Birmingham council's plan to cut care for disabled ruled unlawful

From today's Guardian:

Birmingham council's plan to cut care for disabled ruled unlawful

High court judge describes move as potentially devastating and says cuts failed to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act

By Helen Carter

Birmingham city council, the UK's biggest council, acted unlawfully over a decision to cut its provision of care for disabled people, the high court has ruled.

The judgment, involving four severely disabled people who brought a test case against the council, has widespread implications for local authorities.

Mr Justice Walker said councils had to take account of people's disabilities, even where that involved treating disabled persons more favourably than others.

The Tory-Liberal Democrat authority in Birmingham had proposed the cuts as part of a plan to save £212m by limiting council-funded social care only to those assessed as being in "critical" need.

But the judge described this move as potentially devastating and found that the cuts failed to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act. All public bodies had a duty to follow the disability discrimination law, while acknowledging that that placed "significant and onerous" obligations on local authorities, the ruling said.

The council said it would rerun the consultation and make fresh decisions on adult social care in accordance with the ruling.

Disability campaigners welcomed the ruling, though some feared the government could try to create a law allowing councils to make such cuts.

Karen Ashton, who represented three of the four families in the case, said the ruling gave disabled people a voice in law; the proposed policy would have had devastating results. "In cash-strapped times such as these, the public sector must do more to avoid the consequences of cuts falling on those who are least able to bear them. What this case demonstrates is that this may be not only a moral obligation but also a legal one. Local councils, and all other public authorities, must learn this lesson and learn it fast – otherwise there will be many more of these cases coming before the courts."

Walker said there had been a failure to take proper account of the duty to promote equality under laws on disability and discrimination. He found that, when setting its budget and altering its eligibility policy, Birmingham had not given proper consideration to the impact on disabled people and had failed to adequately consult on its proposals.

The issue the council needed to address was "whether the impact on the disabled of the move to critical only was so serious that an alternative which was not so draconian should be identified and funded to the extent necessary by savings elsewhere".

Birmingham council had failed to ask the right questions and councillors were not given the right information to answer those questions. Essential information on the plans was either unclear or only provided at a very late stage.

The judge said the consultation "had not involved any attempt to look at the practical detail of what the move to critical only would entail".

Unison said: "The council should rightly be condemned for defending the indefensible. Thousands of vulnerable people would have been put at risk if it were not for the intervention of the courts."

Kari Gerstheimer, head of legal services at Sense, the deafblind charity, who prepared an expert witness statement, said: "We think it is a really big win for disabled people and we are absolutely delighted by the judge's decision. The judgment said the council failed to consider the impact on disabled people and it sends out an important message even in the time of cuts."We hope this makes councils really think about the choices they make in a civilised society and they should not be cutting services for disabled people with the greatest need. Disabled people are the hardest hit by the cuts and its really unfair that to get out of financial difficulty we are placing the burden on disabled people."

Peter Hay, strategic director for adults and communities at Birmingham council, said: "We welcome the judgment, which has given us greater clarity with regard to the Disability Discrimination Act, and we will now need to rerun the consultation and make decisions about adult social care consistent with the need to analyse the potential impact on disabled people and our compliance with the equality principles set out in law.

"In the meantime, people will continue to receive services to meet needs that have been assessed as substantial and critical. The original dilemma between reducing services in different areas remains. There is no new money as a result of the judgment, and hard choices about meeting growing needs with fewer resources will have to be made by local authorities."

Disability poser

This letter is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Disability poser

The article concerning the young man who used his friend's gym membership provoked many different comments (Mercury, December 9).

Could anyone please tell me how many successful prosecutions have been brought in Leicester or Leicestershire under the Disability Discrimination Act?

Have there been any for providing less than satisfactory education for any child who would be covered by the Act, including learning differences?

Sue Whiting, Oadby

Most buses now disabled-friendly

This letter is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Most buses now disabled-friendly

Regarding the letter from Val London ("Problems faced by the disabled", Mailbox, June 18) I have a few comments to make.

Bus operators have until 2017 to make all their fleets "disabled- friendly", not 2012, though most operators are well ahead of this deadline, Arriva Midlands among them.The only Arriva routes in our area still normally worked by "step entrance" buses are the X3 to Market Harborough, 80 (University Halls of Residence) and 152/153 (Leicester-Desford-Coalville/Market Bosworth).

Regarding service coaches, National Express are putting "disabled-friendly" coaches on many of their routes now, with more to come. The Disability Discrimination Act only covers vehicles used on scheduled services, so private hire and touring coaches are not covered by it.

I wish Val and people with disabilities well. I hope these details help.

Terry Kirby, Campaign for Better Transport (Leicestershire)

Problems faced by the disabled

This letter is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Problems faced by the disabled

Well done Alex Squire (First Person, June 11) for highlighting some of the shortcomings that wheelchair users have to put up with.

There are many places in Leicester where they flout the Disability Discrimination Act, but there are some places where it cannot be enacted. For example, I bank at Lloyds and my branch was High Street. There is no wheelchair access, but they are not allowed to alter the building because it carries a preservation order.

Their branch in Horsefair Street is accessible and until recently it had a dedicated counter for the disabled which could be used without queuing. This so-called privilege has now been removed because it was being abused by other, more selfish, clients. It's obviously an easier option for the management to remove it rather than trying to enforce it and please the few.

If this happens every time a system is abused, then there will be no dedicated parking spaces and no toilets for the disabled.

Many is the time we have waited outside a locked toilet only to see a perfectly able person walk out.

I know you can't always tell a disabled person just by looking – but the "giveaway" is the sheepish grin and the mumbled apology.

I waged a campaign with public transport in Leicester for a few years and I am glad to say that things are considerably better now, thanks to a little retraining.

Some years ago we got on a bus at Leicester General Hospital and the driver said: "You'll have to fold that up." Had I been able to fold the wheelchair up there would have been no need for it! Mind you, there is still the odd Arriva bus that cannot be accessed.

Only last week there was an old type bus on the 51 route and we had to wait for the next one. They do have until 2012 to change them all though, I believe. Because I'm not sure what the situation is with coaches, we do not use them.

All credit to the staff of the train station here in Leicester, though – they are wonderful and can't do enough to help. It's a real pleasure to travel on a train – it's just the cost the prohibits the indulgence.

I am fortunate in as much as I have a manual wheelchair and my husband is good enough to push me around. If I were in the same position as Alex I should find many more places would be no-go areas.

I believe, as Alex does, that the Act should be more legally binding and the politicians who crafted it should be more interested in monitoring same – otherwise the law really is an ass.

Val London, Leicester.

Wheelchair user provides food for thought

This is Alex Squire's First Person column published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Wheelchair user provides food for thought

Alex Squire thinks that the disability discrimination legislation should be tightened upI am a student at the University of Leicester and as a result I go on a number of social outings with my friends. I don't get blind drunk, but I still like to have a good time. I am not your usual run-of-the-mill student, you could say, as I have to use a power chair to get around.

On my outings so far I have encountered many places where wheelchair access is not up to scratch. My course Christmas meal was by far the most eventful, so far.

As it was a special occasion, everyone was dressed smartly, suits and bow ties for the men and dresses for the ladies. I turned up in my suit and was greeted by the sight of six large steps leading up to the entrance of the restaurant. After much deliberation on how I'd get in (including trying to physically lift my chair up the steps which is no easy task) we decided on a plan.

There was an advertising board standing on the pavement which had the menu written on it. We laid this flat over the steps to create a ramp. This, to date, has got to be one of the craziest things I've done.

I put my chair on full speed, hoped for the best, and drove up the "ramp" as fast as I could. Amazingly, I managed to get up the "ramp" first time! This was improvisation at its finest!

Although the health and safety people would not have agreed with this method, it was the only way in a million years I would have got into this restaurant.

Once I was finally in to the restaurant, I had a great meal and it was good fun. To get out, the manageress wouldn't let me use the same method as I came in.

After much deliberation again, they found some wooden boards from somewhere – I've no idea where! They used these to create a ramp and I managed to slide my chair down back to terra firma once again.

Things could have been so much easier if only they had a proper ramp.

Wheelchair accessible taxis have metal ramps which wheelchairs can drive up to get in. Why can't the restaurants which are "unable" to build a ramp buy these instead? This after all would be a much cheaper alternative. It would also satisfy the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) for establishments to make reasonable adjustments to allow disabled people to enter.

I believe the Act should be more legally binding and not just allow people to make their own minds up as to what constitutes "reasonable adjustments".

Station improvements called for in Broxtowe disability review

This article is published in today's Nottingham Post:

Station improvements called for in Broxtowe disability review

A 20-POINT action plan has been drawn up to make Broxtowe more accessible for people with disabilities.

Broxtowe Borough Council has published the findings of a 12-month review which looked at how accessible the borough is.

The report calls for access improvements to platform two at Beeston railway station.

The recommendation follows a review of disability issues by the council's People and Places Examination and Inquiry Group.

Councillor Jacky Williams, who chairs the group, said: "Transport was one of the main issues. Hopefully improvements at Beeston station, certainly for platform two, will happen."

At present, passengers with disabilities have to get to the platform via a road footbridge in Station Road. The platform is the main stopping point for trains heading out of Nottingham to London, Birmingham and Cardiff.

The council's stance has been welcomed by campaigner Dean Thomas, of Beeston.

Mr Thomas, 39, who has cerebral palsy, said: "At worst the situation at Beeston train station is discriminatory and a disgrace, at best it's frustrating and a right pain.

"It's crazy that I have to go to Nottingham or Derby to board a train which often then stops at Beeston. Living in central Beeston this can often add an hour at least on to any journey I make.

"To make the station fully accessible it needs to be staffed at all times by at least two people and it also should have an accessible toilet."

The review was carried out between January and November last year, with the committee holding eight meetings with various groups.

Other topics covered included access to public conveniences, access to housing, community issues, employment, sport and leisure, and access to public buildings.

The report found 12 out of 19 council and civic buildings in the borough met accessibility standards for people with disabilities.

As a result, the committee has drawn up a list of 20 recommendations.

Suggestions include forming a disability access group of disabled residents to allow greater involvement with the council over disability matters; producing a leaflet informing businesses of their duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005; and seeking to install an adapted "Changing Places'' disabled toilet as part of the Beeston Square redevelopment.

Mr Thomas last year campaigned for access to be improved in Beeston town centre. He said: "Access to Beeston town centre has been improved recently, mainly as a result of the new paving to the pedestrian areas which has made level access to more shops."

A spokeswoman for Network Rail said there were no plans to carry out work to improve disabled access at Beeston station, but that it would be willing to work with any partner organisations planning to do so.