Manchester to London Sponsored Cycle ride

Disability Rights UK would like to thank George Friend for his efforts in raising £2255 to help us with our work

 

George Friend started riding to keep fit 2 years ago and decided to give himself greater motivation by doing...

"something for a charity that my father holds dear to his heart as a means of me thanking him for everything he has done for me".

That something was a sponsored ride, to raise money for Disability Rights UK on the 8th of June, from Manchester to London, 250 miles in 24hrs. This was ambitious considering that George usually only rides for around 3 hours. George also thought the cause was worthy because of the "great work Disability Rights UK does to represent disabled people throughout the country".

Phil Friend the Chairperson of Disability Rights (UK) was absolutely delighted when his son George decided to support us by undertaking a sponsored cycle ride. This was to be no ordinary bike ride!

Phil and his wife Sue drove their motor home as a back up vehicle and to provide moral support. Phil said

 "It was an extraordinary experience. I was exhausted and the end of the event and all I did was drive! How George was able to keep going at such a speed for so long is absolutely amazing! I am so proud of him and truly grateful to all those who supported him by making donations. We will make sure the money raised is put to very good use."

The event itself involved 140 cyclists leaving the National Cycling Centre Velodrome in Manchester at 11 o'clock on Saturday morning the 8th of June in order to undertake the formidable challenge of riding to Hackney Marshes in London in 24 hours. The professionally organised event was divided into 6 stages with distances of between 32 and 48 miles covered in each stage. In between each stage there was a rest stop to take on board refreshments, deal with comfort breaks and any mechanical repairs. George covered the 250 miles in 15 hours finishing 6th at 7:41am on Sunday the 9th of June. At the time of writing his amazing effort has raised £2255.

George’s donation site is still open if you want to give. And if you feel like contributing in other ways find out how you can help support our work.

Phil Friend and Martin Inch and the words and effort of George Friend

Confidence is high for the big day

And they're off

Confidence is still high

A medal at last

Influence - What’s the Point? Finding the Energy

Danny West, freelance trainer, coach, mentor and leadership consultant, talks about the nature of influence and the unique skills of people living with disabilities, based on his own experiences.

Introduction

I have been thinking about writing an article for some time about disabled people’s ability to influence and as I down loaded my emails this morning came across an article entitled ‘What makes a Disabled Person Influential’ by John Pring.

At this point I thought to myself well there’s no point in writing another article about influence as it’s already been done. As John implies in his article there is always a point, you always have choice; you could choose to do it better or choose to focus on one aspect or a different aspect of the issue; there are innumerable ways in which we can choose to be influential. It does not matter whether we choose to become the head of a disability charity or a member of parliament or whether we decide to educate those around us or write letters of protest to our local councillors or members of parliament; each and every one of us has the ability to utilise our power of influence for our own lives and each other’s futures.

Many of us may not see total equality in our lifetimes but the stage is set for us to contribute in many ways, we are all capable of contributing and of leaving our own personal legacies which will inspire and affect positive change into the future.

In this article I am going to write about my own experience, I am going to explore the very nature of influence and talk about the unique skills of people living with disabilities. I will also explore how we can make the choices to sustain an environment in our own lives which empowers us to be influential and offer a number of ideas and tools which I use in my everyday life; they are the tools that give me the energy to keep going.

Who am I?

I am a professional coach and leadership trainer and consultant working in partnership with disabled people across the sectors; I have been living with HIV for the past 28 years and now live in chronic pain associated with a degenerative spinal condition. Each day I am able to predict the likely challenges ahead of me and I typically allocate some time at the beginning of the day (usually with a cup of tea in bed) to thinking about and strategizing about how I am going to overcome those barriers. If you want to know anything else about me then please refer to my website www.danny.west.co.uk, Goggle me or email me at danny.west944@btinternet.com

 

I don’t know about you but there are mornings when I wake up and think about the potential challenges which I am likely to encounter in the day ahead and wonder where I am going to find the inner resources and energy to overcome them; I am also prone to playing the role of victim and to periods of time when I feel helpless and sorry for myself; ring any bells?. I am dyslexic, I’m not an academic and writing this article has meant that I have had to overcome many internal limiting beliefs about myself and my ability to write and to contribute.

A Recent Personal Story

Over the past six months I have experienced an extremely distressing and often frightening chapter in my own life; my health has deteriorated and I now live in constant physical pain. In addition I like many other self-employed or unemployed disabled people am faced with the many challenges associated with the current recession and experience increasing anxiety levels about the current government reforms and the effects of those reforms on my own security and wellbeing for the future. I have also recently been threatened with the real possibility of becoming homeless; I live in an inaccessible very large and cold three bedroom council property in the London Borough of Lewisham and have been actively trying to get re-housed into a one bedroom property through the new Boris Johnson initiative ‘Housing Moves Scheme’ www.housingmoves.org.  

I recently accepted an offer on a smaller two bedroom property in the London Borough of Islington and formally ended my tenancy with Lewisham. Having made all the necessary moving arrangements which included rehoming my dog and ending the lease on my Motability car I discovered the day before my scheduled move that my new flat was sited in a small council estate that was besieged with anti-social behaviour, drug dealing, noise nuisance and police activity.  I was horrified as you can imagine, the prospect of living in this environment would have a disastrous effect on my health and wellbeing and I instinctively knew that moving into this property was NOT an option. 

I returned home to my flat in Lewisham which was now completely packed into packing cases, the furniture was dismantled and I had cancelled my utilities etc. and was in a state of panic, extreme anxiety and exhaustion. I could not comprehend how I was going to find the energy to deal with my circumstances but I remembered that I had a choice; I could no nothing and become homeless or decide to act.

I decided on the later and then spent that evening hobbling around my flat with a large gin and tonic assessing my position, all my associated options and considering how I might best react to my situation and influence my desired outcome of remaining in my current home. 

The next morning and in the context of my increasingly frustrating situation and based on my personal belief that members of parliament are primarily elected to represent their constituents decided that I would not be powerless and contacted my local member of parliament ‘Joan Ruddock’. I shared my experiences and my housing dilemma with her case worker and as a result they have supported me throughout this challenging time and have been proactive in their support of me and my hopes for a positive outcome to be re-homed in the future into an accessible property. 

I also contacted my local Mayor’s office who were not so helpful and I sourced some support from local and national disabled people’s organisations. I wrote letters, contacted my GP and consultant who provided me letters of support and galvanised the support of a handful of friends and colleagues to help me through the experience. I forwarded every email for the Mayors and MP’s office to Islington Council and Lewisham Homes.

I cancelled my scheduled move and the removal company, I informed Islington Council that I was not prepared to move into the property on the basis that I had been misinformed and reassured that there were no anti-social issues and made an appointment to cancel my very short term tenancy and begin proceedings to have my rent refunded. 

I contacted Lewisham Homes to inform them of my new circumstances; thankfully I was informed by Lewisham Homes that it was my legal right to change my mind within 28 days, I reinstated my current tenancy and continue to remain in my current inaccessible home and I continue to seek accessible accommodation. 

What is Influence and how do we do it?

Influence is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as being the ability to affect another person or thing, more eloquently it goes on to describe influence as having moral ascendency or power; which is where we come in.

Why Influence Now?

The disability debate is never ending and is ours to shape, we have the ability to influence our futures and determine societies view and treatment of us into the future. Historically we have been killed, tortured, locked up, medicated, patronised, stigmatised and discriminated against on an unprecedented scale and yet we have succeeded in surviving and in demonstrating to society that we are completely able to succeed, achieve and contribute. 

Disabled people and the issues related to the lives of disabled people have never had such a high profile; we are currently feeling under threat as the recession and the government’s plans to reform the benefits system serves to undermine our financial security, our homes and our public services. The 2012 Paralympics raised awareness in an unprecedented way but if we fail to maintain our profile and do not work to ensure that our voices continue to be heard then disability will fall from society’s agenda and we will become powerless to ascertain our rights in a future landscape of recession, inequality and injustice. 

Whilst it is true that there are a small percentage of people who will take advantage of the system the current reforms serve to perpetuate the idea that we need to further justify our disability and ill health related needs. We have a human and diverse right to a decent income, homes, public services, health services, family life and access to employment and education; we can choose to demand these rights and to participate in the processes that will ensure that we experience these rights as an actualised reality. 

I know from my networks that many of my disabled friends and colleagues are worried about the future, about how they are going to be affected by the benefit reforms and about they are going to keep a roof over their heads. In the current climate it is essential that we pull together and work interdependently to raise the issues that affect us into the future, we can all participate and we will need to support and influence our own individual wellbeing in the challenging times ahead. 

Choices & Reactions

I have come to the conclusion that it is all about choices and reaction; we all have the ability to make choices at any given time in any given circumstance; it all depends on how we choose to react. If we choose to simply react in the moment or if we are feeling angry or frustrated without considering our options and without keeping our goal or desired outcome in mind we are likely to create more barriers for ourselves and those who we are trying to influence who will simply react to our unconsidered reactive behaviour or communication. 

Here are some examples of our choices:

• Feel sorry for yourself
•  Blame others e.g., friends, family, the system, the government etc.
• Play the role of helpless victim – poor me, if only, I can’t, but I’m disabled!
• Buy into societies limiting beliefs about us – I couldn’t do that I’m disabled, disabled people can’t do things like that, who’s going to listen to me I’m disabled etc.
• Do nothing and ride out the consequences

If you are prone to any of the above I strongly recommend that you read a favourite book of mine by a guy called Paul McGee entitled S.U.M.O; it’s an easy, illuminating and fun read and I guarantee that a quick fix from this book will pick you up and empower you forward.

Or we could decide to take another course of action which includes any of the actions outlined in John Ping’s article and draw upon or advantages and take a proactive considered stance, be empowered and decide to take leadership in our lives and circumstances.

Reaction Tip: Don’t just react, stop think and consider. Ask yourself – 

• What outcome do you want?
• What are all the different options available to you?
• Which of these options is going to be received favourably and is likely to have the potential to achieve your desired outcome or goal?  

Resourcefulness, Resilience & Determination

I firmly believe that as a direct result of living with, growing with or acquiring a disability that people who are living with disabilities have developed and honed a range of skills that non-disabled people do not utilise to their potential.  

The experience of being disabled in our society has meant that we have become extremely resilient, we are more determined, we are creative and resourceful and we are driven by a need to survive, achieve and challenge the status quo and the limits imposed upon us by society and the medical and charitable models of disability. 

We have an advantage over non-disabled people because we have learnt to survive; at some point we made a choice to survive and to live our lives in the face of adversity.

Definitions available describe resourcefulness, resilience and determination as follows:

Resourcefulness – pertaining to a stock or supply that can be drawn upon and one’s own abilities and ingenuity; resourcefulness is described as the ability to act effectively or imaginatively and with initiative especially in difficult and challenging situations. Remember there are innumerable sources of inner and external resources available to us if we choose to utilise them. Resources may also come in the form of people, friends, organisations, people, educational opportunities, networks, disabled peoples organisations, books, articles, conferences, events and the list goes on……

Resilience – pertaining to recoiling, buoyancy, springing back and the ability to recover from setbacks, illness, change, or misfortune.

Determination -   pertaining to firmness of purpose and resoluteness or bloody mindedness.

Take some time to think about your own journey, do not underestimate exactly what it has taken to get you this far, if you were not rich in the above attributes who would not be here today, you would not have survived. You have spent your entire life fighting to survive, you have come up with a million ways to overcome the barriers associated with your disability, you have kept going and have been determined to attain the life that you may have now or want in the future. Your disability has tested you, it has demanded the very best of you and as a result you have honed and polished your ability to be resourceful, resilient and determined.

Our Wellbeing

We could choose to take care of ourselves; and for many of us it is essentially important that we ensure that we sustain a well-balanced life style, a supportive environment, positive supportive networks and relationships that will enable you to have a fulfilling and rewarding and a well-balanced nurturing lifestyle which is health and disability context affirming.

Taking care of our wellbeing will mean different things to each of us and take different forms, the better shape we are in the more likely we are to have the energy to be empowered and be influential. For me wellbeing is all about eating well, sleeping well, managing my pain and stress, practicing a little mindfulness and having the time to balance my solitude and work life/play balance. It is also essentially about being connected to and maintaining my networks with friends, family and my colleagues and disabled peoples networks. 

Networking

Nobody said you had to do this alone; we are not alone because there are 10million people living with disabilities in the UK today, there are innumerable disabled people’s organisations and networks and we all have access to social media based networks and their associated opportunities.  It’s easy to be the victim or helpless when you are alone, isolation is a killer and it will weaken your spirit.

Generating, building and sustaining co-supportive based relationships are an investment for you and your ability to succeed, when you have addressed the following questions, identify the actions that you will take to address and build your networks:

• Who are the key people, organisations and players in your networks?
• Who have you met in the past that you want to build a supportive and affirming relationship with?
•  Are there any people in your networks that hold limiting beliefs about you and hold you back?
• Where are your key sources of support placed?
• Where is there an imbalance in your support networks?
• Are there any specific relationships that need to be developed?

Addressing Limiting Beliefs

Limiting beliefs are defined by society and as a result they are beliefs which we may hold about ourselves; these beliefs will hold you back from achieving your true potential; human potential is limitless. It is never too late to learn a new skill or improve an area of your life. Limiting beliefs are usually formed as we grow and are socialised, if you are living with a disability then you will have been told or it would have been signalled to you that you can’t, that you are not able, that you don’t have the confidence etc. When you encounter a limiting belief ask yourself the following questions as a way of challenging your belief: 

• When did you agree to this negative idea or limited view of yourself?
• What would be the most challenging action that you could take when you encounter this belief?
• If you were to stop listening and believing in the negative and limiting views of others what would you do?
• What would it take for you to feel good enough or capable enough?
• When did you agree that disabled people like yourself were not able, capable of confident enough to be empowered?
• What would it take for you to value your progress and plan a new strategy?

Advocating  

We could choose to continue to educate and campaign for our human and equal rights; this is our birth right, we live in an ever increasing diverse world. The Equality and Diversity debate is high on the agenda of governments and societies throughout the world. We have a voice; we just have to ensure that our voices are heard. 

We can also choose to continue to and increase our profiles within our local, national and international communities. We could challenge stereotypical role models and have the courage and integrity to demonstrate positive role models in sport, at home, at work and in every aspect of our lives. We could take leadership not just in the context of our activities within disabled people’s organizations but also in terms of all of the very different things that we can do, the very different people that we are and in the context of the many different roles that we occupy.

We are able to be equal contributing members of society and we could choose to promote ourselves at every opportunity and take leadership not just in terms of the disability agenda but in terms of enabling and influencing change in society.

In the context of The Social Model of Disability we could choose to continue to have responsibility to enable society to fully comprehend our experience of disability and the barriers associated with everyday living, we manage our everyday living as do non-disabled people and yet we do this in spite of our disability, our ill health, our physical pain, stigma, discrimination, prejudice and a lack of opportunity.

GROW Model

I personally use the GROW model when I identify my own long and short term goals, usually I spend a little time at the beginning of the day considering what it is that I aim to achieve during that day and deciding on a strategy to achieve my outcomes; the GROW model grew out of best coaching practice.

The GROW model is used within coaching to give a framework to identifying your goals which will enable you to move from a place where you have identified a goal to a place where you are able to identify actions towards achieving your goals. You can coach yourself and apply the GROW model to your everyday living. 

G = Goal:

This is the area of the model that enables you to determine what you want to achieve, goals or outcomes, remember to be specific.

1. What is it that you would like to achieve today?
2. What is it that you want to influence in your own life and in the wider world and our community?
3. What will your world look like when you have achieved your short and long term goals?

R = Reality & Resources:

This is the area of the model in which you are able to explore your current situation, past experiences and successes, identify potential barriers and explore any explore limiting self-beliefs (see below).

1. Why is this issue important to you?
2. What have you done so far towards achieving your goals and desired outcomes?
3. How is this issue relevant to your overall current life?
4. What might prevent you from moving forward/barriers?
5. What are all the different resources available to you?

O = Options.

This is the area of the model that enables you to identify all your potential actions, possibilities, ideas and thoughts that may contribute to your goal or outcome being achieved.

1. What are all the different ways of accomplishing your goal or desired outcome?
2. What could you do?
3. What are all the different ways of getting there?
4. Are there any potential sources of support?
5. If there were no barriers, what would you do?
6. What ideas might you share with a friend if they were planning to take a similar path?

W = Will Do.

This is the area of the model in which you can make decisions about the ACTIONS and STEPS that you are committing yourself to taking.

1. What is your next step?
2. If you knew that you could not fail, what action would you take?
3. When are you going to take action (give it a time frame)?
4. How will you overcome that particular barrier?
5. Describe how your actions will move you closer to your goal?

Conclusions

Influencing starts with yourself and your own attitude towards your current situation, your circumstances and your belief systems in yourself, you are the most important person in your world. If you are able to get your own life right and shape your world into the life that you desire then you are much more likely to influence others and the world around you and you are much more likely to have the energy to keep going in the face of adversity and the challenges of everyday life. Remember you don’t have to do it all alone, there a lot of us out there.

There will inevitably be times when you need to have some down time or time to feel low this is what Paul McGee in his book S.U.M.O. describes as ‘Hippo Time’. 

Remember – Stop, think, be resourceful, strategize and then get on with the job of considered reaction, influencing and changing the things that matter……

Resources & References

Articles - Author - John Pring – ‘What Makes an Influential Disabled person?’ Disability News Service - 21.4.2013

http://disabilitynewsservice.com/2013/04/what-makes-an-influential-disabled-person/

Books – Author – Paul McGee - S.U.M.O, Published by Capstone Publishing Ltd, 2006

Danny West

Website - www.dannywest.co.uk

Thoughts on the Getting to Know...PIP event

Disability Rights Tribunal Support Adviser Robbie Spence was asked to be on a panel for Welfare Reform UK's "Getting to know ... PIP" event at which Esther McVey MP, Minister for Disabled People was a speaker. This blog contains his thoughts on the day as well as some information on PIP which you may be interested to know.

Esther McVey speaks at the Getting to Know...PIP event

 

A number of important details about PIP emerged from "Getting to know ... PIP" on Monday 29 April. It was a well-attended event (about 70 people, I'd say) that lived up to its billing as a new-style training event with a touch of razzmatazz. Hosted by media personality and benefits expert Lee Healey of IncomeMax, assisted by Karen Herbert of AdviceUK, it featured a star guest, Esther McVey MP, Minister for Disabled People, a live Twitter feed at #pipevent, and Visual Minutes: a live, pictorial, rather than written, record of the proceedings. The venue was London's Living Room, the top floor meeting room at City Hall with panoramic views over the Thames.  There was even a 20 metre and 50 metre walk around the circular balcony to illustrate the controversial reduction in the distances for which you can score points under the "Moving Around" activity.

I was honoured to be representing Disability Rights UK on the expert panel, where the voluntary sector was slightly outnumbered by reps from DWP and Capita. Capita is one of the two providers of PIP medical assessments. The other, the dreaded Atos, could not find anyone available to attend that day. How strange. Anyway, here are the various details about PIP that I thought merited a mention in this blog. Several were about how to make a claim.

1. I asked Esther McVey to confirm that the 0800 917 2222 PIP claim line will be cost-free via mobile phones as well as landlines and she said she thought so but would get her ministerial aide to check and let the conference know. (I’ve since been told that all DWP 0800 numbers are cost-free on Orange.)

2. I asked the DWP a question that had been posed by Macmillan nurses dealing with "terminal illness" cases who were worried about the rule that PIP claims must be made by claimants themselves or, if not, then at least by someone who is in their presence. This would be a problem for patients who are deemed unready to be told that they are terminally ill. Sue Pullen of DWP stated that this was the one case where callers could claim on behalf of claimants who are not present during the call.

3. IncomeMax use a lot of conference call technology in their casework and asked if the DWP could handle calls to their PIP claim line in this way. Sue Pullen of DWP wasn’t sure but said she’d check and let the conference know.

4. Advice agencies were concerned about the four-week time limit for claimants to complete and return their ‘how your disability affects you’ form. It’s a reduction from the six weeks that you get for DLA. Furthermore advisers helping DLA claimants whose time is running out frequently get granted extensions of time.  Sue Pullen confirmed that DWP would grant extensions of two weeks as a matter of course, when asked, but anything longer would require the claimant to show ‘good cause’.

5. Haqeeq from Capita discussed the steps that Capita is taking to ensure that their medical assessors have an information resource on a wide variety of impairments and health conditions. It reminded me of the DWP’s A-Z of health conditions and, knowing how that has sometimes failed to keep pace with new medications, etc, I asked him if the Capita resource would be put in the public domain so that disabled people can see what Capita is saying about their conditions. Unfortunately he couldn’t confirm this.

6. On the subject of how far assessors will go to root out the medical evidence they need, I asked Haqeeq from Capita about the contractual condition imposed on Capita and Atos that they won’t get paid unless they produce an assessment report in 30 days.  Would the 30-day clock stop ticking while they were waiting for third party medical evidence to come back? He was unable to give that assurance – although it was pointed out that the 30 days are working days so they are actually six weeks.

7. On the subject of how transparent the assessment should be, while PIP scores aren’t set out on the claim form, Sue Pullen said the DWP notifications (decision letters) would list activities, descriptors and scores.

And finally, my thoughts about Esther McVey, who gave a ten-minute keynote address. She persists in speaking of DLA ‘lifetime awards’, even though DWP stopped making them over ten years ago and converted them into ‘indefinite awards’: as such, they are subject to review in various ways, including when circumstances change. The Minister also told us that PIP would root out the problem with DLA of people getting benefits on the basis of “self-assessment without corroborating medical evidence.” Is she unaware that examining medical practitioners have been used routinely and for decades by DWP to visit people at home to carry out, for example, walking tests for DLA mobility component?

Robbie Spence is Tribunal Support Unit Adviser at Disability Rights UK. The Tribunal Support Unit offers training and specialist support for first-tier advice organisations. It supports advisers assisting claimants who are appealing to the First Tier Tribunal or the Upper Tribunal.

It can provide free advice, information and practical support through all stages of the decision-making and appeals

The telephone advice line is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am-12pm and 2-4pm on 0207 566 0117.

Or email Robbie Spence at tribunalsupportunit@disabilityrightsuk.org providing as much detail as possible about your case. We can also meet with London-based advisors to discuss difficult cases in detail.

Disability Hate Crime. Third Party Reporting Project.

There has been a significant increase in reports of disability hate crime say many media outlets. It is a seemingly simple, but actually complex statement, for those outlets, after stating the headline, fail to investigate and recognise the many reasons for this increase.

A regularly quoted reason is the burgeoning culture of knocking disability benefits claimants, where all disabled people are wrongly assumed to be recipients of state support, and there has to be some sympathy to this argument, given some often unhelpful official stories and statements relating to welfare reform. 

The EHRC recently published their Manifesto for Change following the launch of the Hidden in Plain sight report on disability related hostility last year. The new publication notes that the number of disability hate crimes recorded by police forces in England and Wales for the year ended December 2011 was 1,877. 

While seeing this as an increase of 24.1 per cent of recorded cases up on the previous year, it is critically important to contrast these figures with the Crime Survey for England and Wales as they suggest the number of people experiencing a disability hate crime in the year to the Spring of 2011 was 65,000. 

This means that a paltry 3 per cent of hate crimes experienced by disabled people end up being included in the official figures, so a massive proportion of disabled people are either unable or unwilling to report the hate crimes committed against them. Day after day, people are being targeted because of their disability, and yet are not reporting them.

The figures demonstrate that we need to look in depth at the true scale of this issue, as it could suggest that the underlying incidence of the problem has got worse, and that the recording has become patchy in some areas.

However, to the ever growing number of members of the Disability Hate Crime Network, the growth in hate crime report numbers more importantly does reflect a growing recognition that disabled people can do something about any form of hostility. It also shows some new confidence in the process of reporting.

Historically, many who have been victims of disability hate crime have not reported for several quoted reasons.

• It was anti-social behaviour, and you get used to it.
• It will get worse if I say anything.
• I’m disabled and I won’t be believed.
• I have no confidence that the police and CPS would push for court action.

And, most importantly

• I don’t know where to go or have anyone to speak to.

In fact, in the three years of high intensity action by ACPO, the CPS, Home Office, Cross Party parliamentarians, and the Hate Crime Network, the various centres and areas of ‘best practice’ have been able to share and emphasise work in support of disabled people.

We have made clear that hate crimes and their perpetrators can and should be challenged, and we are pleased that many organisations are joining forces and are offering to share help and support, many of which help making a complaint to the police and or any agency such as housing associations where appropriate.

One significant improvement in confidence building when reporting hate crime is the use of third party reporting centres. The very best of these are run by disabled people’s organisations and in particular better yet if reports are given to disabled people.

Following a very successful reporting centre set up by DisabilityFirst in Blackpool where disabled people, the police, CPS, social services and community groups have come together with outstanding success, a new Third Party Reporting toolkit is now being created by the DRUK/ODI and DHCN, which is based on proven success, and will be tested in, and presented to a wider range of ULDPO’s across the country to improve confidence that we as disabled people are being listened to when we report, and also increase pressure on police forces to work more closely with disabled people to get better and more meaningful results. 

The final toolkit will be presented to a large group of Disabled Peoples organisations with input from CPS and ACPO, and the Disability Hate Crime Network, supported by Disability Rights UK and the Office For Disability Issues, and the full kit will be launched on March 22^nd in Birmingham.  

Of course, even then it will be work in progress, but it is another brick in an increasing wall of confidence for disabled people in reporting disability hate crime.

© 2013 - Stephen Brookes MBE.

Coordinator – Disability Hate Crime Network.

Member. CPS CAF.

Disability Rights UK is very concerned about disability hate crime. We have produced a number of guides which can be downloaded from our website

Our reaction to the Government’s report ‘Fulfilling Potential: Building a deeper understanding of disability in the UK today’

Disability Rights UK welcomes this analysis which is a mine of information which must inform policy right across government. We as disabled people can also use it to influence change – locally and nationally.

It includes stark findings. To give a few examples:

• A blight on young disabled people’s aspirations. At age 24 there is a massive 36% ‘employment gap’ between disabled and non-disabled people. And whilst 16year old disabled and non-disabled people have similar aspirations, by 26 disabled people’s aspirations are significantly lower.
• Lower levels of social participation. Disabled people are more likely to be single than non-disabled people (is it a choice?). Disabled people (and especially young disabled people) are more likely to experience crime, and to fear crime, than non-disabled people.
• Under-estimating disabled people’s potential. The most commonly reported type of employment discrimination is ‘being given fewer responsibilities than wanted’; and disabled people are less likely than non-disabled people to have senior jobs.
• The impact of the disability poverty gap.  Disabled people are not just more likely to live in poverty – but more likely to report the burden of loan repayments, less likely to be able to heat a child’s room, less likely to afford fruit and vegetables: the figures show the human cost of disability poverty.

There are also some glimmers of hope:

• Improved qualifications. The qualifications gap at level 3 (A level equivalent) between disabled and non-disabled 19 year olds has gone down by 10% in 10 years [The gap is now 11% - if it continued to fall by 1% a year it could in theory go down to 0 in 11 years – here’s hoping]
• Improved access to transport, goods and services. The proportion of disabled people reporting problems accessing transport, and goods and services, has gone down.

And there are significant implications for policy, for instance:

• What have we ‘done right’ to improve young disabled people’s qualifications levels – and how can we turn that into better employment prospects for young disabled people?
• The figures show that to date few disabled people have moved from ‘inactive’ benefits (like incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance) into employment. If that trend continues – if few people  move from these benefits into employment – then what exactly is the point of the expensive and distressing ‘work capability assessments’ to find out which individuals on those benefits can work? Would the money not be better spent on support with skills, employment and independent living that evidence suggests would have better results?
• The figures show that Disability Living Allowance does offer some protection from poverty (poverty rates are higher if DLA is excluded from analysis of income). We know that about half a million people currently claiming DLA will lose out under the new Personal Independence Payment. What impact will that have on the ‘poverty gap’ between disabled and non-disabled people? We fear the answer will be much higher human cost of poverty even than now.

And for us all, for instance:

• Large numbers of people move in and out of the experience of impairment. And only 2-3% of disabled people are born with their impairment. As disability organisations we need to reach out to people who acquire impairments at different times in their lives and ensure they have really good information on rights.

Tracking these figures over time will be vital. Disability Rights UK campaigns for the freedom to live independently and the opportunity to live free of poverty. There is a long way to go – and these figure will be vital to tracking how we are doing.

Outcomes on their own do not say enough, we also need to look at how we get to the outcomes. Over and over again research shows that giving us more control over our lives and individualised support delivers far better results. We call on the Government to take note of the evidence that exist on what works well and what doesn’t – and why.

Find out more about the report http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/fulfillingpotential.htm 

Time to Review Disability Discrimination Legislation

Disability Rights UK member Steve Wilkinson discusses Disability Discrimination Legislation in our guest blog.

In just over 2 years time, there will be a General Election. 2015 will also mark the 20^th anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. As, hopefully, most disabled people will know, it was phased in over several years.

One of the most significant phases, as far as I am concerned, was the obligation placed on businesses to make reasonable adjustments to remove physical barriers or find alternative ways to provide access to their products and services, which was brought in on 1^st October 2004. Next year, therefore, it will be 10 years since that was introduced.

Further changes have taken place since with more medical conditions being considered a “disability”, the Equality Duty being placed on local authorities and finally everything being amalgamated into the Equality Act in 2010.

As we look back over that period, I question whether the legislation has served people like me with a disability (I was born with Spina Bifida and have been a full-time wheelchair user for the last 15 years), as we would have liked.

Has it served the Government as they would have liked to be seen to have implemented some legislation that was very difficult to enforce?

I suspect more the latter.

How often have disabled people been discriminated against because of their disability by local authorities and businesses, who haven’t fully appreciated the impact their actions or lack of actions to comply with the legislation?

How often is that down to lack of disability awareness training more than lack of making reasonable adjustments?

How often, more importantly, have disabled people had a moan to others and done absolutely nothing about an issue they encounter, despite the fact that legislation exists to facilitate change and provide compensation for the impact the issue had on them.

Nearly 20 years on from the introduction of this essential legislation supporting the Social Model of Disability, I don’t think we really know the answers to these questions, do we?

However, as we strive towards greater equality where we can all fulfil our potential, irrespective of how disability affects us, I’d like to see a full public enquiry into the success or otherwise of the legislation, led by a trustworthy Disabled People’s Organisation. And we need this quickly, so we can canvas the political parties to ensure appropriate improvements feature in their respective manifestos ahead of the General Election.

I’d like to start the ball rolling with my evidence to the enquiry, which is included in a report I published on 3 December 2012, International Day for People with Disabilities. You may download the report here:

http://wheelchairsteve.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Disability-Discrimination-Legislation-Does-it-work-in-the-UKDec-2012.pdf

In this report, I outline, anonymously in most cases, 10 claims I made for discrimination between 2006 and 2012. There could have been many more, but as I explain, it’s a complex, sometimes stressful, process requiring professional legal support which is why I believe there have been very few claims made by disabled people.

I’d like to see the enquiry investigate who else has taken claims and establish if they’ve been successful or not in or out of a courtroom. I’d like to see it establish how often people feel they’ve suffered discrimination and done nothing about it and why? Only by determining how significant a number of times disabled people experience discrimination, will we be able to collectively influence change.

We’ll hear the argument, I’m sure, that things are much better than they were and in the present financial climate, businesses are doing all they can. Yes, things have improved over the last 20 years and lack of finance does play its part. However, there is no excuse for not ensuring staff providing services are well trained in disability awareness to fully appreciate the issues we face every day. There’s no excuse for not making simple, often inexpensive, adjustments to make our lives easier.

Let me finish with an example to illustrate why I feel we aren’t making sufficient progress.

The photographs on the left show a building with 3 steps at the entrance. In 2008, I pressed the doorbell adjacent to the sign. A member of staff promptly came to ask how she could help and offered to let me in via a side door with level access. This is an excellent reasonable adjustment facilitated by some simple signage and an inexpensive doorbell.

Sadly, I’ve been past there often in the last 12 months, and the doorbell has always been broken (bottom right)… and this is a firm of solicitors! Is the firm now discriminating against me, or anyone else unable to climb the steps, due to our disability when they previously didn’t? It’s complex, isn’t it?

Steve Wilkinson aka “WheelchairSteve”
February 2013