Stop the scrapping of the Independent Living Fund. Don't force disabled people to rely only on council-provided 'carers' or have to live in an institution!
Why is this important?
The Independent Living Fund makes a massive difference to disabled peoples' lives and it's a far better alternative to the very limited help provided by council-funded care agencies, or living in an institution.
The ILF is the only way a lot of us disabled people get the care and help we actually need, because we directly employ our own PA's (or carers), who can help us in the most appropriate way.
Many disabled people are skilled and talented individuals who have a lot to offer society, but we can't offer our skills to the world if we are either shut away in an institution or having to rely on the massively restricted help that council agency 'carers' provide.
Like non-disabled people, we all have individual needs, and it is only through being in charge of our own care that we can ensure our needs are properly met and we can reach our full potential as human beings and members of society.
The Government has argued that the care provided by agencies contracted out by local authorities is sufficient for disabled people. This is completely wrong! These agencies are expensive for the councils to use yet they pay their own 'carers' a very low rate of pay.
The way it works is, the more clients a council-funded agency 'carer' can take on, the more money she or he earns. This of course means less time is then available to provide help to each client. In addition, there have been well-documented cases where clients receiving help from council-funded agency carers, (either in an institution or via home visits) have been subjected to physical and mental abuse. If the disabled person can directly choose and employ their own PA, then this is far less likely to happen.
The current plan to scrap the Independent Living Fund is not only inhumane but it doesn't even make economic sense! For example, it will cost a lot more to keep someone in an institution for a year or to pay the wages of an agency 'carer' than it would to provide that same person with an annual budget to pay for and control their own care.
To the next UK Government: Please show some humanity and common sense and ditch the plans to scrap the ILF!
