How many people have to emphasise the need for a cumulative impact assessment of the changes impacting on disabled people and carers?
As well as all the signatories to Pat’s Petition, the Joint Committee on Human Rights, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Hardest Hit, and Demos – Anne Begg MP has now asked Esther McVey, (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions),
“will she consider a cumulative impact assessment of all the benefits affecting disabled people?”
describing the lack of an assessment as ‘inexcusable’.
Disabled people know themselves of the impact on their lives of all these changes at once.
How many warnings can the government ignore before this perfect storm becomes a disaster of epic proportions?
Please sign Pat’s petition. check junk box for activation email and then share, share, share.
We have now reached the last two months for the epetition ( sign here ) and now, more than ever, we need your support.
Charities like Disability Rights UK, Carers Trust and Carers UK have added our flyer to their newsletters, and grassroots organisations including Disabled People Against Cuts, Spartacus, Act Now for Autism and many more have promoted it.
You may already have done this in previous months. But can I ask you to repeat it?
Send it to your contacts, media organisations, charities, trade unions and local community organisations, anyone who can send it on further. Don’t worry about duplicating the message – they need to know we all want this to succeed.
With the Paralympics and the week of ATOS protests, as well as the recent TV programmes about the Work Capability Assessment, we can see that people are becoming more aware of the perfect storm that lies ahead. But we do not have much time to get this petition to 100,000. Virgin Trains achieved their target within one week. The changes impacting on disabled people will affect far more people.
Now is the time to act.
I have copied the text of our flyer below – please use it and edit it to suit your situation. We recommend making sure you include the epetition link to make it easy for people to sign.
If you need more information, or want a formatted version of the flyer, please do just get in touch.
Stop and review the cuts to benefits and services, which are falling disproportionately on disabled people, their carers and families
The petition is just one of many actions being taken by disabled people and their supporters. The idea is to get a debate in parliament. To force those dismantling our public services, rights and entitlements, to account for themselves. There is no illusion that the petition will stop anything by itself. But every small action joins with other actions, so that together they can make a difference.
A small group of volunteers has got this to over 44,000 signatures. Now we need to get it to 100,000 by November 1st.
Together WE can do this.
So please sign, and as important, send on to friends and colleagues. Add to e-newsletters, blogs, and social media platforms – spread the word.
There are a couple of very important dates rushing towards me. Oh yes I will be having a birthday – a big one. It has the numbers 0 and 6 in it and I leave you to put them in the right order. Of course, like so many others of my vintage, I have to wait a few more years util I actually ‘retire’ . That will be my new job description – ‘retired’. Forms where I used to leave blank because there wasn’t a category ‘disabled’ or ‘carer’ will now be completed in the usual way. ‘Retired’.’ On the same day will be my little granddaughter’s 1st birthday.
Hardest Hit event London
As if these 2 occasions weren’t enough yet another birthday awaits me. It will soon be one year since I, and 6 other ladies, joined together to discuss welfare reform and the idea of a petition was raised. Some of us had attended Hardest Hit events but we knew so many others had been unable to attend. This petition was for them and everyone else.
These are challenging times for everyone, but especially for disabled people and carers. Cuts to benefits and services are coming our way from all directions creating the perfect storm.
Yet when we ask the DWP to carry out a Cumulative Impact Assessment of all these changes taken together Ms Miller refuses on the grounds it is too difficult and prefers to sit back and wait for the car crash. This just isn’t good enough. All new medicines, bridges, and vehicles have to be road-tested.
So how can they go ahead and conduct a live experiment on disabled people and carers without any estimates of what they are doing?
We all need to fight this together. Pat’s Petition needs your signatures. The petition could trigger government debate if we can achieve 100,000 signatures. If we all work together on this, 100,000 signatures for Pat’s Petition should be easily achievable. Because of the 40,000 signatures we have already the government is asking us to plan for a debate but we don’t have much time left to get the remaining signatures.
It’s desperately important that we show the government the strength we have if we work together. Pat’s Petition has brought together a group of independent disability organisations, academics and charities to carry out our own Cumulative Impact Assessment for disability – CIA-D. While we continue to press the government to carry out their own assessment of the changes, we are starting to gather evidence ourselves. It is still at an early stage but we hope to collect information for campaigners and journalists to show the cumulative impact of all these changes.
In the meantime please go out and get the signatures for Pat’s Petition.
With the help of caring GP’s and some excellent medical services I have managed to care for David for nigh on 20 years. As his spine continues to degenerate he needs more help, support and treatments. The injuries he sustained are now compounded by the additional disintegration of his shoulder and hip. Further complications of memory loss caused by many years of strong opiate based prescription drugs make life very hard for him.
He has many other related conditions – some minor, others more invasive. His package comes untidily wrapped with chronic pain ribbons and reactive depression bows.
The calendar is filled with hospital appointments; follow ups with his GP and little crosses to remind him to change his morphine patches. His drugs, which started in a biscuit tin, now take up 4 shelves in the kitchen cupboard, with an overflow to his bathroom and bedside locker.
A gentle man who can be reduced to a screaming wreck when the pain becomes so unbearable not even the morphine works. A screaming wreck hurling obscenities at me whilst banging his head to make the pain stop. A screaming wreck who is my gentle husband, and I can do nothing for.
I am told I am valued by society. I am told there is help for me to deal with being a carer. Oh really? Let’s start with social works. They can’t visit, as they are 3 social workers short. They only have 4. Earliest appointment is 3 weeks away but they may be able to squeeze me in before that. They manage a squeeze – likely at some other’s cancellation – and I am assessed. The assessment joins the previous one with the same words written on them. ‘No services available.’
This isn’t a dress rehearsal. This is reality. Who do we turn to? We keep being told; ‘vulnerable people’ will be supported. No they won’t – they aren’t. No one is.
Ignore them while their conditions deteriorate which then needs costly treatment. Help them before they become unable to function with some normality. Hasn’t it always been ‘prevention is better than cure?’
Maybe, but not any more. Welfare Reform has slashed Services at local level. Benefits cut to disabled people across the country. No longer any services provided and you don’t have any of your disability allowances to look elsewhere. Doctor – help me. What can they do? Nothing without that fall back safety net of care. Suddenly more and more people are admitted to hospital. No beds – no resources. If you do manage a bed you will get no care on discharge. Back on the merry go round again.
No government would completely abandon those in real need would they?
You’d better believe it – they would, and they do.
Sign my petition and share, asking your family, friends and contacts to do the same. It asks the government to -
Stop and review the cuts to benefits and services which are falling disproportionately on disabled people, their carers and families
Last weekend we posted our thoughts on the upcoming Opposition Day debate on Disability benefits and social care. We feel very strongly that the debate needs to go beyond those two simple labels. It must look at the full impact of all changes affecting disabled people and carers.
We have repeatedly used ‘Perfect Storm’ to describe how changes, of this magnitude, can NOT be implemented without a Cumulative Impact Assessment.
’calls on the Government to …. conduct a full impact assessment of the combined effect of benefit and social care cuts on disabled people and carers.’
Can the tireless campaign work – readily done by so many individuals and groups – really be starting to show results? Could Labour actually be listening at last?
Over 38,300 people have raised their voice on Pats Petition.
Keep signing the Petition – share it and get your friends to sign – let’s make those numbers rise today – let’s show them we are still watching.
Please do whatever you can to make sure all politicians hear what we want, what needs to be changed, and that they understand the implications of going ahead with these changes without conducting a full impact assessment.
You can watch the debate after Prime Ministers Question Time here
Participate in discussions on both Twitter and Facebook.
On Wednesday – 20th June, following Prime Minister Question Time, there will be an Opposition Day** debate in the House of Commons about ‘disability benefits and social care’. This will be an opportunity to debate some of the issues raised by Pat’s Petition, but we emphasise that it will not cover everything.
Pat’s Petition calls on the government to stop and review all the changes affecting disabled people and carers. While disability benefits and social care are two significant parts of the support given to disabled people, there is a bigger picture which must include reform of the NHS in England, the end of legal aid, changes to local authority budgets, housing benefits, Surestart and more.
Pat’s Petition is currently using the term ‘Cumulative Impact Assessment’ (CIA) to describe what is needed – an assessment that looks at the impact of all the changes taken together. A CIA has also been recommended by bodies including the Joint Committee of Human Rights and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.
We hope that the government will take heed of all these requests for a CIA and that the debate on Wednesday will reference it.
Pat’s Petition now has over 38,000 signatures. Please continue to sign and share the link so that we reach 100,000 signatures to request a full debate on the impact of all the changes, not just disability benefits and social care.
We urge you all to take note of the debate, follow it online here, tweet comments adding the hashtag #CIA, add to Facebook and blogs. Add comments below.
Most importantly urge your MP to attend.
Pat x
**Opposition days are days allocated in the House of Commons in each session for the discussion of subjects chosen by the Opposition. There are 20 days allocated for this purpose per session and the Opposition generally uses them to raise questions of policy and administration.
This Coalition government continually ignores public feeling, and evidence, on so many aspects of our lives. I firmly believe though that this is the beginning of the change. A change, for the better, which will come – for all disabled people and their carers. The voices of PP will not be silenced. With so many others we are building alliances – together we keep fighting and we will be heard.
Pat x
The human cost of disability cuts – read letter submitted to the Guardian here , copy to be sent to Maria Miller.
Jane Young Disability consultant and campaigner, wearespartacus.org.uk Linda Burnip Member, DPAC steering group Professor Peter Beresford Chair, Shaping Our Lives Dr Simon Duffy Director, Centre for Welfare Reform Richard Hawkes Chief executive, Scope Paul Farmer Chief executive, Mind Mark Goldring Chief executive, Mencap Steve Ford Chief executive, Parkinson’s UK Rosemary O’Neill, Frances Kelly CarerWatch Kaliya Franklin Disability rights writer and campaigner Claire Glasman WinVisible Steve Griffiths Research and consultancy in social and health policy Peter Spencer Chief executive, Action for M.E. Paul Jenkins Chief executive, Rethink Mental Illness Dr Ben Baumberg Lecturer in sociology and social policy, University of Kent Dr Sarah Woodin Lecturer in sociology and social policy, University of Leeds Nick Rijke Director of policy and research, MS Society Dan Morton Social Workers Action Network Caroline Richardson Ouchtoo.org Norma Curran Values Into Action Scotland, Scottish Campaign for a Fair Society Sam Barnett-Cormack, Simon Barrow Ekklesia Teresa Catto-Smith, Carole Rutherford Act Now for Autism Steven Rose Chair, Campaign for a Fair Society Clifford Singer False Economy Pippa Mackie Chief executive, Kingston-upon-Thames CAB Ali Kashmiri Access Auditor, NRAC Karen Machin St Helens, Merseyside
Add your name in the comments below in support of this letter.
Sign Pat’s Petition and then share with all your contacts asking them to do the same
