UK DISABILITY UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
S W E N
Over recent years, more and more of us are taking an interest in politics. Events such as the Scottish Independence Referendum and now Brexit negotiations have shown how important politics are on day to day life. For anyone affected by disability rights and Government welfare, recent political activity is worth keeping a very close eye on.
In 2007 the UK was signed up to a UN Convention protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. In simple words, there is now a basic level of support available to all disabled people in the UK. The Government agreed on these standards with the UN and promised to maintain them. However, disability organisations have been concerned that recent governmental reforms are adversely affecting disabled people. Numerous organisations carried out their own reports and studies to assess the impact of these policy changes. The UN was paying attention and its committee was called into action to investigate. Over the last year, the 'UN committee on the rights of persons with disabilities' (CRPD) has revealed the findings of two separate investigations. Both reports highlight important changes for the disabled population of the UK, many of whom rely on the Government for protection and assistance. Spinal Life Scotland have taken care of all the heavy reading for you and we are here to focus on some of the key talking points.
The report was heavily critical in many areas of reform including sanctions on employment and support allowance, assessments into suitability to work and neglecting the fact that waiting on assessment results caused "anxiety and psychological strain". Stressing the importance of recent changes, UN committee chairwoman Theresia Degener claimed the situation was a "human catastrophe" and that the "evidence was overwhelming". Some more examples of recent welfare reform you may be familiar with include more stringent conditions to qualify for social care and changes to the criteria for PIP application. In relation to these changes, the report stated that they "hindered disabled people's rights to live independently and be included in the community". One more striking statement in the report was that UK welfare reforms led to "grave and systematic violations" of disabled persons rights. Very strong words from the UN that could suggest Persons with disabilities have reason to be concerned. Continued on page 4
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