Sal Brinton was part of the House of Lords Committee which produced today's report which reviewed the impact of the Equality Act 2010 on disabled people. Its conclusions were pretty damning. It's worth setting out in full the five major themes that they identified:
People with brain tumours, motor neurone disease, Parkinson's disease and a number of other conditions are "able to work", new work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb has said.
Legal Aid funding became unavailable for welfare cases at First Tier tribunal in April 2013, because of the Conservative-led Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). This included Legal Aid for appealing all benefit decisions. Legal Aid at Second Tier tribunal may be available if the case is about a point of law. Political lip service was paid to the legal human rights implications regarding the violation to the right to a fair trial (Article 6 of the ECHR), equal access to justice , and the Act provided that funding may be granted on a case-by-case basis where the failure to provide legal aid would be a breach of the individual's rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) or the rights of the individual to the provision of legal services that are enforceable European Union rights.
The Equality Act 2010: the impact on disabled people. The House of Lords Select Committee on the Equality Act 2010 and Disability investigating the Act's impact on disabled people has concluded that the Government is failing in its duty of care to disabled people. Read more Disability Rights UK CEO Liz Sayce said, in the Guardian: "20 years ago, after many years of campaigning, the Disability Discrimination Act was born, giving new rights and new hope to disabled people. "Many of those rights remain dormant because of inaction by government. If disabled people were given the support and opportunities they should be, they would be more economically active and at less risk of poor health and isolation." Key findings and recommendations in the report: Government should bring into force immediately provisions in the Act obliging taxi drivers to take passengers with wheelchairs. All new rail infrastructure must build into its design step-free access. Ministers must report on the progress made on all sports stadia,
As a candidate for my home town in May's local elections, I've helped residents fight for repairs to roads, I've lobbied for more action on dog mess and I've campaigned to prevent closures to residential homes.
For over a year now, my condition has meant that I've started to use a wheelchair more frequently, and this has definitely taught me a lot about the people around me and strangers in the street. Sometimes it's difficult to self-propel myself in my chair, and I'll ask family members to help me. This is totally OK. However, what isn't OK is people just randomly starting to push me. This goes for family members and strangers.
