Save the Independent Living Fund

by Merry Cross.

Protest: Save the Independent Living Fund, Tuesday 6 January, 1.30pm for 2pm start. House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

Left Unity as an organisation has always been strong in its support for disabled people. Your support is now needed more than ever as the closure of the Independent Living Fund (ILF) has just been declared to be lawful.

As you will see from the information below (taken from the Disabled People Against Cuts website) many disabled people who have previously been able to be part of – and contribute to – society through receipt of ILF, are now threatened with being shoved back into institutions or being isolated at home without a proper level of care.

Although the coalition say they will give local councils the money to cover this, a) it won’t be as much as previously and b) it won’t be ring-fenced (meaning councils will likely spend it on something else). DPAC are aware of many local authorities which are extremely concerned that they won’t be able to provide services at the level required. So please read the open letter below and support the demonstration this Tuesday, 6 January (details above).

DPAC’s open letter to Ed Miliband: Please Help Us, Save Our Independent Living Fund

We, disabled people, family, friends, supporters and allies, are asking for your help. We are asking you to pledge to keep the Independent Living Fund open to existing applicants, pending a review of Independent Living for all disabled people.

As you may know, on the 8th of December at the High Court, a ruling was given against our challenge to the closure of the ILF, and we were not given leave to appeal.

The closure of the ILF effectively signals the end of the right to independent living for disabled people in the UK. Whilst never perfect the ILF represents a model of support that has enabled thousands of disabled people to enjoy meaningfully lives and to contribute to society as equal citizens.

Since the closure of the Fund to new applicants in December 2010 we have seen disabled people left with their most basic needs unmet and unable to seek employment, to volunteer or go into education or simply even to leave the house.

But we have vowed to fight on against the ILF closure; disabled people will not be pushed back into the margins of society, we will not go back into the institutions, our place is in the community alongside our family and friends and neighbours and we are fighting to stay.

We ask you to imagine what it will be like, for people who have been enabled to live a full life, be with friends and family, go out, work, study and enjoy recreation, to have all that taken away, and find themselves trapped inside, all day, every day, with choices over what they do, when and how, removed.

To severely disabled people the Independent Living Fund represents the difference between having an existence, and having a life.

Please Ed, keep our Independent Living Fund open. Keep Our Lives Open. It means the world to us.