Concerns for the blind after Governement Spending Review

Yesterday's Government Spending review has raised concerns about the welfare of vulnerable members of society, including the blind and visually impaired.

It is a known fact that blind and VI people have great difficulty in finding work due to employers reluctance to employ them and the limited number of jobs they are able to do.  A 12 month cap on the receipt of Contribution Based Employment Support Allowance (ESA) means that many disabled people's benefits will be cut after a year despite the disadvantages they have over fully sighted job seekers.

The"savings" suggest that the elegibilty for DLA may become more difficult to achieve, meaning many will lose out on the support in care and mobility that is essential to an acceptable standard of living.

With local authorities reduction in spending budgets it is unclear where the cuts will be made and there are worries that support and training budgets for the most vulnerable, resulting in finacial difficulties and loss of living standards, independence and dignity for those with sight loss.

Amongst other annoucement include the removal of the mobility componant of people on DLA in residential care, caps on housing benefit will have a huge impact on living standards and local government grants for transport will be reduced by a third, which could effect many visually impaired people who have no other means to get around.

The full effect of the Spending Review is yet to be seen but there is no doubt that many disabled people will be disavantaged, especially those of working age but with the greatest need, many of whom have lost their vision and have contributed tax and national insurance in the expectation that the state would support them if things went wrong and they found themselves unable to work.

"At RNIB we were optimistic when Iain Duncan Smith outlined his vision to help people into work and make work pay, so it is shocking that in reality it is disabled people of working age who will be worst hit."

Quote from Steve Winyard, RNIB Head of Policy and Campaigns

Links:

• For the RNIB's view and full analysis on the spending review click here.
• Action for Blind People's initial response, click here

"Disabled endure 'shockingly high' level of discrimination"

Today's Independent newspaper's web site reports that campaigning charity Leonard Cheshire Disability said that despite the presence of the Disability Discrimination Act there were "shockingly high" levels of discrimination towards the disabled.

"We actually found that 40% of disabled people in Britain were able to identify difficulties or problems they have experienced accessing goods and services in the last 12 months.

And significantly 23%, nearly a quarter of disabled people said they had been discriminated against while trying to access goods and services in the past year, so really shockingly high levels of discrimination and inaccessibility given how long we have had anti-discrimination legislation."

Quote by Leonard Cheshire Disability from the Independen newspaper report

Leonard Cheshire Disability are a charity that campaigns "for change to give disabled people the opportunity to live their life their way".  The new Equality Act has just been passed through Government and makes many improvements to the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act:

“But the key now will be to make sure that the Act works for disabled people up and down the country, and that disabled people are aware of their rights, and are able to challenge discrimination when they face it.
Leonard Cheshire Disability will be releasing a new report next week looking at how we can ensure that disabled people can actually use the law to challenge discrimination and make society more accessible for everyone.”

Press release from the Leonard Cheshire Disability web site

50% reduction on TV licence for the blind

If you are registered blind or severely sight impaired, you can get a 50 per cent reduction on the cost of a TV licence.  There is no reduction if you are partially sighted.

The licence will cover anyone who you live with, so if the licence is under someone elses name, change it to the name of the blind person to take advantage of the reduction.

You will need a photocopy of the certificate or document issued by or your local authority or a copy of the certificate from your ophthalmologist, to confirm that you’re certified as either blind or severely sight impaired.

You can also get a refund if you have already paid the full fee.  This can be backdated but you must be able to prove you had a licence and were resistered blind during the relevant period.

You need a licence if you have any device that can receive or record television programmes as they are being shown on TV, including computers, digital boxes or DVD/VHS recorders, mobile phone and games consoles as well as TVs.

Visit the TV Licensing site by clicking here to apply for you concession or ring them on 0844 800 6737.

A blind concession TV Licence costs £72.75 for colour and £24.50 for a black and white TV Licence.

Election 2010 factsheet for the disabled

The 2010 election campaign is in full swing.  The Election Commision and Scope have released a factsheet detailing your rights as a disabled voter.  You can view and download the .pdf version by clicking here.

Local authorities now have to take proactive steps to ensure that polling stations don't disadvantage disabled people.

All voters have a right to vote independently and in secret.  A person who is registered to vote or who has been officially appointed as a proxy voter cannot be refused a ballot paper or the opportunity to vote on the grounds of mental or physical incpacity

Quote from the factsheet

The factsheet also details how disabled people are also entitled to:

• The right to request assistance to mark the ballot paper.
• A tactile voting device
• A large-print versionof the ballot paper
• Assistance to electors unable to gain access to the polling station.

Information about voting and your rights can be found in audio and large print at the Electoral Commission's "About my vote" web site by clicking here.

Don't let your disability effect you right to vote on 6 May.

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