Even Boris Johnson thinks the Government’s planned reforms of disability living allowance arer wrong and Continue Reading

Following recent discussions with members of the Long Term Impairments Partnership Board, the City Council Adult services Team have arranged a conference for people with long-term impairments to establish the future structure of the Board and inform future strategy.

It will be held on September 15th at the A4I premises in Albert Road WV6 0AF, commencing at 10.00 am with coffee and closing at 3.00 pm.

The Agenda is:

10.00     Coffee

10.30     Opening presentations and outline for the day.

11.00     Working Groups.

12.00     Lunch and Display Market stalls of Disability groups in Wolverhampton.

1.30       Working Groups.

2.30       Plenary session

If you want to come along as part of One Voice let us know soon and we will make sure your place is booked.

One Voice was involved along with many disabled people, in putting forward suggestions to make the new bus station less of a barrier for disabled people.

The project was called The Interchange Project – because it was supposed to enable passengers to easily change from bus to train to metro (if the Metro ever gets the funding to extend).

On the day the bus station opened, many passengers found that their bused no longer stopped at the bus station – there was no interchange at all – just a chaos of buses outside the Art Gallery. So now, many people have to go much further to get to the train station than before. Perhaps the project should have been called the ignoring-the-passengers project.

Not content with making this change, the bus company decided to changes the numbers and routes of most buses. There was a leaflet about these changes that came out 2 weeks before – so people had some notice. The leaflet though, was not called “changes to bus service” it was called “a fresh start”, so most bus users didn’t pick it up. The changes in number and service have been condusing to every passenger we have met on buses.

Now we have the passenger-unfriendly situation of more buses stopping or waiting in Lichfield street than there is room for. So some stop away from the bus stop, or change which end of the bus shelter they stop at, because of lack of space – this makes it much more difficult for blind and visually impaired and mobility impaired people to use the bus – it is also very stressful for all bus users. Sometimes, a bus will stop in the right place, and the driver will get out and passengers have to wait for a new driver.

This isn’t a fresh start, it is a fresh hell, and it seems to have been done without any consultation with passengers. It has made huge new barriers to using the bus service for many disabled people and others.

It is not the way to make sustainable change.

On Wednesday 27^th July disability rights campaigners from the anti-assisted suicide group Distant Voices, will stage a mock execution of a wheelchair user outside Parliament.

The Distant Voices stunt is aimed at giving greater publicity to a different view on assisted suicide.

A lot has been said in the press over the past through years by disabled people who want the right to die at a time of their choosing, without partners or friends getting punished for it; Distant Voices believes not enough thought is being given to the possibility that this might lead to the involuntary euthanasia of disabled people.

The protest will start at 1pm at Old Palace Yard from where campaigners wearing surgical masks will process by drumbeat to a scaffold where one wheelchair user will be doused in fake blood.

From London Disabled People’s Advisory committee

The Supreme Court has ruled in support of Kensington and Chelsea council’s withdrawal of overnight care to Elaine McDonald to save money. This will mean she will have no choice but to wear pads, although this is undignified and against her express wishes. Male judges are undermining a woman’s right to choose how she is helped with personal care.

The ruling has accepted that reviewing care plans can be treated as a reassessment of need. Therefore any contact with social services, even a phone call, could lead to detrimental changes to a disabled person’s care package.

The idea that privacy and independence can best be facilitated by dispensing with personal assistants or care workers at night was also supported by the Supreme Court. This is contrary to the government’s Independent Living Strategy, and undermines everything we have fought for as a disabled people’s movement for the last forty years. Personal assistance is vital to many disabled people’s independence and safety. Disabled people with complex health and social care needs who cannot move unaided should never be left alone at night in case of a fire or a sudden deterioration in their condition.

Disabled people, family carers, personal assistants, women, pensioners, community activists and trade unionists should come to the lobby to support Elaine and oppose this disgraceful ruling. Elaine’s overnight care should be restored immediately. A defeat for Elaine is a defeat for us all.

Contact ADKC on 0208 960 8888 or at pbsupport@adkc.org.uk

Contact HAFCAC on 07899 752 877 or at hafcac@hotmail.co.uk

Contact DPAC at mail@dpac.uk.net or visit our web site at www.dpac.uk.net

Contact WinVisible on 0207 482 2496 (voice & minicom) or at win@winvisible.org

We have all had difficulty with the buses or trains or shops or buildings at some point, because a service or venue isn’t set up in an accessible way.

But now you can be part of some research to show how bad the problem is – or how much its improved!

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The Equality and Human Rights Commission published a guide on using the Equality Act for voluntary and community sector organisations in November, it includes a useful overview of some of the changes that have come into force since all the equality legislation was combined, like dula discriminations, the public sector duty etc.

One Voice Members and readers have asked for a link to it, so here it is>>

A British Diplomat praised for her work promoting disability rights as a diplomat in Poland, has had her new posting as Britain’s deputy ambassador to Kazakhstan revoked, after Foreign Officie officials decided that her deafness makes it too expensive for her to work abroad.
The Equality and Human Rights commision is taking up her case.
But this signals an interesting approach by a Government that – in oppositiion, said that disabled people’s equality was safe in their hands.
Overcoming disabling barriers can be expensive, but the Disability Discrimination Act looks at the resources of the organisation when deciding whether the cost of removing barriers or providing aids and adaptations, is prohibitive and can be refused.
It seems a clear indication of the Government’s continued intention for poorer and “less equal” groups to bear the main burden of the Government cuts.
After all, a Government that is still paying MP expenses for TVs, up to £24,222 for rent/housing costs, an annual Communications Allowance of £10,400, and up to £37,281 to each MP for staff costs.
Readers may also remember an item in the news that foreign secretary William Hague was employing 3 Special Advisors, but apparently, paying for the lip speakers that Jane Cordell uses to do the job she was selected for is too expensive.
The EHRC must win this case, or the hard won rights of Disabled people to live and work as equals will have been effectively repealed.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has begun it’s inquiry into disability-related harassment and how well it is being addressed by public bodies. They want to hear from disabled people who have been harasssed or organisations working for disabled people in the 3rd sector (voluntary and community sector) as well as public authorities (like police, councils, housing authorities, and education) and public transport bodies.

You can find out more from their video >>>