Category Archives: ukcuts

The basic rights of people with a learning disability are threatened by welfare cuts

June 18, 2015   Carers, Featured Article, learning difficulties, ukcuts
‘I fear we are about to go backwards on decades of hard-fought victories which secured disabled people’s rights and inclusion in society’ … Brian Rix, president of the Royal Mencap society. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian

I fear we are about to go backwards 

Campaigners fought for more than 60 years so people with a learning disability can make their own choices in life and be part of mainstream society. However, I fear we are about to go backwards on decades of hard-fought victories which secured disabled people’s rights and inclusion in society.

I have seen great strides since the 1950s, when I was advised to “put away and forget” my late daughter, Shelley, who had Down’s syndrome. However, expected £12bn cuts to social security, combined with huge reductions in funding for local government, and therefore social care, are causing fear and anxiety among the 1.4 million people with a learning disability in the UK, and their families.

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PIPs disability benefit delay unlawful, says High Court

June 5, 2015   Carers, disability, ukcuts

A delay in paying welfare benefits to two disabled people was “unlawful” but did not breach their human rights, the High Court has ruled.

The unnamed pair had said their nine-month waits for Personal Independence Payments (PIPs) left them dependent on loan sharks and food banks.

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Scottish carers reach breaking point

May 26, 2015   Carers, Featured Article, health, Scotland, ukcuts

Scotland’s army of unpaid carers are reaching crisis point as their own health problems soar and they struggle to get by on low incomes
by Susan Smith

Scottish carers are reaching breaking point, experiencing high levels of depression, poor incomes and declining health as a result of their caring roles.

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