welcomes this important change in the law. We have been working with Baroness Campbell and have achieved much over the three years on this issue although much of it has been going on under the radar. For more information go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/october/social-care-portability-now-accepted-right

We want more access to FE for those with autism
Disability Rights UK was a signatory to a letter asking for this, published in the online Telegraph on 26 October 2013. To read the letter and see the other signatories go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/october/we-want-more-access-fe-those-autism

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Our services

Benefits training courses on Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Employment and Support Allowance, Challenging Benefit Decisions and Appeals
We have published our 2014 dates at www.disabilityrightsuk.org/how-we-can-help/benefits-information/benefits-training
Our courses are ideal for advice workers, social workers, support workers and anyone else supporting clients with welfare benefits (but are not intended for individual claimants)
You can book online via the link on the training page. (Don’t be put off by the User Login box, which is for internal use only, but go to the heading for the training course (by scrolling down if necessary) and to the section that starts “Please fill out the form below …”) If you have any questions about the courses or how to book, please contact Robbie Spence, Tribunal Support Unit Advisor on 020 7566 0128 or at [email protected]

Helplines
We have several Helplines within Disability Rights UK that provide information on a variety of issues. Please direct people to the following numbers as appropriate. All of our telephone helplines carry Advice Quality Standard accreditation.

• Disabled Students Helpline
• Equality Advisory Support Service
• Independent Living Advice Line
• Member Organisations Welfare Rights Advice Service
• Tribunal Support Unit

Join us to make your voice heard
By being a member of Disability Rights UK you will be joining hundreds of others committed to the vision of a society where everyone with lived experience of disability or health conditions can participate equally as full citizens. We influence government policy, and lobby MPs and peers – and we can only do it together, on the basis of our members’ views, and with information about your experiences all round the country. We can also offer publications discounts or free publications for member organisations. We can also publicise your events. To find out more go to www.disabilityrightsuk.org/membership

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Our publications

Disability Rights Handbook (38th edition)
The Disability Rights Handbook is a must buy if you need advice or provide it. This year sees the biggest changes to the benefit system since the introduction of the welfare state, which will affect over 2 million disabled people. The Disability Rights Handbook is written by benefits specialists and provides information and guidance on benefits and services to advisors, disability organisations and disabled people. To get your copy go to http://www.radar-shop.org.uk/Detail.aspx?id=77

Disability and Welfare Rights Updates and Handbook Updater
Exclusive to Disability Rights UK members, our bi-monthly Updates newsletter always contains:

• the latest benefits, campaigns and policy updates;
• Q&As; from our Independent Living, Disabled Students and Member Organisations’ Welfare Benefits Helplines;
• a digest of significant recent welfare rights caselaw;
• a timetable of future benefit changes; and
• details of our welfare rights and disability confidence training courses.

Our Handbook Updater contains all the amendments-to-date to our Disability Rights Handbook made due to legislative changes made since its date of publication. To find out more, view a sample Update go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/membership/disability-and-welfare-rights-updates

Into Higher Education 2014 now published
Into Higher Education is a guide for disabled people thinking about studying in higher education starting September 2014. You can download a copy at http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/sites/default/files/pdf/IntoHE2014.pdf

New factsheet on social care brokerage
If you are a social care user you could receive funding as a personal budget to enable you to buy you own services and support. Receiving a personal budget/direct payment enables you to choose the services which you want to use. This gives you more choice, independence, control and flexibility. You can get help with managing your personal budget and access relevant information through brokerage and advocacy services. Local support brokers can provide one-to-one support or additional continuous support for those who need it, or support by phone, or online. Having a broker to help you manage your personal budget can help make the process a lot easier. This factsheet tells you the range of support available and how to access the services of a broker. To download the factsheet go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/short-guide-brokerage-and-role-brokers-relation-social-care

Personal Independence Payment - Our free guide to claiming has been updated
This guide helps you through the claiming process. It covers information on the PIP activities and scores, how to fill out the claim form and the face to face consultation with a healthcare professional. It also gives you advice on what to do if you are not happy with your decision together with an appendix of further help and information available. The Guide has just been updated to take account of additional information now available, including adjustments to the PIP timetable and reimbursement of travelling expenses for those attending assessment centres. You can download the guide at http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/personal-independence-payment-pip

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Getting Involved

Baroness Campbell is urging individuals and organisations to fill in this Lobbying Bill survey
Among various measures, the bill lowers the threshold that a charity is allowed to spend in the run-up to an election from £10,000 to £5,000 in England. If this sum is exceeded the charity must register with the Electoral Commission, which is highly bureaucratic as each bit of spending must be accounted for. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations has pointed out that the bill will “tie charities up in red tape”. For more information see http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/december/lobbying-bill-survey

Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee vacancies
The Department for Transport is recruiting new members for Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) to take up appointments in April 2014. The Department will start a recruitment process for the Chair of DPTAC in the New Year. The closing date for applications is 2 January 2014. For more information see http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/november/dptac-new-members-recruitment

Equally Ours launch and seminar
Equally Ours aims to help everyone understand how human rights benefit all of us in the UK, every day, in very practical ways; that they are an important part of our shared heritage. It is a partnership between the Equality and Diversity Forum, Age UK, the British Institute of Human Rights, the Children’s Rights Alliance for England, Disability Rights UK, Mind, René Cassin and Runnymede Trust but we want other organisations to get involved. For information about the launch and the campaign go to http://www.equally-ours.org.uk/equally-ours-is-launchedand-the-work-begins/ and http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/november/equally-ours-launched-today

Free Disability Hate Crime events
Disability Rights UK are aiming to improve the knowledge of and success in operating Third Party Disability Hate Crime Reporting Centres similar to the massively successful centre operating by DisabilityFirst in Blackpool. In conjunction with DR UK Ambassador Stephen Brookes, a coordinator of the Disability Hate Crime Network, who worked with Disability Rights UK in creating the Third Party Reporting toolkit , there will be a series of events aimed at increasing the number of ULDPO's running these centres. For more information see http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/december/free-disability-hate-crime-events-announced

International day of disabled people
Did you host an event on the day? If so tell us about and send any photos you took and we will cover it on our website. Email [email protected].

Support human rights protections in care homes
The British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) wants you to ask your MP to support a new proposal which will mean that people who use regulated care services will have access to the protections in the Human Rights Act. This will help ensure the vital safety net provided by the Human Rights Act can be accessed by all people using care services. For more information on this campaign go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/november/support-human-rights-protections-care-homes

Win a pair of tickets to a captioned or audio-described show by helping us understand the value of accessible theatre to you
Have you ever been to captioned or audio-described theatre? Or wanted to go but couldn't find a captioned or audio described performance on when you could go? If so, London Metropolitan University would love you to take 15 minutes to fill in their online survey and let them know what you like about accessible theatre, what could be improved, what barriers exist to prevent people who might value it from accessing it, and what changes could be made to make the experience appeal to more people. For more information go to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/accessibletheatresurvey

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Influencing our Policy work

Are you 18 to 25? Want to know what would help you and others to create or obtain work?
Disability Rights UK is establishing a forum and we want you to get in touch with us if you would wish to be a member of it. Members of the forum will be able to discuss with us and help us develop our campaign plans and campaign activities to increase the participation of disabled people in work, apprenticeships and the gaining of skills. For more information email [email protected] or telephone at 0207 566 0129.

Disability Rights UK supporting the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to inform key lines of enquiry around forthcoming inspections in all nine regions
Partners sought for discussion groups and development work!
We have agreed to help inform disabled people about the CQC and also gather insights about what makes care safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. We are starting communication work in all nine regions using the CQC inspections of 19 NHS Trusts as a hook to engage people in conversations.

From all nine regions in England, we are looking to identify patient groups and user-led organisations that want to work with us and CQC more closely and more regularly. For instance, we would like to share information at CQC's inspections and find out whether this is the sort of information people would like in those or other formats. Above all, CQC need to hear feedback and more regular evidence about how services are doing locally and how this evidence can lead to improvement, perhaps in some pilot areas. This is with a view to establish regional disability networks with direct influence on CQC inspections.

As a first step, we are keen to produce a few case studies about what a good service looks like from the perspective of people with different disabilities. In what ways is such a good service responsive to people? We would like to bring this out through a discussion group, and this would be a good way to engage with you to help us produce something concrete early on. So if you are also interested in participating in a discussion group, please get in touch.

DRUK is looking for local partners to deliver this project potentially over a longer period of time, and we see this as an opportunity to refresh local or regional partnerships with our members and networks. Some small resource will be made available for this in addition to expenses. Please get in touch with Bernd Sass, [email protected] or 07906 521536.

Making things more fair for disabled people – a research initiative by The University of Bristol and Disability Rights UK

• Lots of problems are facing disabled people in the UK today. For instance, we are far less likely to have a job, than non-disabled people.
• 48% of disabled people, compared with 78% of non-disabled people, were employed in 2009 (Labour Force Survey, 2009).
• Poverty is a real problem for disabled people. On every measure of poverty, disabled people are about twice as likely as non-disabled people to be poor.
• The Health Services do not always treat all patients equally. For instance, people with learning disabilities are dying some 13-20 years earlier than non-disabled patients (CIPOLD, 2013).
• The government wants all disabled people to make decisions, and to feel a sense of control about their own lives. But there are some people who cannot always make decisions for themselves, and the Mental Capacity Act is there to help and to protect them. But we know that this does not always work well (BIDS, 2012).
• Parents with learning difficulties often do not get the support they need to be ‘good parents’.
• We know that disabled people have increasing problems with hate crime and abuse.

This is just a part of the picture. The UK is signed up to a Human Rights declaration called the ‘UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’, and should be taking action to make sure that all disabled people have equal chances, compared with non-disabled people.

The University of Bristol is hoping to do some research with DRUK and disabled people across the country, to find out more about how things can be improved. This research could be based on human rights. The following areas are probably important, if we are thinking about how to improve our lives:
· Work and employment practices
· Supporting people to make their own decisions
· Health services
· Care homes and support services
· Disabled people’s rights to become parents
· Learning from disabled people’s ideas about the big problems in the world, like the environment and sustainability
The University would like to talk with you, if possible, before putting in the research bid. That is so that you can have a say, and tell them what is most important for yourself, and for the people you represent. If it is possible to have a meeting with your organisation, can you contact Val Williams at: [email protected] If you have no time for a meeting, perhaps you can let her have your ideas by email. Here are the main questions:

1. Do you have direct experience of any of the areas above?
2. How do you think changes will happen?
3. What kind of research will make a difference in practice?

Policy Network of Members
Policy has to be a living statement of an organisation’s principles. An organisation’s policy informs its response to external developments and good policy is key to the ability of an organisation to have influence.
As the new Policy and Communications Manager of Disability Rights UK in line with the values of the organisation I wish to see our policy appraised and developed through the active involvement of our disabled members. I am looking to establish a policy forum of members with whom we could have a regular dialogue to inform our policy work on a quarterly basis. For more information go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/november/policy-network-members

Take our Peer support networks survey
As we know, the whole idea of centres for independent living and disabled people’s and user-led organisations is that we support each other through peer support. At long last it seems that national policy makers are taking an interest. We therefore intend to apply for funding for recognition and support for the growth of innovations that mobilise disabled people's energy and talents to support each other. We are starting to gather best practice and fundraising with local partners. Your help with this survey will enable us to collect evidence of the scale of current activities. We'd also like to know what support you'd need to develop these activities further. You can complete the survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/drukpeersupport

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Other News

Accessible information standard initiative
NHS England has begun a programme of work to develop and implement an Information Standard for accessible information. For more information go to http://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/patients/accessibleinfo-2/

Autumn statement 2013
These are the key relevant announcements in the Chancellor’s autumn statement. See http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/december/autumn-statement-2013

Benefit cuts threaten independent living says Habinteg report
As a provider of inclusive housing Habinteg has sought to promote accessible homes within the mainstream to meet individual needs. The report examines the effect of benefit cuts on Habinteg tenants. It paints a compelling picture of the impact of benefit cuts on disabled people’s rights and ability to live independent lives. For more information go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/december/benefit-cuts-independent-living-threat-says-report

Disabled child wins right to attend primary school
To celebrate the first anniversary of the Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS) we highlight one of their success stories where Alfie, a disabled child, was refused a primary school place. You can view the blog at http://disabilityrightsuk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/the-equality-advisory-and-support.html. To find out more about the EASS go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/how-we-can-help/helplines/equality-advisory-support-service

Government loses Work Capability Assessment Appeal Court case against key mental health decision
The Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling which found that the process used to decide whether hundreds of thousands of people are eligible for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) disadvantages people with mental health problems, learning disabilities and autism. For more information go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/december/govt-loses-mental-health-wca-court-appeal

How you can use the Social Value Act
Since the end of January 2013 The Public Services (Social Value) Act has come into force requiring all public bodies in England and some in Wales are required to consider how the services they commission and procure might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of local areas. This external blog posted by Chih Hoong Sin suggests how ways you can use the new Act. You can view the blog at http://www.opm.co.uk/can-providers-take-advantage-public-services-social-value-act/

Ipsos Mori Survey indicates the public thinks the bedroom tax unfair when it is explained to them
A new Ipsos Mori survey “Public perceptions of the removal of the spare room subsidy” examined public attitudes to the implementation of the bedroom tax. The survey, carried out on behalf of the DWP, found that 54% say that it is unfair if there is a shortage of properties with fewer bedrooms in the same area with 18% disagreeing. 48% say that it is unfair if those affected have to make up for the reduction in Housing Benefit by spending less on household essentials with 21% disagreeing. To find out more go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/november/survey-shows-public-thinks-bedroom-tax-unfair

'My Sport, My Voice!’ project
The UK Sports Association (UKSA) has announced the launch of its ‘My Sport, My Voice!’ project – a new initiative which aims to build on the success of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Set to commence in April 2014, ‘My Sport, My Voice!’ will raise awareness around talented athletes with learning disability amongst the general public, giving those athletes a platform to share their views and challenge perceptions around disability. For more information go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/november/uksa-launches-my-sport-my-voice-project

New Money Advice Service for disabled people
To celebrate and support International Day of Disabled People the Money Advice Service has launched a new online resource dedicated to supporting people who people who develop a health condition or become disabled. For more information go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/december/new-money-advice-service-disabled-people

Personalisation is now independent living ‘lite’
Gerry Zarb, Policy Advisor at Spectrum, has written a thought provoking piece on the relationship between independent living and personalisation. To view this go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/november/personalisation-now-independent-living-lite

Scottish devolution proposals on PIP, the bedroom tax and human rights
An independent Scottish Government pledges to abolish the bedroom tax, stop PIP and Universal Credit roll out and embed equality and human rights in Scotland's written constitution. "Scotland’s Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland", published by the Scottish Government, outlines the case for independence prior to the Scotland’s referendum on 18 September 2014. To find out more go to http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/november/scotland-pledges-end-bedroom-tax-and-pip

Views wanted on Scottish future welfare options
The Expert Working Group on Welfare is seeking views on the future Welfare choices in an independent Scotland. The Group’s call for evidence will run until December 13, 2013. See http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2013/september/views-wanted-scottish-future-welfare-options

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