"Very considerable misgivings" about making disabled people pay for home care
A judge in London's Civic Appeal Court has said he has "very considerable misgivings" about Hammersmith and Fulham Council's home care policy, which charges some disabled people for their care, despite promising not to in its slection manifesto.
Lord Justice Sedley also agreed with campaigners that that free home care had been "sacrificed on the altar" of the council's determination to push through a 3% cut in council tax.
The judge made the critical comments during an appeal brought by three disabled campaigners living in the borough.
But despite his comments, the court yesterday refused to find the council guilty of disability, race or gender discrimination.
Dismissing the appeal, Lord Justice Rix, sitting with Lord Justice Sedley and the Master of the Rolls, Lord Clarke, said there had been a full consultation exercise before the charges were introduced.
He said the council had a duty to balance its budget and rejected claims that the charges were "unreasonable or perverse".
The Conservatives' election campaign in 2006 was fought on a promise that no charges would be levied for home care services.
But increasing financial pressure on the council, partly caused by its much-vaunted 3% council tax cut, led to it changing its mind and introducing means tested charges of up to £10 per hour at the beginning of this year.
Three local campaigners - Dulce Sobral, a former teacher who is now housebound because of debilitating illness, wheelchair user Deborah Domb and Moses Bushiwa, who is blind - have been fighting a long battle to keep the service free.
The campaigners' lawyers argued that the charges not only amounted to disability discrimination, but also racial and gender discrimination as the charges apply more to women and members of ethnic minorities.
A spokesman for Hammersmith and Fulham council said: " Asking some people to make a contribution towards the cost of care services is a prospect that the council had hoped to avoid.
"The fact remains that we will be charging less than the vast majority of our London counterparts and we expect that up to two thirds of home care service users will not have to pay at all.
"We are pleased at this further vindication of the processes we went through in making the decision to charge."
The campaigners belong to HAFCAC - Hammersmith and Fulham Coalition against Care Cuts, which has been actively challenging cuts to services to disabled and older people since 2007.
Today HAFCAC said it was deeply disappointed at the outcome of the Judicial Review.
Its statement continued: " Many local residents who rely on community care services to live independent lives will continue now to feel the negative impact of this decision across the Borough. Hammersmith & Fulham Council previously had a fine tradition of supporting disabled and older people, which is to be applauded. But the changes that have been introduced have only had negative consequences for local people whose life chances are already restricted."
David Webb, a local disabled person said: " These charges have had a serious impact on many people who already face barriers in securing a reasonable quality of life.
" The savings that the Council make through charges are actually quite a small part of the Borough’s overall budget. It could make the necessary economies in other ways, and if it were really concerned about its older and disabled residents it would have looked more closely at its budget and at reducing waste and inefficiencies.
" This is a Council that has cut Council tax since 2006; year on year by 3% claiming this is being achieved solely by being more efficient. This policy clearly shows that claim to be false. This is a deliberate attempt to further impoverish local disabled people."
Kevin Caulfield, Chair of HAFCAC said: " We are not talking about charging disabled people for having luxuries – the services/support in question assist people to meet basic human needs such as having a shower and going to the toilet. Basic needs that the rest of the community would view as absolute human rights and not conditional on paying an invoice.
" The result leaves groups of disabled people who need essential support at a significant disadvantage in relation to our non-disabled peers. Both policy and law need to change."
HAFCAC can be contacted at:
P.O. Box 60928
London W12 8UP
Tel: 07899752877
Typetalk: 18001 07899752877
Email: hafcac@hotmail.co.uk
September 15, 2009
12th September 2009
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