Jomail 10 #1 Posted March 22, 2020 Suspension of the Care Act – act immediately DR UK has serious concerns about the implications of the Coronavirus Bill on human rights, especially the rights of vulnerable groups, including disabled people. The second reading of the Bill is on Monday 23 March – tomorrow. We are calling on disabled people to act now, today, on this. Our key concern is that the Bill suspends the Care Act. The Bill will effectively free local authorities of their duties to provide social care support under the Care Act 2014 and will only oblige local authorities to provide support in cases where the human rights of disabled people will be breached. Find your MP's contact details: You can find your MP's contact details here: https://www.writetothem.com/ Letter template: Template letter to MP Dear [add your MP’s name] Coronavirus Bill: Disabled people are in danger I am writing to ask you to take action to protect the lives of many thousands of Disabled people. Please raise the issue and if possible table and support the amendments to prevent this from happening. I believe that the #CoronaVirusBill presents a real and present danger to the lives of Disabled people. The government’s plans for Disabled children and adults during the crisis are effectively rolling back 30 years of progress for Disabled people. They also come after years of chronic under funding of social care which have resulted in a social care system already at breaking point. The government’s plans are to: - Remove Disabled people’s rights to social care - Change the duties to educate to meet children’s educational requirements to a ‘reasonable endeavours’ duty - Severely undermine the civil liberties of Disabled people and erode their rights to support. I understand this is an unprecedented and extremely challenging situation, but given the already broken social care system this Bill will almost inevitably leave many thousands of Disabled people without essential support or any rights to request this support. Rolling back our rights is not good for anyone and in the current circumstances will put many lives at risk. Rather than removing Disabled people’s right to social care support the government must treat our essential social care service as key infrastructure, alongside the NHS, and as such it must immediately provide the necessary funding to keep this vital service running. To explain my reasons for writing to you, please see my understanding of negative social implications of the #CoronaVirusBill on the lives of Disabled people and their families detailed below. This information was prepared by the barristers who specialise in public law and disability rights. Yours sincerely, [Name and full address] Implications of the Bill for Disabled people What does it mean for disabled adults? The new Coronavirus Bill 2020 effectively suspends most local authority social care obligations. Jonathan Auburn reports. The key points as regards adult social care – Section 14 gives effect to Schedule 11, which suspends the following provisions of the Care Act – s.9 duty to assess the individual’s needs; s.10 duty to assess carer’s needs; s.13 duty to determine eligibility; s.17 duty to assess financial resources; ss.24-27 care planning duties; ss.37-38 duties relating to people moving areas; and ss.58-64 duties concerning child carers. As to the duty to make provision to meet care needs, that is now limited to meeting needs nly to the extent necessary to avoid a breach of Convention rights. The Bill also affects other related areas. Section 5 and Schedule 4 make provision for the emergency registration of further social workers. Section 9 and Schedule 7 make changes to mental health and mental health legislative provisions. This includes that applications by AMHPs now need be supported by only one medical recommendation, not two. The Bill effectively suspends most assessment, decision-making and planning duties in social care, and greatly reduces duties to provide for social care. We will be discussing the impact of these far-reaching provisions in the coming days. Jonathan Auburn is a barrister at 11KBW. He can be contacted by email. Go to the 11KBW Community Care blog. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
