‘we are about to witness the first steps of
the dismantling of our dreams of an independent future for all disabled people.
The question we need to ask is how did this happen?’
Mike
Oliver, Welfare and
the wisdom of the past,
Disability Now, February 2013
The
brilliance of the social model of disability
was always also its inherent weakness: its simplicity.
It was and
is too easily read as suggesting that all of the factors excluding disabled
people from equal participation in societ... Continue reading ...
In 2013 we should call for legislation to protect and
promote independent living.
The
Independent Living Strategy 2009 promised that government would review the
case for such legislation ‘if sufficient progress has not been made against the
outcomes by 2013’. The strategy enjoyed cross Party support. There can be little
doubt that this test has been met.
Moreover, on many of the outcomes the picture is one of regression.
The final report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ (JCH... Continue reading ...
Once upon a
time Britain led the way in promoting rights and independence for disabled
people. That was the country I grew up in; I remember the horror when
conditions for disabled children in foreign orphanages were exposed, pitiful
little bundles of bones often tied to their cots, staring vacantly at their
bars and walls, wizened like ancient beings who'd seen nothing but cruelty
their entire lives.
I remember
ramps being built, institutions shut down, rights being created, laws being
ma... Continue reading ...
Today, 3 December, is the United Nations International Day of
Persons with Disabilities. Observed
since 1992, the day aims to promote
an understanding of disability issues and build respect for the dignity, rights
and well-being of disabled people around the world. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains
to be derived from the integration of disabled people in every aspect of
political, social, economic and cultural life.
Marking this year’s international day, the UN Secretary Gene... Continue reading ...
It was sad that the political storm over the complete failure of the work programme obscured some rather good news included in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's 'Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion 2012'.
It found that the percentage of 19 year-olds with a disability who did not have a level 3 qualification fell by 21% from 74% in 2000 to 53% in 2010, compared to 42% of non disabled 19 year olds. The fall has also been much faster than for non-disabled people age 19, closing the gap from... Continue reading ...
Posted by Neil Crowther on Tuesday, October 2, 2012,
Ed Miliband's Labour Conference speech was a masterclass in value-laden communications, pressing button after carefully polled button to draw together a narrative of 'one nation Labour'. So far so good. I find it appeals to my own sense of what is wrong and how it needs to be put right. And then...
....And then came this: 'You see I think it is incredibly important that to be One Nation we must show compassion and support for all those who cannot work. Particularly the disabled men and women ... Continue reading ...
Read my new guest post for Disability Rights UK Continue reading ...
Posted by Neil Crowther on Wednesday, June 13, 2012,
In :
JCHR
Yesterday at a joint meeting between the Minister for Disabled People Maria Miller and the various disability-focused All Party Parliamentary Groups, Baroness Campbell was heard to liken government policies on disability to 'building a nuclear power station on a fault-line without thinking what would happen if there were an earthquake'.
Now I may have misheard what Baroness Campbell said because the line was already formed in my head, having discussed it with Jane. It may have got lost in del... Continue reading ...
Last November I worked with Professor Anna Lawson at Leeds University to draft a report for the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights synthesising evidence collected from people with intellectual disabilities and people with mental health conditions across nine EU countries - Sweden, UK, Bulgaria, France, Latvia, Romania, Greece and Germany - regarding their experience of living independently and being included in the community.
Today (7/6/12) the EUFRA has published the final report ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Neil Crowther on Saturday, December 3, 2011,
In :
Development
Today is the international day of persons with disabilities. The official theme of the day is 'including persons with disabilities in development'. Given 1 in 7 people in the world have a disability, and most live in developing countries, it is self-evident that international ambitions such as the Millennium Development Goals and Education for All will not be achieved without placing disability rights at the centre of development.
The focus on development will no doubt lead many in developed... Continue reading ...
Posted by Neil Crowther on Thursday, October 6, 2011,
In :
Access to work
Jane Cordell is a diplomat working for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Between 2006 and January 2010 she was First Secretary at the British Embassy in Warsaw. She applied for and was offered the post of Deputy Head of Mission in Kazakhstan.
Jane is deaf and employs the services of a full time lip speaker to perform her role, support she enjoyed throughout her time in Warsaw. However, while in Warsaw the FCO had amended its policy on reasonable adjustments, requiring 'special co... Continue reading ...
The EHRC launched the report of its inquiry into disability related harassment on 12th September 2011. The inquiry followed research into disability related harassment which I commissioned when I was Disability Director at the EHRC and I was involved in setting the Inquiry terms of reference.
From the moment I became involved in this issue (as Head of Policy at the Disability Rights Commission) and no doubt before, the thorny (and persistent) policy and practice of classifying disabled peopl... Continue reading ...
Before going further I should declare an interest - as Disability Programme Director at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) I oversaw the work which led to the Commission carrying out its inquiry into disability-related harassment and I was involved in developing the Inquiry terms of reference and reviewing early drafts of today's report.
Many congratulations to Mike Smith, Hilary Mccollum, Jackie Driver, Kathleen Jameson and many other staff at the EHRC. I know it has been a hard... Continue reading ...
Posted by Neil Crowther on Monday, September 5, 2011,
In 2009 the UK Government ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Article 19 of the Convention concerns the right of disabled people to live independently in the community and requires government to put in place legal and practical measures to enable disabled people to exercise choice about where and with who they live and to overcome isolation through increased participation in community life. Clearly Disability Living Allowance and its suc... Continue reading ...
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About Me
| Neil Crowther |
| London, England |
Independent equality and human rights consultant
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