Disability Sheffield were really excited to help organise the annual Reclaiming Our Futures Alliance conference in Sheffield for the second year running. We feel it’s important for local disabled people and disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) to feel part of the collective voice of disabled people and hopefully last week’s ROFA event showed disabled people from all over the country can unite and defend our rights together. The conference was entitled ‘Uniting our Voices & Defending our Rights’ and explored how we can defend and progress disabled peoples vision of rights, inclusion and equality.
Highlight of the conference was the key note speech by Professor Peter Beresford and the panel discussion with ROFA members. This was followed by workshops sharing info and top tips on some great examples of what campaigning members’ organisations have done over the last year, including, 1000 Deaf and Disabled people and BSL interpreters marching through London in September 2015 to protest against cuts to Access to Work – and a petition of over 20,000 signatures handed in at Downing Street.
Other campaigning highlights mentioned were the momentum, pressure and profile of ILF/independent living resulting in ‘Former ILF Recipient’ grant announced by government for next four years! The conference set out intentions to build on campaigning around welfare reform where increased public awareness about the negative impact of welfare reform on Disabled people delivered a couple of significant government u-turns. One was on changes to working tax credits which would have made Disabled people on WTC significantly worse off (Disabled campaigners exposed shortcomings and contributed to the Lords rebellion which forced the u-turn); and there was the high profile u-turn on proposed PIP cut which involved Ian Duncan Smith resigning as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he claimed that government cuts were ‘unjust’ and indefensible’ targeting the poor and most vulnerable in society.
These campaigning results show there is strength in numbers but for disabled people in Sheffield and all over the UK I think disabled people need to know they are all in this together and can at least seek strength from other like-minded people. As the local Centre for Independent Living we feel like we are firefighting and are constantly hearing from disabled people who are in fear of their very existence. From the pressures of losing benefits through DLA/PIP reforms and worries over ESA work capability procedures to discrimination at work and access to the built environment – Sheffielders feel they are particularly at risk and really fear for their basic rights.
In Sheffield I think we are now beginning to see the effect of swingeing austerity cuts where Sheffield City Council with a 50% loss in government support is now taking its toll on disabled people in relation to social care. In addition there are some 200 people in Sheffield set to lose their ILF and see no guarantees of being able to live their lives the way they need to. The feeling in our city is that there are moves back to more institutionalised methods of care and people are fearful it’s beginning to affect their ways of living. Kate Whittaker, Chair at Disability Sheffield, said it’s more important than ever for us to work collaboratively all over the UK where we can campaign for stronger rights, build the capacity of DPOs to deliver vital services like advocacy and support with direct payments, and tackle the barriers disabled people face to equality and full inclusion in society.
