Plans to close the independent living fund will mean severely disabled young people can't fulfil their potential and use their talents to contribute to society.
Media discussion of the crisis in social care focuses on the effects on older people and their families, who bear the brunt of caring when public services let them down. Yes, more older people than disabled people are affected by the social care funding difficulties, but many people don't realise that the life chances of younger disabled people also depend in large part on those same stretched local authority social care budgets.
The government is planning to close the independent living fund (ILF) – which supplements the funding of independent living support for 19,000 of the most severely disabled people – and transfer the money to local authorities, where the needs of older people are already putting services under increasing strain. This combination of challenges to social care services is set to have a catastrophic effect on the ability of severely disabled people to fulfil their potential and use their talents to contribute personally and economically to society.
There are many examples of severely disabled people whose care packages enable them to employ personal assistants of their choosing to maximise their independence, and their ability to participate and make a contribution. To take just a few examples: without extensive support packages, Lady (Jane) Campbell of Surbiton would be unable to fulfil her role in the Lords; Alice Maynard would be unable to run her own consultancy and undertake her duties as chair of Scope; Katherine Araniello would be unable to produce work as an artist and film-maker, and Dr Ian Basnett would be unable to fulfil his role as director of public health for east London and the City.
