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Scope's GE2019 Manifesto for Disability Equality

Adrian_Scope

Yesterday morning Scope published our General Election 2019 manifesto, setting out our key priorities for the next Government, including:

Removing barriers to work
Ending the threat of sanctions
Making travel fair
Tackling the extra costs of disability
Giving families the right support

You can read a quick summary of our manifesto here, or download the full document in PDF form.

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Comments

paffuto10

Thanks for that info @Adrian_Scope

I feel though, it should have included (or have I missed it?) a complete overhaul of the PIP system as that seems to be one of the biggest bones of contention on this site.

zakblood

Removing barriers to work sounds good, but for me as a ex out of work 20 years person in the system with no help whatsoever, i'd ask for more, in Holland anyone over a given number of years out of work are given a one to one helper, no matter what, ex prisoner, disabled, abled or whatever else, no matter what, while the job coaches go some part of the way, this help isn't open or relevant for all, forcing a person off benefits just to get numbers down and into work not only are they unable to do, or suitable for either just looks good on numbers on paper, but from a personal approach, it doesn't work, as long term benefit people need given choices and direction so not out of one frying pan and into another, the benefit trap or catch 22.

the country is made up of a percentage of disabled people so whatever that % is, there needs to be the same amount in all walks of life who know what the service end users need and want, not just some pen pusher given a number and % and making it up as they go along approach with no idea on the impact or costings of well anything, normally people have a small idea on what others need of the same ability, ask anyone with any needs, and i'd guess 90+% have more than a clue that someone who knows little, but has gone to college and studied for a lego masters degree then alters your life and has impact on all of us, just because they have power, doesn't mean they have a clue, as shown in the latest set of idea, none of which have worked and i'd also guess had no real saving in costs terms, but turn one hell of a lot of people's lives upside down, just to rename one thing and call it something else just for the sake of it.

so end my party political rant from the i no longer care party, which all side seem to now have joined and keep moving hot air out without any real brain work or costings or idea's really gone into making them,...

chiarieds

I can only welcome Scope's campaign to help as many disabled people as possible, & if anything this should help children the most, as I'm sure many would agree....they will grow up to be the adults of the future, & their parents need the best possible advice & support to better help them with the difficulties they face.

@puffuto10, As far as PIP goes, it's said in the manifesto, PIP plays a vital role in levelling the financial playing field between
disabled and non-disabled people. But many disabled people tell us that
it does not go far enough. Even after receiving disability benefits such
as PIP, disabled adults face average extra costs of £583 per month.
This is largely because of an assessment process that fails to accurately
identify the extra costs faced by disabled people.
While the assessment would recognise the cost of home adaptations
required by someone with Cerebral Palsy, for example, it wouldn’t
capture the extra costs they might face as a result of having to replace
shoes frequently due to the nature of their movement. Although
government has made some welcome improvements to the way that
PIP is delivered, it will take more comprehensive change to ensure that
PIP is fit for purpose. Government must overhaul the assessment process
so that disabled people receive awards that accurately reflect the extra
costs they face.'

chiarieds

@Adrian_Scope - I have been meaning to ask this for a while.....do you have any pamphlets which I would be most willingly to ask to leave in my GP's surgery? Awareness of what Scope may offer & help with needs to be disseminated in as many ways as possible, & perhaps this old-fashioned way may help some people too.

paffuto10

@chiarieds

Thanks for that but I feel it could be stronger. Just my opinion. But yes it does say "overhaul".
Must have missed that, thanks.

chiarieds

Hmmm @paffuto10 Must admit I felt the same, but it's trying to address the problems people with disabilities face...yet it seemed to me to be discussing the financial problems/inequalities, rather than the difficulties some face getting an appropriate award in the first place. However, if anything changed with PIP, then our Scope advisors would then need to take that onboard, so feel that any change there might possibly be detrimental in some ways, as the problems people face are understood here, & helped.

paffuto10

Agreed @chiarieds

April2018mom

As a mom to a disabled child, I welcome this initiative. I want to see real change in the hearts, attitudes and mindsets of people in this country. This manifesto needs to include another couple of very important topics, accessing work and accessibility.
Who will read the manifesto? Should we petition or set up a national campaign or not? When can we expect a response from the government?

Maggie_Pie

To speak to the issue of transport, I want to be able to visit London for leisure activities. However, on my last 3 visits the buses were stopped or diverted. Information was dismal and is very difficult to obtain. Often bus drivers don't know how you can get to your chosen destination and one cannot find TfL staff. When, shortly before 10 a.m on 9th November, I went into the bus station attached to Old Street Station, there were literally no staff. A report called 'Your Accessible Transport Network' at http://content.tfl.gov.uk/your-accessible-transport-network.pdf claims that London has one of the most accessible transport networks in the world. I would disagree heartily. Every other bus station I've been in during daytime hours has staff. A very important aspect is readily available information and help - and not just for people with mobile 'phones / those conversant with apps.

London's red buses have a ramp that extends from beneath the centre door but neither outside nor in is there a strategically placed buzzer to alert drivers that it is needed. Nevertheless, a PSVAR requirement is for there to be “audible and visible signals to stop a vehicle or to request a boarding device.” https://movingon.blog.gov.uk/2016/02/16/accessibility-standards-for-public-service-vehicles-2/ PSVAR is the body that licences the buses and by 2020 TfL are supposed to have installed a signal system to request a ramp - yet they are ignoring this particular reasonable adjustment requirement, despite this making them non-compliant with regulations. So, tough if you are first in the queue. The absence of a suitable signal when one wishes to board allows able-bodied passengers to pile on and fill the available space. It is fortunate that most people are kind, but not everyone is. When one wishes to alight, without a signal the driver does not know to pull in close to the kerb and to avoid obstacles. Another important aspect, therefore, is that accessibility standards for public service vehicles must be adhered to.

Maggie_Pie

Seems TfL's lack staff if a problem generally, as crowding on platforms is so bad commuters are falling under tube trains:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/11/20/oxford-circus-commuter-crushed-tube-rush-hour/
Someone who witnessed the latest incident commented. "It's just a disgrace that the tube can get so packed like this and there be no crowd management. There were no tube assistants moving people."

Topkitten

I guess I really should have gone into more detail but find that my attention span now is considerably less than it used to be and find it difficult to follow everything posted / available. However, I would like to point out a couple of simple points that may help give some understanding to others.

Firstly PIP...... this was introduced as a direct overhaul of DLA by the government and had one very simple and major reason for being done. It was just a new way for the government to reduce benefit payments and the subsequent cost to the country. They did this by simply making it more difficult for people to be treated in a fair and reasonable manner. However, the way it was designed was done very badly and presumably by people who had no real understanding of real world disabilities and so some things were completely left out altogether. They have been trying to patch it up as they have gone along but still with the overriding idea of reducing benefit costs unchanged.

Whilst in a perfect world all types of work would have a corresponding % of disabled people making up the workforce in actuality there are some types of work and some jobs where no disability at all is the only way to make it safe to work. Consequently there will always be a lesser % of disabled people working than exists in society itself.

I do agree in general though that there are far too many barriers in the current system to make it fair for disabled people and also there is far too little actual information within society in general regarding difficulties and costs involved for disabled to be treated fairly. I have often heard comments regarding how much help (especially financial) disabled people get when overhearing healthy people talking about the disabled. How it wold be possible to educate everyone properly in this regard I have no idea as few healthy people feel comfortable discussing such subjects especially when disabled people are involved in such conversations.

TK

newborn

Zakblood you ma me laugh. And you are right.

Maggie Pie you prove the point. You are 90% better informed than the experts by inexperience

newborn

I want a Ministry for Disabled or older citizens, with equivalent departments in all councils, to ensure the protected equality groups are not overlooked in every proposal or practice. And, to proactively intervene so that hapless unsupported individuals are not abandoned to enforce the law, all alone.

For example, does the n.h.s offer counselling, but refuse to offer to speak on the phone, thereby excluding housebound and carers?

Does the town centre have adequate blue badge parking?

Have imaginative schemes been trialled, to offer such tasks as monitoring cctv, a job paid or unpaid which could be done from home?

Is there any physical exercise scheme for those who cannot go for a brisk daily walk?

What provision is made for those who are immobile and don't have daily visitors, particularly when in hospital?

When discussing housing, is it assumed the entire population are either owner occupants or else council tenants, and is it assumed only young and only non disabled ever need a roof over their heads??

newborn

Sorry Charieds, but i don't support segregation by age or anything else. A disabled person of any age, or hair colour, needs to live as fully as possible and with a full range of company and of expectations. I wouldn't round up all red haired people , or old people, or disabled people, to go into a separate ghetto with their own kind, even if others might assume that being red haired , or being old, or being disabled, is the only significant thing about them.

The younger people are, the less likely they live trapped isolated or unsupported or undefended or unvisited or never spoken to or smiled at or touched. Children put in child-only institutions and cruelly abused by staff are unusual. For old people incarcerated in aged-only institutions, abuse is an unremarkable routine expectation.