Lothian Centre for Inclusive Living

Benefit health tests unjust, say charities - Warning that people with serious illnesses are being judged fit for work when they are not. The government intends to reassess all incapacity benefit claimants to see if they are capable of working, stressing that the welfare bills are unaffordable.  There are complaints that the assessors are not trained to deal with learning disabilities, mental health issues and long-term health problems. In one case highlighted by the Papworth Trust, a 52-year-old woman attempted suicide after she was told that because she could "walk, talk and dress nicely" she would not qualify for state assistance. “My doctor and psychiatrist both wrote saying I was unfit to work but the young woman in the assessment said that you can speak, hear, see and are not incontinent so you can work.”

Source: The Guardian

Disabled man who died at Dignitas known to social workers - Social workers and other professionals met to discuss the safeguarding of a man who seven months later took his own life at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland, it has emerged. Two people have been arrested on suspicion of assisting the suicide of Douglas Sinclair, a 76-year-old disabled care home resident who had the degenerative neurological disorder, multiple systems atrophy.

Source:  Community Care

Adult care system still baffling the public - Widespread public confusion remains over how the adult care system works, two years after councils in England were set personalisation targets to improve information and advice for citizens, research has found. A survey of 1,300 people by older people's charity Counsel and Care found only 5% believe the care system is easy to navigate, while 79% thought too little was done to tell people about their care options.

Source:  Community Care

Providers 'disregarding rights of supported living tenants' - Supported housing providers are failing to respect the tenancy rights of learning disabled people, government-commissioned research has found. In two reports, the National Development Team for Inclusion found that many supported living tenants had no control over key aspects of their lives, such as where they lived, with whom they lived and from whom they received support.

Source: Community Care

Beauty and the Beast won't be a freak show – it's Channel 4 at its best - This much-attacked series is a serious look at disfigurement and beauty myths, says Channel 4's disability director.

Channel 4 'breaching UN convention' with 'freaks' language - Some of the country's leading disabled activists have accused Channel 4 of breaching the UN disability convention by referring to disabled people as "freaks" and "beasts.

Source: The Guardian 

Disabled are socially excluded says Scope survey - Nine out of 10 people in Britain have never had a disabled person in their house for a social occasion, claims a survey from a disability charity. According to the Scope survey, almost two in five people do not know anyone outside of their own family who is disabled.  And only a fifth of people in the survey have ever worked with a disabled person.
 

Source:  The BBC

Scope warns cuts will further marginalise disabled people - Charity says coalition plans could push already 'invisible' group deeper into social exclusion.

Source:  The Guardian

First phase of £90m council cuts plan in detail - Every department ordered to slash spending. Directors from all six key council departments were on hand at yesterday's Policy and Strategy Committee to explain how they would weather the financial storm.  The proposed cash savings below will be debated by councillors on 16 September before a public engagement process and a final budget in February.  The department with the biggest amount to save is Health and Social Care, which must cut back on £5,471,000.
 

Source:  The Guardian

 Edinburgh Council to cut £8m from social care budget - Funding for social care services at Edinburgh Council will be cut by nearly £8m over the next three years.

Source:  Community Care

Osborne's Budget may have breached equality law - The coalition Government faces the embarrassing prospect of being rebuked by the equalities watchdog over whether its planned spending cuts are "unfair" on groups such as women, disabled people and ethnic minorities.  The Equality and Human Rights Commission may take action against the Treasury for not meeting its obligations under the Equality Act 2010 to consider the impact on specific groups before announcing its plans in the emergency Budget in June.
 

Source:  The Independent

Disability charities launch legal challenge over Budget - Disability charities are threatening to challenge the government's Budget in the courts on the grounds that the Treasury had not considered its impact on disabled people. The Disability Alliance, the Disability Law Service and the Disability Charities Consortium are to seek a judicial review of the proposals.
 

Source: Community Care