IN the run-up to the so-called “working people’s Budget” on July 8 where George Osborne will reveal the latest bout of austerity measures, including £12 billion of welfare cuts, it’s worth looking at some significant caps, changes and cuts. All of them potentially have grave consequences for people with disabilities, particularly with regard to how independent we can be.

Immediately after the election, the government moved quickly to cap costs with regard to the Access to Work fund, a step that will hit hardest those with sensory disabilities. In hard-hitting article in the Morning Star on May 15, Linda Burnip from Disabled People Against Cuts said: “These cuts will mean that fewer disabled people will be able to get enough funding to support them to stay in work and there will be also no extra money available for others to seek employment.”

The second, secretive change has been with Motability, the charity that relies heavily on funding from the Department for Work and Pensions. As that funding has been frozen since 2012-13, Motability has introduced further conditions for its specialised vehicles fund. From June last year those inquiring about leasing drive-from-wheelchair vehicles will be asked if they work for at least 12 hours in either a paid or voluntary capacity or are in at least 12 hours’ education, and if they require adaptations to be carried out to help them get into and out of the car. 

If the answer is No, then they will not be able to lease a car, though Motability director Declan O’Mahoney told Disability News Service they will make “every reasonable effort not to leave a customer high and dry.” This measure has the potential to discriminate against those with more serious disabilities and could hit particularly hard those who live in rural areas with a lack of accessible public transport.

The third change is the closure of the Independent Living Fund (ILF) on June 30. After this date, councils already struggling from deep funding cuts will be responsible for providing the help and support to this group of approximately 18,000 of the most disabled in society. This could mean better targeted help — a triumph for localism. 

However, with a 10 per cent cut for councils for ILF cases and no money given for administration costs, some councils have already started to redraft criteria for the support, leaving many severely disabled people fearful for the future.

In the last 30 years there’s been much progress in terms of helping people with severe disabilities achieve independence. However, with what has happened in the past five years, and with what is to come, many activists feel these achievements are being torn up and thrown into the nearest bin. 

Our only option is to protest and fight, and that’s why many disabled people and our supporters will be joining our able-bodied comrades on the People’s Assembly End Austerity Now on Saturday June 20. It’s imperative all our voices are heard, sending a clear message to those in government. 

• Ruth Hunt is author of The Single Feather (Pilrig Press).