DPAC welcomes the legal action taken against Lancashire County Council to challenge t
heir cuts to social services. Two disabled older women who rely on Council funding for support to live in their own homes took a case to the high court where a judicial review was concluded last week. It will unfortunately be at least a month before the judgement is delivered.
The Council have now admitted that a decision to only provide support to meet personal care needs was unlawful but the lawyers for the women taking the case have called upon the judge to make clear that adopting such policies is illegal.
Lancashire County Council wants to raise the eligibility threshold for support from “moderate” to “substantial”, and cut spending on personal budgets and home care. Lawyers for the two women, who have backing from Disabled People’s Organisation Disability Equality North West, argued that the Council broke the Disability Discrimination Act by failing to take into account the impact of its proposed cuts on the lives of disabled people. In fact the Council agreed a new budget that incorporated social care savings before the consultation on the proposed cuts had even ended.
Lancashire County Council should be forced to look again at its plans to cut services and increase charges and to find other budget areas where savings can be more safely made.
News source: John Pring at www.disabilitynewsservice.com