Equality South West has warned local authorities not to discriminate against older and disabled people as they prepare for the next round of budget cuts, after the High Court ruled Birmingham City Council had acted unlawfully in reducing care for disabled people.
Katie Pratt, chief executive of the equality and diversity body, said the High Court decision had huge implications for local authorities in the South West which may be considering making similar cuts.
The High Court ruled that Birmingham City Council had failed in its duty to disabled people in its decision to cut its package of care.
Katie told the PRSD: “This judgement sends out a very clear message to all local authorities that they must abide by anti-discrimination laws to protect disabled people.
“It has huge implications for South West authorities and for local disability groups, which will clearly be closely examining council decisions over reducing services.
“The High Court ruling reminds public authorities that they have a statutory duty under the Equality Act 2010 to encourage disabled people to participate in public life and to take steps to meet their needs – even when that involves treating them more favourably than others.
“It is increasingly clear from spending cuts already announced in recent months that disabled people and those needing social care are among the hardest hit by the local authority spending cuts.
“This ruling reminds them of their responsibilities to the most vulnerable in society. We strongly urge councils to re-examine their decisions in the light of the High Court ruling, both in terms of decisions already made and also as they prepare for the next round of spending cuts.
“Updated guidance from the Government Equalities Office reinforces the duty to carry out proper impact assessments before they make any decisions – and this must take into account the cumulative impact of all their spending cuts, not just the individual decisions by different departments.
“But it is not just disabled people and the elderly who are protected under anti-discrimination laws. Local authorities must ensure they do not disproportionally affect a particular sector of society when cutting their budget.”
The High Court judgment, which came after the families of four severely disabled people in Birmingham challenged the city council’s decision to reduce its provision of care, comes amid growing anger about the impact of existing budget cuts on the most vulnerable.
Campaigners say disabled people will be hit disproportionately hard by the cuts which could result in families losing an estimated £9bn of support over the next four years. The Birmingham case may be the first of a series of possible legal challenges to councils by those facing cuts to social care.
Annie Davis, Chief Executive Officer of the Bristol-based West of England Centre for Inclusive Living (WECIL) – one of the UK’s largest centres for independent living – said: ”Here at WECIL we are experiencing colossal increases in demand from disabled and older people for our advocacy, information, advice and independent living support services.
“Disabled people are being hit from many angles with benefit changes, reductions in services, charges for care, etc, and this is having a detrimental effect on their quality of life. More than ever, disabled people are looking to their local disabled people’s organisations for support, and yet these organisations are operating in the context of funding cuts.
“Our concern is that in an effort to save money now, local authorities are seriously disadvantaging disabled people and jeopardising the governments’ vision of improving the life chances of disabled people by 2025.
“In this era of cuts and difficult choices, a civilized society must ensure disabled and older people have the support they need to live full and independent lives.”
The day after the rally, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) said English local authorities were planning to cut spending on adult social care by nearly £1 billion this year, with nearly a quarter of the cuts coming through “service reductions”, according to a new survey of 98 per cent of its members3.
Adult Social Care is a substantial part of the overall budget for councils across the country, representing one third (34%) of Council’s net budgets for 2011/12, according to ADASS.
A recent survey of charities including Carers UK, the Alzheimer’s Society, Macmillan Cancer Support and Scope found nearly one in four disabled and older people have experienced cuts to services and higher charges to care.
More than half of those who responded to the survey said they had seen their health suffer, 52% said they were struggling to maintain their independence, and half said increased charges for care meant they could no longer afford essentials such as food and heating.
(from a press release)
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