Labour conference: Anger at Starmer’s ‘divisive’ pledge to back ‘working people’
Labour’s leader has been accused by leading party activists of using “divisive rhetoric” and a “deliberate” failure to mention disabled people and others who are out of work in his main conference speech this week.
Keir Starmer mentioned “working people” 25 times in his 5,400-word speech but failed to mention disabled people once as he addressed the annual conference in Liverpool on Tuesday.
At one point, he told Labour delegates: “This party is always on the side of working people in times of crisis.”
He also said that, after the first term of a Labour government, he hoped “working people” would be “respected as the people who create the wealth that drives Britain forward”.
And he said he wanted to “make this country work for working people” and that he would “never be shy to use the power of government to help working people succeed”.
Starmer and his senior colleagues have been repeatedly criticised for their refusal to include those who do not or cannot work – including many disabled people – in their interviews and set-piece speeches.
Only in March, he angered disabled activists by declaring that Labour was “the party of working people” and “the party of work”.
Those comments reminded activists how the party’s shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said seven years ago that Labour did not want to be seen as “the party to represent those who are out of work”.
In her 3,400-word speech this week, Reeves mentioned “working people” eight times and also failed to mention disabled people.
Ellen Morrison, Labour’s disabled members’ representative on its national executive committee (NEC), said she was “really concerned” that there was no mention in Starmer’s speech of the “huge” numbers of people who are not in work.
In a comment posted online, she said: “Again and again we have heard that Labour is the party for working people.”
She said Starmer had clearly ignored the conversations she had had with him on the NEC, and that this failure was not “a technicality of language” but was “deliberate”.
She said: “I know Keir is aware of this, he has said it is a valid point at NEC meetings, and we know that Keir is a leader who is on top of the detail… so I don’t believe at this point we are some omission… it feels intentional to leave us out of such an important speech.
“Ultimately it is the vision that Keir is setting out and those of us who rely on social security don’t seem to be part of this plan.”
Morrison said she did not understand “how it’s not in alignment with Labour values that we take everyone with us, and we set out to make everyone’s lives better, and I think ultimately it’s divisive rhetoric to keep talking about ‘working people’.
“We should never be pitting people in work against people who aren’t.”
She said his speech seemed to “fly in the face of what I think are Labour values of decency, fairness, and equality”.
And she encouraged disabled Labour members and those in the party who are out of work to “make your thoughts known to the leadership” about the speech.
Kathy Bole, chair of Disability Labour, which is affiliated to the party, said she too was “angry” at Starmer’s speech.
She said: “Keir Starmer has let disabled people down again. There are 25 mentions of working people in his speech and not one mention of the people who are on the edge of a cost-of-living precipice.
“We don’t feature in the life Labour is promising. We are merely a tool to use when elections are in sight.”
29 September 2022
Labour conference: Labour to prioritise care workers over service-users if it wins power
The Labour party will prioritise increasing the wages of care workers above the need to eliminate the charges disabled people are forced to pay for their social care, if it wins power at the next election.
Wes Streeting, the shadow health and social care secretary, told a fringe meeting at this week’s party conference in Liverpool that a Labour government’s “starting point” would be to ensure that care workers have decent pay and conditions.
When Disability News Service (DNS) approached him after the event to ask what a Labour government would promise on care charges during its first term in government, Streeting said the party was “working on it”.
He also referred to a review of the party’s adult social care policy that is being carried out by the Fabian Society.
DNS had told Streeting of research by disabled campaigners which showed tens of thousands of disabled people across the country every year were having debt collection action taken against them by their local authorities over unpaid care charges.
He said: “We know that the burden of costs on people is too high, we have heard some absolute horror stories about what this means for people and for their families and we want to get this right.
“We are not going to make promises we can’t keep just yet. That’s why we are doing the detailed work.”
Streeting promised that – contrary to the refusal of the party and the Fabians to make such a promise earlier this summer – the review will be co-produced with disabled people.
He said: “As an NHS patient, I’m determined to be the shop steward for patients in the NHS and I am just as determined to make sure that the voice of the care user is at the heart of our policy-making and decision-making.”
Asked if he could promise anything on care charging, he said: “We are hearing the outcry, we have got the message, we are working on it, and we will have more to say on this in the run-up to the next general election.”
He had earlier told the fringe meeting, hosted by the Future Social Care Coalition, that producing a National Care Service was “unfinished business” for Labour.
He said: “We can’t deliver it all overnight, we are not going to achieve the seeing of our ambitions in a single parliament, but we’ve got to make a start somewhere and my starting point, and the next Labour government’s starting point, will be to make sure that we can pay people the decent levels of pay, give them decent terms and conditions, and career progressions, so that we can recruit and retain great people, develop them through great careers and put them on a par with the NHS.
“And that’s my ambition as Labour’s next health and social care secretary because with great people we can provide great quality social care.”
Labour’s former health secretary Andy Burnham, now mayor of Greater Manchester, had told the same meeting that he wanted the party to “make it clear that we want social care provided on NHS terms, free at the point of use”.
But Labour’s shadow social care minister, Karin Smyth, told DNS the following day that she was “not over the detail” on the care charges issue and would respond to a question about Labour’s plans by email.
She had not responded by 11.30am today (Thursday).
But although shadow ministers avoided answering the question, party members approved a motion that called for a National Care Service that was co-produced with service-users, publicly funded, free of charge and guided by a taskforce on independent living.
The motion also referenced disabled people’s right to independent living, as described in article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The importance of the call for an end to care charges was highlighted at a fringe meeting held by the End Social Care Disgrace campaign, whose supporters include the disabled people’s organisations network Reclaiming Our Futures Alliance.
Helen Rowlands, co-founder of Cheshire Disabled People Against Cuts, and an executive council member of Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People, said: “Care charging is quite simply a tax on disability, it is unacceptable and it has got to end.
“These charges are pushing people with statutory care needs into debt with local authorities.”
She called for a ban on the use of bailiffs against disabled people who are in care charge debt.
She added: “Wes Streeting has got to listen to this.”
29 September 2022
Labour conference: Financial problems cause Labour to ‘drag its feet’ on discrimination
Labour is continuing to “drag its feet” on eliminating the barriers faced by its own disabled members, leading activists warned this week at the party’s annual conference in Liverpool.
A series of disabled members spoke out about their continuing frustration that a party supposedly dedicated to social justice and human rights was failing to deal with long-standing evidence of discrimination in its own ranks.
One said that senior party figures have been using Labour’s financial problems as an excuse for the slow pace of reform.
But disabled party members told Disability News Service (DNS) this week that they deserved better, and that the party must now “put its money where its mouth is”.
Earlier this month, Disability Labour, which is affiliated to the party, warned Labour that it faced possible legal action if it failed to end years of disability discrimination against party members.
Ellen Morrison, who became the party’s first disabled members’ representative on its national executive committee (NEC) when she was elected in November 2020, told DNS this week that she wanted Labour to act because it was “the right thing to do” and not because of any legal judgement.
She said there always appeared to be “a price” placed on disabled people’s participation, and that disabled people were “always the group that is at the bottom of the pile”.
She said the party agreed new rules last year that now allow local parties to have disabled members’ branches, and which will also allow regional and national disabled members’ committees.
That would allow the party to hear from disabled members on their policy priorities, and it would allow a national committee to submit motions to Labour’s annual conference.
But Morrison said Labour’s financial problems meant it had not yet organised the national disabled members’ conference that will have to be held before a committee can be elected.
She said it was “really, really important” that the party sets up these new structures.
She said: “We have been told that finances will be an issue, that’s why we are waiting for a lot of things. That is what we are told on the NEC all the time.”
She also told DNS that she had ended up in hospital because of the access failures at her first two NEC meetings.
Pam Duncan-Glancy, a disabled MSP and Scottish Labour’s spokesperson on social justice and social security in the Scottish parliament, said: “I don’t think we are doing enough to support disabled people in society, and I think that’s replicated in the Labour party.
“Any kind of change for disabled people is at a glacial pace and it is frustrating.
“I think the party is making some progress in these areas. The more we do to encourage disabled people to self-organise, the stronger it will become.”
But she said more should be expected of a party that is dedicated to fighting for human rights and social justice.
Joe Watkinson, a member of Disability Labour’s executive committee, said: “We disabled members deserve better and Labour must live up to their obligations through diversity and equality.”
He said that his own local party bases its campaign headquarters on election days on the first floor of a pub with no lift and no accessible toilet.
He said: “We are a critical friend of the party but we need to make sure that Labour understands the value of disabled people and where we give value to our communities every day.
“It’s a slow process but we are getting there. It is just a very slow process.”
Emily Pomroy-Smith, chair of South-West Wiltshire CLP*, who fought that seat for Labour at the 2019 general election, said there were simple solutions to many of the barriers faced by disabled party members.
She said: “There are things that are going to happen, the question is when, how long, is justifiable?
“We have been waiting for the entirety of the existence of the Labour party.
“It is supposed to be the party of equality and social justice, but we are not delivering on that.
“If [Labour] were an employer, if this was a place of work, this would not be OK.
“If they continue to drag their feet, people are only going to get more frustrated and angry about it.
“The issue is we are being barred from participation. That’s the bottom line.”
Pomroy-Smith also spoke during a conference debate on Wednesday (watch from four minutes, 30 seconds) to raise the issue of delegates waving items to attract attention from the chair – which can discriminate against disabled delegates and is banned under party rules.
She called for the party to work with disabled people, including Disability Labour, to ensure that future conferences are “truly accessible”.
Another disabled delegate, Rachel Palmer, disability officer for Wigan CLP, spoke (watch from one hour 47 minutes) of the conference’s failure to hear from disabled delegates in debates on issues such as the social care crisis and equalities.
She said: “I believe we have been drastically under-represented amongst those selected to speak over the past four days.”
She praised those non-disabled delegates who had spoken about the experiences of disabled people they know, but she said: “There are disabled people here and we want to speak for ourselves.
“Conference, please make changes to ensure that in future disabled people are properly represented at this lectern.”
Kathy Bole, chair of Disability Labour, who was unable to attend the conference this week for health reasons, told DNS: “I have fielded so many phone calls and emails from distraught members facing discrimination within Labour groups.
“Disability Labour will continue to stand up for disabled people, their families, their carers, and those who stand beside them.
“The party needs to wake up. I urge everyone to stand up for those still facing discrimination while trying to exercise their human right to participate equally in politics.”
Vicky Foxcroft, Labour’s shadow minister for disabled people, told DNS that the party had decided to hold its annual conference in Liverpool for the next six years for access reasons, which will allow it to make improvements every year.
She said some of the barriers that members were facing were caused by elected officers in CLPs.
They will all have to have disability equality training, but that will “take time”, she said.
She praised Morrison’s work and said: “There’s a lot of work going on to try and make things better.”
She added: “Some CLPs are really, really good, and some CLPs, frankly, are not.”
*Constituency Labour Party
29 September 2022
Labour conference: Foxcroft promises job support plans will not include sanctions
Labour’s shadow disability minister has promised that her party’s plans to “target” those who are out of work because of long-term ill-health will not see claimants punished if they refuse an offer of support.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Jon Ashworth had told Labour’s party conference in Liverpool this week that a Labour government would reform jobcentres and employment services.
Although he offered little detail in his speech, he said there would be “active help with training, coaching and support for those who need it”, and that it would not be done through “Tory threats or sanctions”.
He also promised that the support would be delivered through partnerships with community groups, local authorities, and services like the NHS, and “not by wasting money on big outsourcing corporations”, with those taking these jobs “paid a decent living wage”.
Further information released by the party said the reforms would “support GPs, housing associations and community groups to easily direct people to employment support”, and that it would “offer targeted and specialist help to those with long-term ill health and the over 50s”.
Labour said there were 578,000 people who are out of work because of long-term ill-health and who say they would like a job, and that economic inactivity due to long-term ill health “is rising at its fastest ever rate and has reached the highest level ever”.
But there are likely to be concerns about any Labour plans to target people on out-of-work disability benefits.
The last time the party was in power it replaced incapacity benefit with employment and support allowance (ESA), and a new work capability assessment, with the aim of targeting – in the words of Labour work and pensions secretary James Purnell in 2008 – “people who scrounge from the system” and were claiming incapacity benefit when they were fit for work.
Those reforms eventually led to countless deaths of disabled people, as the new Conservative-led coalition took on the new ESA benefit in 2010, toughened the sanctions regime, and found tens of thousands of people unfairly fit for work.
Vicky Foxcroft, the party’s shadow minister for disabled people, told Disability News Service (DNS) this week that despite the language of “targeting” people out of work due to ill-health, the support offered by a future Labour government would be voluntary.
She said: “It’s the offer of support if you want it. It’s not with sanctions or threats.”
Foxcroft said that this no-sanctions promise was guaranteed.
Ashworth provided few details on Labour’s plans for universal credit, other than saying that a Labour government would “reform, overhaul and replace” the working-age benefits system, and “treat people with dignity”.
Foxcroft told DNS that although universal credit could not be scrapped – because of the complexity of the technology around the system, which has been developed over the last decade under successive Conservative-led governments – it could be reformed.
She said a Labour government would ensure that there was less pressure and “less bombarding” of universal credit claimants.
She said: “Even if you ignored the fact that it is absolutely the right thing to do, in terms of stopping the hounding of people, the hounding of people costs a lot of money.
“We want to make sure that that fear of the DWP, of those letters coming through, or a phone call, we want to make sure that that fear and the hounding is taken out of the system because it’s absolutely the right thing to do and financially it doesn’t make sense.”
She said she believed this “hounding” was an “ideological thing” for the Conservatives and was aimed at “looking like you’re all tough on benefit claimants, making them seem like they are scroungers and so forth when that is not the reality”.
29 September 2022
Labour conference: Co-production will be my top priority, says Foxcroft
Labour’s shadow minister for disabled people has pledged that co-producing policy with disabled people and ensuring government communications are accessible will be her top priorities if her party wins power at the next general election.
Vicky Foxcroft said it would take time to “build up” the disabled people’s organisations and infrastructure necessary for proper co-production.
But she told the Daily Mirror’s Disabled Britain fringe event at her party’s annual conference in Liverpool: “Society will benefit from us doing this and also we will get things right first time.”
Speaking after the meeting to Disability News Service (DNS), she said that ensuring there was proper co-production would be her top priority if she was minister for disabled people, alongside ensuring the accessibility of government communications.
She said she believed there should be a hub through which all government communications should pass to ensure they are accessible for disabled people before they are released to the public.
Foxcroft said she did not think this would be expensive, and it would also save money on legal actions taken against the government on equality grounds and having to extend public consultations because of access failures.
In January, the National Disability Strategy was thrown into chaos after the high court ruled that the government’s national consultation with disabled people and the strategy itself were both unlawful.
The high court found that the consultation, launched early last year through a national survey, had made it “impossible” for disabled people to “shape” the content of the strategy.
Only this week, a disability charity told DNS that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport failed to provide access to information in alternative formats for disabled people who wanted to pay their respects to the Queen at the lying-in-state in Westminster Hall (see separate story).
Foxcroft also told DNS that there was not a “healthy culture” within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and that she believed the department was not fit for purpose.
But she was unwilling to say if a Labour government would create a new department in its place, following countless deaths of disabled claimants that have been linked to its failings, and mounting distrust of its treatment of those relying on the social security system.
But she did not rule out significant action, and she said: “These are things we are looking at.
“What our aims would be is to have a system that helps and supports people, treats people with dignity, and ensures they have enough to be able to live on and live a fine life.”
Foxcroft said her series of regional roadshows, in which she has spoken to disabled people from across the country, had shown her that “there is no trust in the DWP”, while her own constituency casework had shown the serious impact of its failures on disabled people, and that the benefits system was “not working”.
She was not able to say if a Labour government would order an inquiry into deaths linked to DWP’s failings, as demanded by disabled activists, the families of claimants who have died, and Labour’s Debbie Abrahams.
But Foxcroft said that shadow ministers were looking into the possibility of an inquiry.
She also pledged that a Labour-run DWP would be more “transparent” than it is now, following growing concerns about its failure to publish reports it has commissioned, and to produce key statistics, including figures that would show how many universal credit claimants are being found “fit for work” through the work capability assessment process.
She said she was “extremely worried” about the impact of the programme to move people on old-style benefits like employment and support allowance onto universal credit through the so-called “managed migration” process, and the lack of transparency about how people were being affected by the move to universal credit.
She said: “A basic thing they should be doing is having the data on what’s happening so you can review, respond, change direction if need be.
“If you thought something was going brilliantly, why wouldn’t you want to show the data?”
29 September 2022
Government ‘ignored advice from disability organisations’ on lying-in-state
The government ignored crucial advice from disability organisations when it was planning an “accessible queue” for disabled people who wanted to pay their respects to the Queen at the lying-in-state in Westminster Hall, it emerged this week.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the government department responsible for organising the accessible queue, has confirmed that it approached a small number of disability organisations for advice.
But it appears to have asked only one disabled people’s organisation – Disability Rights UK (DR UK) – and one other disability charity, Leonard Cheshire, and seems only to have approached them in April this year.
Planning for the Queen’s funeral is believed to have been taking place for many years.
And it appears that key parts of the advice provided to DCMS by DR UK and Leonard Cheshire was ignored.
Disability News Service (DNS) understands that DCMS was warned by DR UK that long queues would be a barrier to those with invisible impairments and energy-limiting conditions.
DR UK also appears to have questioned where disabled people would be able to go if they were not given an immediate slot to join the accessible queue, as many would be travelling from outside London.
Both of these concerns were not addressed by DCMS and caused significant problems for many disabled people who wanted to pay their respects to the Queen.
Leonard Cheshire said that one of the recommendations it made to DCMS was to provide at least three different ways for people to contact the department to discuss adjustments being made for disabled people.
The charity said there did not appear to have been any way for disabled people to do this.
It also suggested that the government should ensure information on accessibility was easily available on the day.
Leonard Cheshire said there did not appear to have been any way to contact DCMS on the day and the department “was not responsive on Twitter”.
DCMS also appears to have ignored Leonard Cheshire’s suggestion that it provide access to information in alternative formats such as easy read, audio and braille, so that maps, signage, handouts and travel directions would be accessible to those queueing, although there were British Sign Language interpreters available.
DNS reported last week how disabled people who struggled for hours in the accessible queue said the government had treated them as an “afterthought” and that its “discriminatory” arrangements were “a shambles”.
They spoke of having to queue for hours for a wristband that would allow them to join the “accessible queue” many hours later, and sometimes not until the following day.
The accessible queue was also closed permanently at 4.30pm on the Saturday of the lying-in-state, more than a day before the main queue was closed to new arrivals.
And there were many concerns raised about the quality and accessibility of the information that was provided about the accessible queue.
A DR UK spokesperson said: “We were approached by DCMS to put together a training module aimed at the stewards – the training was to be ten minutes in length, recorded so stewards could watch it along with other training videos.
“We also delivered a longer 40-minute version to some of the core staff working on arrangements.
“We didn’t have a formal role in advising the department on its planning, but took the opportunity to give some advice – for example if they were to check eligibility for the accessible queue, which documents they should consider.
“But we said that we felt strongly that disabled people should not be asked for this.
“We asked them to ensure there were BSL interpreters present.”
A Leonard Cheshire spokesperson said: “Our training and consultancy team provided some general advice to DCMS on managing public queues for the lying-in-state, making recommendations around potential barriers to accessibility and how these could be removed with adjustments.
“Our recommendations covered considerations including disability awareness of staff managing queues, accessible communications, and signage, as well as consistency of approach between departments, teams, and organisations involved.
“Based on feedback from many disabled people who were paying their respects, it is disappointing that not all our recommendations were put into action and there were issues with communication, information provided and support in place.
“This ultimately resulted in frustrating and upsetting experiences for some which could have been avoided.”
DCMS declined to say if it accepted that it did not follow some of the advice provided by DR UK and Leonard Cheshire.
But a DCMS spokesperson said that planning the accessible queue had been part of a “long term” process.
She said DCMS had consulted organisations and individuals including the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, parliament’s own inclusion and diversity team, the government’s Disability Unit, as well as DR UK and Leonard Cheshire.
The department has yet to confirm when this consultation began, although it said the organisations were consulted “in advance of activation in order for us to ensure the accessibility queue catered for as many people as possible”.
The DCMS spokesperson said the accessible queue was “for people with a disability or long-term condition which meant they were unable to queue for an extended period of time”, that BSL interpreters were available for those joining the queue, that assistance dogs were allowed inside Westminster Hall for the lying-in-state, and that all the guidance on the government website was “fully accessible to those using screen readers”.
She said: “Wristbands were given out for time slots in advance in order to reduce the time physically waiting in line.
“Throughout, there were marshals and stewards on hand to provide support, guidance and advice to those in the queue.
“Tate Britain provided space and seating within the building for those who did not receive an immediate slot.”
DCMS said it did not accept that the waits faced by disabled people were far too long, or that the accessible queue was not well planned and did not meet the government’s duties under the Equality Act.
The spokesperson said: “We do not accept this. This is the first time we have had an accessible queue for lying-in-state.
“To make sure people’s accessibility requirements were properly catered for, we worked with expert advisory groups and relevant charities throughout the planning process and then worked round the clock to facilitate people’s access to the queue.”
She said DCMS would not be carrying out an inquiry into the access failures but that “as is the case for every major event” it would “undertake a lessons learned process to help build understanding for future events”.
It is not yet clear how many people accessed the lying-in-state through the main queue and how many accessed it through the accessible queue.
29 September 2022
Disabled barrister says flaws in ‘archaic’ Access to Work scheme could risk vital court work
A disabled barrister says she could have to abandon vital family law work in court because of the bureaucratic incompetence, complexity and delays within the Access to Work (AtW) scheme.
Christina Warner has told Disability News Service (DNS) that her work on civil cases involving areas such as domestic abuse, sexual assault and children’s welfare could be put at risk because of the continuing failure of Access to Work (AtW) to provide her with the support she needs.
She has lost two support workers in the last 12 months because they could not afford to wait for as long as eight weeks to be paid for their work, which AtW was funding.
Now she has been told by AtW – which provides disabled people with funding to pay for some of the extra disability-related expenses they face at work – that if she does not provide the tax code for her new German support worker, her support could be stopped.
But HM Revenue and Customs has told her support worker that it will not be able to provide the tax code until the middle of October at the earliest, and she has been warned it could take even longer.
Warner, a barrister at Goldsmith Chambers, said losing the support she needs could mean she is unable to attend court hearings, and puts her at risk of being sued, ordered to pay court costs, or face disciplinary action for causing delays to important cases.
She told DNS that the flawed AtW scheme was putting the careers of disabled workers at risk across the economy in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
She is the latest disabled person to describe how the continuing flaws and delays within AtW are risking their jobs, despite ministers continuing to brag – incorrectly – about their performance on disability employment.
DNS reported in May that the Access to Work system was in crisis, with figures showing the number of disabled people waiting for decisions on their applications had more than quadrupled in a year.
By March this year, 20,909 disabled people were waiting for a decision on their claim for support, compared with just 4,890 a year earlier.
The waiting-list was also more than twice as high as it was in February 2020, at the start of the pandemic, when there were about 8,500 disabled people waiting for an AtW decision.
The scheme has faced years of complaints and concerns about incompetence, delays and errors.
A report commissioned by Inclusion London found in 2017 that the scheme was “a cornerstone of the movement for equality and civil rights for Deaf and disabled people in the UK” but had been “beset with so much bureaucratic incompetence and obstructionism in recent years that, in many respects, Access to Work is no longer fit for purpose”.
More recently, DNS heard earlier this year of disabled people being told by AtW of a 12-week backlog of applications waiting to be allocated to a case manager.
Warner, who has a progressive condition that causes sight loss, said the way that AtW deals with claims was “archaic”, with applications dealt with by post and “everything working at a glacial pace”.
She said she had also been bombarded with daily emails from her AtW case worker, demanding instant responses, despite her heavy workload of legal cases.
She said: “The scheme is dehumanising. You have to keep proving your existence to Access to Work.
“The effort and time and the complete and utter heartache it puts you through is degrading.”
Even though Warner provided permission for DWP to discuss her case with DNS, the department declined to say whether it accepted that problems with the AtW system were putting her career as a barrister at risk; whether it would apologise to her; and why it was threatening to stop her support because of problems caused by delays within HMRC.
But a DWP spokesperson said in a statement about the ongoing AtW delays: “We are currently seeing an increased number of people applying for support through Access to Work and we’re working hard to make sure their applications are progressed as soon as possible.
“To speed up the application process we have recruited additional staff and we are using overtime working.
“We are also prioritising applications for those due to start work in the next four weeks.
“In addition, we are testing a new way for users to claim their Access to Work grant online to enable people to submit claims digitally.”
DWP also claims it is prioritising applications from customers who want to renew their on-going support award, and short-notice applications for communication support at job interviews, and that it is reviewing the Access to Work “customer journey” to try to streamline it where possible.
29 September 2022
First Deaf BSL-users serve as jurors, following two decades of campaigning
After more than two decades of campaigning, some of the first Deaf people have been able to complete jury service in England and Wales with support from British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters, following a change in the law.
The new laws were brought in earlier this year through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, allowing BSL interpreters into the jury room.
The first Deaf person to complete jury service with a BSL interpreter was Karen, a volunteer at the disabled people’s organisation DeafCOG.
She and fellow jurors heard a case at Croydon Crown Court regarding racially-aggravated harassment, and Karen was chosen by other jury members to act as their foreperson and announce the verdict.
Another Deaf person, Paul, heard a serious sexual assault case at Norwich Crown Court last month.
Both Karen and Paul had three-strong teams interpreting what was happening in the court room and the jury room on rotation.
Karen said: “My jury experience at Croydon Crown Court went smoothly and exceeded my expectations.
“The staff, from the jury manager, ushers, clerks and judges were extremely aware of the needs of myself and the BSL interpreting team.
“I was made to feel included every step of the way.
“An excellent and amazing opportunity for me and what a great start to leading the way for other Deaf jurors in the future, now that BSL is recognised as a language.”
Paul’s case ran over the time expected, which meant his interpreters became unavailable, but replacement interpreters were sourced for the rest of the trial.
Paul was also selected as the foreperson.
He said it had been a “dream” of his to perform jury service, that the experience had been “surreal”, and that the process had been “streamlined and smooth”, with “clear and easy to follow training”.
He said: “I was amazed that I was treated equally to other jurors. This gave me a sense of respect as the other jurors were keen to work with me and make me feel involved.
“The judge requested feedback from me on how to improve for future cases and expressed a strong desire to make sure Norwich Crown Court is accessible and fair for all.”
He added: “I look forward to seeing more of the Deaf/BSL community being part of the justice system, as it should be.”
Guidance on working with jurors supported by BSL interpreters was provided to court staff, judges and other jury members, and interpreters had to take oaths which contained new wording that warned them not to influence, interfere or disclose the jury’s deliberations.
Common law rules had previously banned the presence of a “stranger” in the jury deliberation room, but this has now been changed, with the act introducing measures that allow a BSL interpreter into the room.
David Buxton, former chief executive and now chair of the British Deaf Association (BDA), has been campaigning and lobbying ministers since 2011 to make the change in the law.
He was part of a Ministry of Justice working group that discussed the issue during the post-2010 coalition government, which led to a promise to review the legislation after the 2015 election.
But no action had been taken by 2017, when Buxton himself was called up for jury service.
When he attended the court and said that he was Deaf and would be able to take part using a BSL interpreter, he was informed that he was not required.
He later launched a claim against the government for a judicial review of the ban, but he agreed to his legal action being put on hold after the Ministry of Justice said it would look into the matter further.
By the following year, no progress had been made, so he began lobbying parliamentarians and the government.
Jeff McWhinney, Buxton’s predecessor as BDA chief executive, had himself been told by a crown court judge in 1999 that he could not serve as a juror because the law prevented him bringing an interpreter into the jury room.
The Labour government also said it was considering a change in the law at the time.
Buxton said this week: “After decades of campaigning, the 87,000 Deaf people in the UK whose first or preferred language is BSL are now finally able to serve as jurors alongside their hearing fellow citizens.
“We are pleased that the Ministry of Justice has recognised that a BSL interpreter is there to support the Deaf juror, rather than to act as a 13th juror.
“Interpreters follow a strict professional code of conduct which prevents them from influencing the judicial process in any way.”
He said the move was a “crucial and long overdue step forward in the equality, inclusion and participation of Deaf people in our democracy”.
He added: “Barriers to Deaf people’s full democratic participation remain – we have yet to see the election of a Deaf MP – but we hope that this important step demonstrates the potentially huge contribution that the Deaf community in the UK can make to our society when reasonable adjustments such as BSL interpreters are provided as standard.
“We look forward to continue working with the government to break down further unnecessary barriers and challenge discriminatory attitudes and practices in future.”
Work and pensions secretary Chloe Smith said: “The first Deaf juror completing jury service is an historic moment on our path towards a more inclusive and accessible society.
“I am so glad to hear of Karen and Paul’s positive experiences while undertaking an important act of public service.
“Earlier this year the British Sign Language Act became law, and I’m delighted to see that our work to recognise BSL as a language is fulfilling its promise to help remove barriers faced by the D/deaf community.”
The controversial British Sign Language Act, which became law in April, recognised BSL as a language in England, Scotland and Wales, but BSL-users were warned that it provided them with no new rights, although the legislation still secured significant support from the Deaf community.
The act requires the work and pensions secretary to produce regular reports on what 20 government departments have done to “promote or facilitate” the use of BSL in their “communications with the public”.
And it requires the work and pensions secretary to secure guidance for government departments and other public bodies on the “promotion and facilitation” of BSL.
But some Deaf activists have described it as “token” legislation that “the government are using to look good without costing anything”, with one even warning that it would put the battle for BSL rights and provision “back for another decade at least”.
29 September 2022
Other disability-related stories covered by mainstream media this week
A disabled former police officer has won a legal challenge against the Department for Work and Pensions over its policy of allowing utility companies to automatically deduct hundreds of pounds a year from individuals’ benefits without their consent. Helen Timson, from Leicester, argued it was unlawful and immoral that the DWP enabled water and energy firms to draw down up to 25 per cent of a claimant’s monthly benefit income at source without undertaking any form of check with the claimant. Hundreds of thousands of claimants are understood to be subject to the deductions: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/23/disabled-woman-wins-legal-challenge-against-dwp-over-automatic-benefit-deduction
Humiliated, abused and isolated for weeks – patients were put at risk due to a “toxic culture” at one of the UK’s biggest mental health hospitals, BBC Panorama can reveal. An undercover reporter at the Edenfield Centre filmed staff using restraint inappropriately and patients enduring long seclusions in small, bare rooms. Staff swore at patients and were seen slapping or pinching them on occasion. A number of staff members have been suspended. Greater Manchester Police has opened a criminal investigation: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63045298
More than a million people in the UK have experienced life-threatening asthma attacks after cutting back on medicine, heating or food amid the soaring cost-of-living crisis, a survey suggests. One in five people living with asthma in the UK – of which there are 5.4 million – have had an attack as a result of changes they have been forced to make due to rising energy, food and household bills, according to the research by Asthma + Lung UK. Fuel poverty campaigners described the figures as “distressing”: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/28/asthma-attacks-1m-people-linked-uk-cost-of-living-rationing
Survivors of thalidomide in Wales will receive financial help for the rest of their lives, ministers have announced. There are about 30 known survivors of the drug in Wales, many aged 60 years or older. Health minister Eluned Morgan said she hoped news on the funding would provide reassurance to survivors. A 10-year funding agreement for the Thalidomide Trust health grant was due to end in March 2023: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-63067506
A Preston man was among three police officers whose comments in a WhatsApp group with Sarah Everard’s killer Wayne Couzens were branded “sickening” and “abhorrent”. Former Metropolitan Police constable Joel Borders, 45, has been convicted of sending grossly offensive messages. Borders, of Preston, and serving officer Jonathan Cobban, 35, shared what was claimed to be “banter” about tasering children and disabled people in 2019: https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/preston-sarah-everard-wayne-couzens-25076543
29 September 2022
News provided by John Pring at www.disabilitynewsservice.com
