Sep262016
This is what we have
asked the Labour Party to support and will also be asking others as soon as
possible to do the same.
After decades of
oppression we believe that disabled people must be afforded self determination
from the grass roots level. “Nothing About Us Without Us” must become a
reality.
No Longer will we
tolerate large disability charities which see us as nothing more than
marketable commodities from which to make profits for their own benefit
speaking for us and deciding our futures. We expect a Labour Party which claims
to support disabled people’s rights to ensure that it is our voices that are
listened to and not the empty voices of our oppressors. Without this guarantee
DPAC cannot approve of the disability policies of any political party.
The UNCRDP and
our human and civil rights must be fully implemented, promoted and enforced.
Disabled people are
affected by the cuts 9 times more than everybody else. People with the most
severe disabilities are affected by the cuts 19 times more than everybody else.
This discrimination against disabled people must end.
DPAC priorities for setting disability policies – Policy
Pledges we are seeking from Labour
A
Legal Right to Independent Living and Self-Determination:
The creation of a
specific independent living law: a legal right that fully enacts and enforces,
as domestic law, the UNCRPD incorporating the 12 pillars of independent living
as its key goals and ensures provision of independent living support is free at
the point of need and paid from general taxation.
A continuing
right for disabled people to receive a Direct Payment to fund their own care
and support and have a right to choose what option they wish to use to provide
that care and support.
There should be
a single nationally transportable social care system and an end to localism and
the current postcode lottery that exists. Funding for care should return to a 4
tier rather then a 2 tier system with low and moderate needs being met for all
as well as substantial and critical. This would, as in the past, act as a
preventative measure which would allow disabled people to retain independence
and dignity longer.
Set up an
Independent living task force, co-produced with disabled people to review
independent living in order to identify how best to improve, develop and extend
independent living support building on the successful model of ILF provision.
Legislation to
end 15 minute home care visits and any move to replace face-to-face visits with
telecare options.
Conduct a
cost-benefit analysis of the use of agencies to provide home care provision
with a view of bringing home-care (where provided as a service) back into local
authority control.
-An end to zero
hour contracts for home care staff. Local Authorities to provide sufficient
funding for those using Direct payments to meet all their financial
responsibilities as an employer.
Serious changes
should be made to how family carers are better supported both financially and
practically.
Access
to Health and Support Services: NHS funding must be protected and all
forms of privatisation of our NHS should end with immediate effect.
Funding for
mental health services including crisis teams should be protected and where
necessary increased to former and safer levels. There should be an end of
rationing of primary MH care services and treatment tailored to needs.
More funding
investment is needed for children’s adolescent mental health services.
GP and nurse
training should include compulsory training on mental health conditions and
treatment.
There must be
changes made to the Mental Capacity Act which is failing people it is supposed
to protect. The Best Interests concept means that substitute decision making
has become the default position rather than supporting people who are disabled
or have Learning Difficulties to make their own decisions.
Welfare Support : There
must be a publicly run welfare system and an end to paying private firms
massive amounts of public money to carry out disability assessments badly.
Instead that money should be invested into providing decent, liveable benefit
levels.
An end to the Work
Capability Assessment which is too flawed to amend. No aspect of the social
security system should cause distress or deterioration in a claimant’s health
condition.
An end to
replacing Disability Living Allowance with Personal Independence Payments where
assessment processes are in complete chaos. Flawed assessments are depriving
many disabled people of the support they need to get to work or to take part in
society.
A full public,
independent inquiry into deaths of social security claimants
leading where appropriate to criminal proceedings against
ministers, civil servants, and employees of service providing
companies, ATOS, Maximus Capita who were found to have broken any laws with
respect to this
Engagement with any
back to work services must be optional for all claimants.
An immediate
end to benefit sanctions which have led to deaths and increasing poverty.
Ensure that there is no conditionality of JSA or ESA WRAG on seeking treatments
and no linkage with treatment and receipt of benefits.
There must be a statutory right ensuring all people have ‘enough to live on’ and no-one is left destitute without money for food and fuel as a very minimum.
There must be a statutory right ensuring all people have ‘enough to live on’ and no-one is left destitute without money for food and fuel as a very minimum.
A total rethink
on any move to Universal Credit and instead serious consideration to be given
working with disabled people and DPOs to a move to a single system of welfare
support based on the concept of a disabled person’s citizen’s income.
Policy recognition
that there will always be disabled people who are unable or too ill to work.
These individuals must be supported by a publically funded system.
Housing:
A strategic and
sustained programme of building social housing to the standards of universal
design and accessibility is carried out.
An end to
bedroom tax and the Benefit Cap.
Until there are
adequate levels of social housing available an increase in LHA rates to fully
reflect the real costs of housing to meet the needs of disabled people and
disabled children.
Access, Inclusion and taking part in society:
The creation of legal
status for British Sign Language, and disabled people’s access on an equal
basis with others to the physical environment, to transportation, justice,
family life, the arts, to accessible information and all forms of information
technology.
Enact and
maintain a fully accessible public transport system with free transport
available for disabled people.
Fully
Inclusive Education:
Education is the key
to creating an inclusive society. This can only be achieved by having one fully
inclusive mainstream education system, funded by the state. Without inclusive
education you will not get an inclusive society
Cuts to
Disabled Students’ Allowance should be reversed
All Disabled People have a right to Work and get a Job:
A comprehensive plan
of action is developed with disabled people and our organisations to tackle the
discrimination and exclusion disabled people face in work and employment.
Access to Work
(AtW) must be extended to include unpaid voluntary positions and recent changes
that limit and reduce the support provided through AtW should be reversed.
The recently
introduced (August 2013) fees for taking an employer to Employment Tribunal
must be repealed.
Ensure that all
government contracts, at a national, regional and local level, are only awarded
to companies that are fulfilling measurable targets for the employment of
disabled people.
Access
to Justice:
All legal aid changes
must be repealed and disabled people’s rights to access justice must be
restored.
Disability Hate
Crime laws and sentencing must be strengthened.
Reversal of the
watering down of disabled people’s rights with the move from DDA to the
Equality Act.
Restoration of
funding for advice advocacy services such as CABs.
Legislation to
prevent assisted dying.
Local Authority Statutory Services:
There must be no
redefining of Local Authority Statutory Services to reduce their obligations
even further.
Real and Effective Co-Production with user-led Deaf and Disabled
People’s Organisations across the UK:
Ensure meaningful,
well-resourced and accessible co-production with disabled people and their
organisations at local, regional and national levels on all issues affecting
us.
After
decades of oppression we believe that disabled people must be afforded self
determination from the grass roots level. “Nothing About Us Without Us” must
become a reality.
No Longer will we
tolerate large disability charities which see us as nothing more than
marketable commodities from which to make profits for their own benefit
speaking for us and deciding our futures. We expect a Labour Party which claims
to support disabled people’s rights to ensure that it is our voices that are
listened to and not the empty voices of our oppressors. Without this guarantee
DPAC cannot approve of the disability policies of any political party.
The UNCRDP and
our human and civil rights must be fully implemented, promoted and enforced.
Disabled People
Against Cuts (DPAC)
@dis_ppl_protest
Disabled people are
affected by the cuts 9 times more than everybody else. People with the most
severe disabilities are affected by the cuts 19 times more than everybody else.
This discrimination against disabled people must end.
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