Benefit reforms could force disabled people out of their homes and into residential care

Reforms to benefits and services could force disabled people out of their homes and into residential care, MPs have warned.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has published a report which calls for the need for freestanding legislation to protect the right to independent living in UK law.

The right to independent living, is protected and promoted to some extent by a matrix of rights, but it does not exist as a freestanding right in UK law.

Dr Hywel Francis, MP and chair of the select committee made up of MPs from House of Commons and peers from the House of Lords, said: ‘We are concerned to learn that the right of disabled people to independent living may be at risk through the cumulative impact of current reforms.’

‘Even though the UK ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCPRD) in 2009 with cross-party support, the Government is unable to demonstrate that sufficient regard has been paid to the Convention in the development of policy with direct relevance to the lives of disabled people.’

He added: ‘The right to independent living in UK law may need to be strengthened further, and we call on the Government and other interested organisations to consider the need for a freestanding right to independent living in UK law.’

The report ‘Implementation of the Right of Disabled People to Independent Living’ raised concerns about the cumulative impact of the following reforms: the reduction of social care expenditure at local authority level; the replacement of Disability Living Allowance by Personal Independence Payment (PIP); the closure of the Independent Living Fund; and the cap on housing benefit.

Richard Hawkes, chief executive of disability charity Scope, said the report needs to be seen as a wake-up call.

He added: ‘The social care crisis is not just an age issue. It is a disability issue too. The report warns that the current system is failing to enable disabled people to live independently in their community. With upcoming social care legislation, the Government has the perfect opportunity to take action.'

'It is absurd that disabled people have no guarantee that they will receive the same level of care and support when they move from one area to the next.'

'The report rightly calls on the Government to make social care fully portable and give disabled people the chance to choose where they live.’

The report recommends that the Government take further action to ensure assessments for care needs are portable across the country in order to ensure disabled people’s right to choose where they live.

It also expresses concern over a growing incidence of hate crime against disabled people and urges the Government take action to foster respect for the rights and dignity of disabled people.