We had to stand up for our right to Independent Living – Davey Case Intervention

We had to stand up for our right to Independent Living.

When the last government introduced the Care Act, it promised that this law would transform our experiences of social care by putting us in control.  This new law entered into force in April 2015, but unfortunately the reality of it could not have been more different from those promises.  Many of us have experienced significant cuts to our support packages, there is little or no choice and control is more about us having to face all the difficulties of recruiting Personal Assistants who would be willing to work small shifts on a minimum wage.

The reality of the Care Act is illustrated by the legal case of Luke Davey, a Disabled man whose care package was slashed.  Luke decided to stand up for his rights and the Court of Appeal heard his case last week.  Inclusion London thought we had to stand up for the rights of other Disabled people who could potentially be affected by this case and we intervened.

This case will determine how the new Wellbeing duty introduced by the Care Act will apply in the future.  It will determine how the Disabled person’s views about what’s good for them should be balanced against local authority’s views.

We wanted the judges to see that this case was about many Disabled people’s lives.  And that’s why we held a vigil before the hearing and some of us attended the hearing itself.

We know Independent Living is about us having equal choices and living a normal life like everybody else. It is not about leaving us without support.  So we came to ensure the Care Act delivers our right to Independent living. We also came to show solidarity with Luke and highlight the enormous struggle we have to go through to get even very basic things in our lives.

We will keep on fighting.

Inclusion London’s intervention was only possible because of strong and trusting relationships we built with lawyers through our Disability Justice Project.  We are extremely grateful for everyone who supported this important work.

You can read some of the press coverage of the vigil and the case here:

Disabled man Luke Davey takes care cuts to appeal – BBC

A decent life shouldn’t come with a price tag – Morning Star

Disabled man launches appeal battle over ‘savage’ care cuts – North West Mail

Chaos in court as David Cameron’s former Tory council is accused of breaking the law – The Canary

Care Cut To The Bone But Still Fighting Back – Morning Star

DPO plans court vigil as it intervenes in ‘hugely significant’ Care Act case – Disabled Go News

Service user group intervenes in ‘Care Act breach’ court appeal – Community Care