Urgent Help needed with legal cases.
Urgently needed early next week
A group fighting for disabled people many with Learning Difficulties are challenging the Minimum Income Guarantee cuts leading to impossible care charges for all and particularly those with high support needs. This includes the way it’s been introduced by Norfolk County Council who have taken the harshest possible implementation with paltry Disability Related Expenses .
There is a ‘test case’ taking a County Council and The Government to judicial review about this which could benefit everyone in receipt of social care.
The solicitor has asked the person taking the case to provide as much evidence as possible that charges for care are a national problem. Unfortunately this is needed a early next week.
We know many of you have had care charges increased and are struggling to pay these so please could you send us a short email outlining the issues you face with charging or refusal to allow Disability Related Expenses to mail@dpac.uk.net
We will pass these onto the respondent and solicitor to use. We will need you to include your name, and contact details, plus it would be useful to know which area of the country you live in. Please put social care charging as the title.
Benefits Advice
Whilst the Government increased Universal Credit to £94 a week, it is not increasing so called legacy benefits that are still paid to millions of people.
GMLC is supporting a legal challenge to this – are you in receipt of Income Support, ESA or JSA you could help – please contact benefits@gmlaw.org.uk
And yet another legal case
Subject: #whereistheinterpreter Campaign
You may be aware of a recent and growing national campaign that started with the #whereistheinterpreter hashtag by Lynn Stewart-Taylor. Various deaf individuals, organisations and charities across the UK sector have joined this important campaign requesting access for Deaf people during the COVID-19 crisis.
We have a simple request – we want the British Government to provide a British Sign Language Interpreter for all major announcements and updates relating to the Coronavirus at the same time as hearing people. Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have this in place already. Worldwide we are seeing other countries blazing the way, one excellent example is Jacinda Arden, New Zealand’s PM.
We believe that it is critically important that there is national cooperation and effort at a time of great urgency. Several deaf organisations were approached last week, in collaboration with Fry Law to seek support. You can read more about this in the link provided here and in the letter attached to this email:
As a result, the PM Office received a letter to inform them that Fry Law will commence legal proceedings, using the Equality Act to obtain assistance from the Court to require a BSL English Interpreter to be present, in real time, at these important occasions. Number 10 Downing Street have replied saying they need 14 days to reply. This is not sustainable with the crisis escalating at a rapid pace, with information changing so fast on a day to day basis.
Chris Fry intends to make a formal application on Monday 6th April, so it is necessary for those willing to be interested parties to be listed by that time.
In order to go ahead with the legal proceedings, we need to set up a CrowdJustice fund. We have an 85-year-old deaf man who has agreed to be the claimant, a necessary aspect to making this type of application. He is a BSL user who has no Internet and an analogue TV. He is extremely isolated and anxious about the lack of information in BSL.
We plan to support him, thereby supporting many other vulnerable deaf people across the UK. This elderly brave man is potentially at risk of being liable for the Government legal costs.
What do we need from you?
ASLI have generously donated £500 to kick start this fund. It would be amazing if you were able to donate to this fighting fund, every amount is appreciated, no matter how small.
On behalf of
Action Deafness
Action on Hearing Loss (AOHL)
Association of Sign Language Interpreters (ASLI)
Deaf4Deaf
National Register of Communication Professionals
SignHealth
Stop Changes to Access to Work #StopChanges2ATW
The Deaf LGBTIQA Project
The Limping Chicken Blog
The Royal Association for Deaf People
UK Council on Deafness
