I've written a blogpost, following the recent House of Lords debate about closure of the Independent Living Fund. jennymorrisnet.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/a-society-that-says-we-cannot-afford.html#comment-form
This closure may only affect 18,000 disabled people but it is part and parcel of the attack on public expenditure, an attack which is usually justified in general terms about how much our economy can ‘afford’ and played out in arguments about billions of pounds and percentages of GDP. But what this is really about is whether we can ‘afford’ to enable disabled people to lead the kind of lives non-disabled people take for granted.
The government rejected Jane Campbell’s proposal that the impact of the closure of the ILF should be monitored in partnership with disabled people and their organisations. We therefore need the better resourced national disability organisations, and research organisations, to work together with local disabled people’s organisations to keep track of what is happening, disseminate it widely, and support individuals to mount legal challenges.
Jenny
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