ENABLE Scotland Suggests A Few Questions For Election Candidates

14th April 2010

UK General Election
Key Questions for Candidates

Here are some key questions for candidates from all the political parties. You can use some or all of these questions to find out what candidates in your area think and how they would support people who have learning disabilities and their families in future.
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WELFARE BENEFITS

Many people who have learning disabilities rely on welfare benefits - especially Disability Living Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance (formerly Incapacity Benefit) and the Independent Living Fund.

Employment and Support Allowance
Incapacity Benefit has been replaced by the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and the qualifying criteria have been tightened. Between October 2008 and February 2009 193,800 people applied for the ESA but only 5% got the Support Allowance. This means that more people will have to survive on Jobseekers Allowance of between £51 and £65 per week. This will see more people who have learning disabilities pushed into poverty. ENABLE Scotland wants the system to be reviewed so people who have learning disabilities and other long-term conditions get the support they need.

Q: Is your political party going to review the impact of the new Employment and Support Allowance?

Q: If YOU get elected, what will YOU do to make sure people who have learning disabilities get the right level of support from the benefit system?

Independent Living Fund
The Independent Living Fund (ILF) is funded by the UK Government. It makes payments towards the cost of personal care and/or domestic assistance directly to people with significant disabilities to help them to live in the community rather than enter residential care. The fund has recently announced changes about who can qualify for ILF. It is now almost impossible for people who have learning disabilities to access this funding, unless they already receive it. As a result ENABLE Scotland believes more people who have learning disabilities will have to go into residential care and will not be able to lead the kind of life they want to. We want the planned changes to be reversed so that people with significant disabilities can get adequate support to live in the community.

Q: Is your political party going to stop the planned changes to ILF?

Q: If YOU get elected, what will YOU do about the changes to ILF?
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EMPLOYMENT

Employment means the same to people who have learning disabilities as everyone else - the chance to be included, to earn a wage and to contribute to society. Yet, in Scotland, fewer than 5% of people who have learning disabilities of working age are in real jobs. This compares to 75% of the non-disabled population. Many of the government-funded programmes to support people into work do not take account of the needs of people who have learning disabilities who need longer-term assistance. Support organisations are paid by quick results. ENABLE Scotland is worried that this means that people who have learning disabilities will be excluded from these programmes and from the chance to get a job.

Q: What is your political party doing to make sure people who have learning disabilities get support to work?

Q: If YOU get elected, what will YOU do to make sure government programmes provide the right funding and systems to help people who have learning disabilities move towards and stay in work?

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EQUALITY and ACCESS TO INFORMATION

It is still difficult for children, young people and adults who have learning disabilities to be regarded as equals in our society. Public and professional attitudes, the physical environment, and communication issues can get in the way. One thing that can make a big difference is access to the same information as everyone else but in formats that are easier to understand - for example easy-read and video.

Q: What is your political party doing to make information more accessible to people who have learning disabilities? Is your manifesto available in easy-read?

Q: If YOU get elected, what will YOU do to make sure information produced by the government, or other organisations, is accessible to people who have learning disabilities?