Disabled People: Independent Living Fund

Debate between Lord Bichard and Baroness Campbell of Surbiton

Monday 31st March 2014 Grand Committee

[Baroness Campbell of Surbiton (CB)]

My Lords, independent living lies at the heart of disabled peoples’ participation in their community. My interest in this concept is both personal and professional. Independent living support has enabled me to gain an education and enjoy a fulfilling career. Without it, I would be incapable of doing anything beyond the walls of my home. I am not alone; there are thousands just like me, who have been liberated by this support.

On 6 March, the Government issued a statement announcing, for the second time, their intention to close the Independent Living Fund, the ILF. Only the date of closure has changed: it has been put back to June 2015. Their first attempt at closure was challenged by a small group of disabled people who took the case to the Court of Appeal in 2013. The court ruled in their favour, announcing that the Government’s decision was unlawful under the public sector equality duty. The courts recognised that ILF users will be “significantly disadvantaged” if they have to rely solely on existing local authority provision, and that something more is expected of the Government to fulfil their obligations under the Equality Act and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

One of the judges stated that if the forthcoming legislation on social care, or the code of guidance on transferring responsibility for ILF users to local authorities,

“does not arrive in time or turns out to be too anaemic in content to enable the Convention principles to be brought to bear in individual cases”,

then there would need to be reconsideration as to whether the public sector equality duty had been fulfilled. He also warned that,

“the level of Treasury funding for … this class of ILF users in transition back to”—

local authority provision—

“in particular is so austere as to leave no option but to reverse progress already achieved in independent living”.

I look forward to hearing from the Minister how the Government have addressed the concerns raised by the courts. Their equality impact assessment offers precious little reassurance on either count.

The Government’s decision to close the fund was not a surprise. Like so many government-funded initiatives to support disabled people’s independence, it fell prey to Treasury cuts and a shaky case for non-duplication and rationalisation. While the ILF budget has risen to the region of £290 million, this money helps over 18,000 severely disabled people, many of whom were previously dependent on expensive residential care or traditional day services. One of their biggest fears is of being forced to return to such provision when ILF funding ceases.

Times have changed. We now recognise that all Britain’s citizens, including those with the most severe disabilities, should enjoy the same life chances, freedoms, and responsibility to contribute, as everyone else. The days of mainstream institutionalised care should be behind us. As the deputy president of the Supreme Court said last week, when ruling that three disabled people had been deprived of their liberty in comfortable care facilities:

“A gilded cage is still a cage”.

Today, six out of 10 ILF users have some form of learning disability, and people—

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Bichard) (CB)]

My Lords, there is a Division in the House. The Committee will adjourn for 10 minutes.