Articles

Funding Cut Spells End Independent Living for Disabled Individuals

20/07/2015

The severely disabled in Brighton and Hove who has been living independently may be forced to move out of their homes due to cuts in national funding.

Brighton and Hove City Councilannounced last July 16 during a meeting that the council may not be able to fund about £500,000 required to support the severely disabled to maintain independent lives because of funding cut from the national government.

The Independent Living Fund (ILF) was created in 1989 in order to support the needs of severely disabled people and enable them to live in their own homes. Funding for ILF has been ended effective June 30 by the national government as part of its austerity measure.

The decision to make the budget cut was met with protest and the issue event went up to the High Court who ruled in favour of the government’s measure.

The cut has affected about 40 individuals in Brighton and Hove and an estimated 18,000 nationwide.

Councillors from the Labour and Green parties have proposed motions during the July 16 council meeting to put back the funding or at least ringfence the funding, both of which were not agreed upon.

Councillor  Phélim Mac Cafferty of the Green Party decried the cut and told Brighton & Hove News last July 17 that about 70% of disabled individuals who have lost support and care services were not able to perform basic functions at times, such as, eating, dressing or washing.

Mac Cafferty added:

“Without the funding ringfenced we are essentially saying that the independence and the dignity of our disabled residents doesn’t matter because they can join the scramble in the race to the bottom for whatever is left over.”