27 October 2011
Disabled people throughout the UK have been protesting in opposition to the changes to disability living allowance and cuts to local services.
The UK Disabled People’s Council and the Disability Benefits Consortium helped organise the Hardest Hit campaign and say the rallies took place in 14 places on 22 October 2011.
Disabled charity Scope, and a survey by Papworth Trust have both indicated that such changes bring with them a great risk of poverty or reduced income for many disabled people.
But, ministers oppose these predictions and say the welfare system is failing people and the reforms will see benefits go to those who need them.
The protests follow on from a demonstration in May in central London. Protestors also carried messages of support sent by disabled people who could not attend in person.
It says on the Hardest Hit website that, “disabled people…are already as risk of hardship and face barriers to getting into work and education.” It also says that cuts to support risks pushing many into, “poverty, debt and isolation.”
Association for Real Change said: “The poverty concerns that are spreading throughout the sector are very worrying. Disabled people rely on these benefits and this shake-up could prove damaging for a lot of them.
“These protests put forward a very strong and widespread message to the government that they’re putting people’s livelihoods on the line for spending cuts.”
Demonstrators called on ministers to ensure changes to disability living allowance do not make disabled people worse off. They also want to make sure employment and support allowance has a fair assessment, stop cuts to essential services and to make sure that the welfare system supports people with the additional costs of living with a disability.
More information can be found on the BBC News website