The Independent Living Bill:  Lord Ashley has introduced a Private Member’s Bill in the House of Lords which sets out a series of policy reforms that will give disabled people the right to the same freedom, dignity, choice and control as non-disabled people. It reforms the current over-bureaucratised and ineffective system of social care which limits disabled people’s contribution to their families, the economy and society.

Under the Bill funding for social care for social care, housing support, employment support and health services would be pooled and accessed via a single assessment – ending the current wasteful and fragmented approach.

These are just some of the vital topics covered in Lord Ashley’s Bill. For full text of the Bill and critical commentary, please consult the DRC website at:
http://www.drc.org.uk/your_rights/independent_living_bill.aspx

"OUT OF THE DOLDRUMS"
by Baroness Jane Campbell

Recent years have been tough for disabled people active in the UK independent living movement.  The hard fought for benefits of Direct Payments, which enable disabled people to live, rather than merely exist, have not been sustained as Local Authorities (LAs) have sought savings.  Eligibility criteria have been restricted, support packages curtailed and service charges increased.  As the same time, our Centres for Independent Living (CILs) have been decimated by 'supermarket’ type providers, who have used our language to market themselves to LAs as the cheap and cheerful alternative to services provided by organisations controlled by disabled people. LAs’ desire to save money has been achieved by dropping the essential ingredients of peer support and training from Independent Living support programmes.

So is the Independent Living movement doomed? I don’t think so. This year we have two opportunities to reclaim disabled people's rightful leadership of the Independent Living agenda.  Firstly, Lord Ashley has introduced an Independent Living Bill in the House of Lords. This aims to give disabled people more choice and control over where and how they live. The right to live independently and not face being forced into institutional care has been at the heart of the Independent Living movement since its inception.  The Bill provides a fantastic opportunity for us to campaign on the human right to autonomy over our day-to-day lives. Secondly, work is progressing on implementing the recommendations of the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit report, Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People, which included a chapter on Independent Living. I will be Chairing the Independent Living Expert Panel. It will draw on the expertise of disabled people to develop practical proposals to be fed into the government's 2007 comprehensive spending review. The aim is to make sure that the government targets money on realising disabled people's Independent Living aspirations.

Some people fear that to engage with government risks our independence and we will only find ourselves carrying out their proposals rather than ours.  It’s the old conundrum. Do we venture into the tent and risk having our agenda diluted or colonised? Or do we stay outside and risk being ignored? After experiencing both approaches, I think it is better to be in the belly of the beast. Hopefully the doldrums are past, the seas ahead may be stormy but we have the wind behind us.