Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 1:46 PM
To: Thomas Chambers
Subject: IL Newsletter, 18th December
| Hello Thomas Welcome to the last Independent Living newsletter of 2013. Contents: 1. #actkind for Christmas 2. Access to the Festivities 3. Care Bill Debated 4. Bedroom Tax should be Abolished? 5. NHS Change Day 6. Last Word till the New Year """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 1. #actkind for Christmas I will start this final newsletter of 2013 on a seasonal note, though perhaps not quite the popular image of Christmas celebrations. I hope that you are not numbered among the 450,000 older people who will be alone during the holiday season. What feels like a welcome extended break from routine for most of us will no doubt feel rather different to each one of them, as they wait for the trivial connections that form part of normal daily life to resume. Friends of the Elderly have just launched their Christmas campaign, #actkind, which is encouraging everyone to do something kind for an older person during this period. Putting together the 91 percent of older people who go all day without anyone being kind to them, with the 25 percent of the population who can't remember the last time they did anything nice, sounds like there is a lot of scope to improve the situation. You can read more here, where there is also a link to the campaign website, where you can download resources and view their video. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 2. Access to the Festivities I thought that we had largely "done" disabled access, apart from perhaps chivvying a few laggards, and then I spoke to Martyn Sibley about his experience travelling the length of Britain, and discovering - not at all to his surprise - that really accessible accommodation is not quite as widely available as one might expect. But how about this for an eye-opener? There are 120 five-star luxury hotels in Britain; 66 of them claim to be accessible – which leaves you wondering what the other half think the Equality Act is all about – but worse yet, when you push for details, it turns out that there are really only 12 that are permanently and fully accessible. And even there, they may only have a single room that meets the criteria. Better still, you are very likely to be charged extra as you can't walk: 31 of the accessible hotels will do so, as you need more space for a wheelchair. Campaigner Sophie Morgan investigated the situation for the Mail on Sunday, and is about as impressed as you would expect that her glamorous night out at the Ritz had to begin with a tour of their bin area. Don't forget that you can post reviews of venues that are properly welcoming for customers with a disability on Euan's Guide, and perhaps the organisations which are so ready to ignore the needs of a large proportion of the population will realise how much business they are missing out on. Disabled people have friends and family too! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 3. Care Bill Debated The Care Bill received its second reading in the Commons earlier this week, amid widespread claims that certain aspects are being "rushed through". One of the provisions of the Bill is a cap on the amount that older people would need to spend on residential care. According to Labour, they would have spent £150,000 on actual care costs before reaching the notional limit of £72,000 – the difference arising from a number of reasons, including the fact that accommodation and living expenses aren't counted towards the cap, and neither is any money paid by an individual in excess of what the local authority would have paid had they been commissioning the care. Earlier in the year, I interviewed Belinda Schwehr, an expert in social care law, about the draft legislation. She gave some fascinating insights into the government proposals, and some of the consequences that might flow from them. You can listen to her analysis here. Another provision of the Bill that is raising concerns is tucked away in Clause 118, and gives increased powers to Trust Special Administrators, who are brought in to manage NHS organisations that are deemed to be failing. Under the new law, they would be able to impose changes in neighbouring Trusts, not just the one they were asked to administer, reconfiguring or closing down local services, in short order and without democratic consultations. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 4. Bedroom Tax should be Abolished? One of the subjects I seem to have written about most frequently during the past year is the Bedroom Tax, a blunt instrument applied indiscriminately to people – a large proportion of them with disabilities – living in social housing deemed to be too large for their needs. Never mind that there is a chronic shortage of smaller properties for people to move into, no matter how earnestly they may wish to do so. Nor that an extra bedroom may actually be vital storage space for hoists, wheelchairs, even a kidney dialysis machine. The property may have been specifically adapted for the occupant – still they will be penalised if they continue to live in it. The preferred solution, presumably, being to set about the costly business of making another, slightly smaller, home meet their needs. Many organisations have weighed into the debate, including the United Nations, which sent a special rapporteur to look into the impact of the legislation on the human rights of those affected. So it was good to hear a Parliamentary committee calling this week for the Bedroom Tax to be abolished. The Scottish Affairs Committee said on Monday that the legislation should be repealed, and in the meantime, the way in which it is applied should be moderated, so that the scenarios described above do not occur. The Committee also suggested that entitlement to the Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP), designed to help those affected by the Bedroom Tax on a temporary basis, should be standardised across the country, and that central governments in Westminster and Edinburgh should commit to it for a longer period, to enable Local Authorities to plan more effectively. You can read the Committee's report here. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 5. NHS Change Day NHS Change Day took place for the first time last year, and it was so successful that it was decided to make it an annual event. Essentially, the day was about people working in the NHS making pledges to improve things in specific ways, both big and small. It began on Twitter, and grew to the extent of 189,000 pledges made. This year, there is an ambitious target of 500,000 pledges. 3rd March 2014 is the date for your diary, and you can read more about what this grassroots movement hopes to achieve here. Early in the New Year, I will be bringing you a podcast interview with a couple of inspiring changemakers who made a pledge in 2013. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 6. Last Word till the New Year As I said at the top, this is the last time you will hear from me until 2014. Interesting news stories that catch my eye will still be posted as usual in our News Centre. And, just as importantly, our new look Forum is always open, and waiting for you to post about any topics that interest you. If you haven't visited recently, take a look! If you have registered in the past, you will need to re-register - which is quick and easy - as it is completely different system. Previous newsletters are archived here. Our Facebook page is regularly updated with the latest developments on the site, and is also somewhere that you can share your opinions with us. Or if you want to make it pithy, send us a tweet! @IndLiving Until next time, with all good wishes for Christmas and the New Year, Frances -- Frances Leckie Editor E: editor@independentliving.co.uk t: +44 (0) 208 133 0628 Skype: francesleckie w: http://www.independentliving.co.uk This newsletter was sent to thomaschambers@eircom.net. If you prefer not to receive future copies, just reply asking to be removed from the list, and it will be done! |
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