Independent Living Bill in the UK

Independent Living Bill in the UK

Lord Ashley of Stoke introduced his independent Living Bill in 2006.
It was drafted by the Disability Rights Commission and in consultation
with a range of disability organisations, service providers and other
stakeholders.

ENIL Regional Delegate Debbie Jolly talked to Lord Ashley of Stoke.
The Bill identifies key issues that impact on disabled people's
freedoms, control, rights and dignity including reform of a social
'care' system that is in crisis and can not deliver support to
disabled people beyond the minimum levels. At present it represents a
system that is difficult to understand and work through, a system in
which advocacy and self-assessment principles are being ignored and
the prevention of freedom of movement because of the impossibility of
transferring a package of social support to other areas. In short
social 'care' does not support what disability organisations would
term independent living.

The independent living bill seeks to tackle these problems, but the
process is slow as the Bill needs to be read several times by
different Parliament houses at Westminster before it becomes a legally
binding Independent Living Act, although the Independent Living Bill
appears to have inspired some government plans, government are
reluctant to accept the Bill in its entirety- Lord Ashley is
determined to carry on representing the Bill and told ENIL:

"My Bill on independent living is designed to sweep away the
scandalously inadequate system of services for disabled people and to
replace it with one which is based on freedom, choice, control and
participation. At present, independent living is a mirage.
Consequently, the present system means there are very few rights to
services. For example, the very notion that the right to merely being
washed and fed provides independence is bizarre. These conditions mean
that disabled people have to fight for every concession rather than
have services provided as of right.

Today, disabled people have no rights in their choice of where they
live and who they live with, no legal entitlement to advocacy, no
right to communication support and equipment, no right to portable
support. They are trapped in a system which is slow, cumbersome and
inflexible.

The Bill sets out clear principles for the delivery of support to
disabled people and their families. For the first time social care,
health and housing support will have a clear purpose set out in law.
This would guarantee disabled people the services they are deprived of
today.

Every disabled person would be guaranteed minimum outcomes which would
focus on delivering the means to live an ordinary life, rather than
the current "feed and clean" only culture.

Disabled people would be supported to define their own needs through
self-assessment which would save time and money.

Disabled people would have new rights to communication support and
equipment, to independent advocacy, to support mental health needs and
to palliative care and rehabilitation.

This is merely the flavour of the Bill and there are many detailed
proposals, all of which combine to present a very different picture of
independent living from today's. This Bill has the potential to
transform the lives of millions of disabled people in Britain. They
are entitled to it and it is up to us, working together, to provide
it."

http://www.enil. eu/enil/index. php?option= com_content& task=view& id=60&Itemid= 82

Article shared by:
Abner Nguyen Manlapaz
President, Life Haven Inc.