Disabled people ‘forgotten by Government’ as ‘perfect storm’ puts vital services on the brink. So says the Disability Charity Consortium (DCC).
Disability Charity Consortium members say the UK’s 14 million people are being ‘forgotten by the Government’ and ‘allowed to fall through the cracks’.
The consortium members are: Scope, Sense, Mind, Action on Hearing Loss, Business Disability Forum, Mencap, National Autistic Society, RNIB, Disability Rights UK and Leonard Cheshire.
Vital services for physically disabled people in particular have missed out on emergency funding so far. The DCC has highlighted a lack of a coherent strategy to specifically support disabled people through the pandemic and beyond, with many services suspended and facing a perilous future.
Whilst some money has been made available for mental health and learning disability it is nowhere near enough to match the demand for services.
This is despite disabled people being the hardest hit by the Pandemic. Many of the DCC members have submitted written evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee showing how this is the case.
Disability Charity Consortium members say essential services may have to stop and this could lead to ‘unthinkable consequences’ for the future. Social care services are facing massive staffing and personal protective equipment purchase costs, with organisations spending up to £800,000 a month on PPE alone. Meanwhile helplines have seen calls soar by up to 80%. Charities have also rapidly digitised services and programmes to keep them running during lockdown.
Neil Heslop (above), CEO of Leonard Cheshire and Mark Hodgkinson (CEO of SCOPE) are the Co-Chairs of the Disability Charity Consortium
Together they have stated that; “Despite repeated efforts to raise the issue, it feels like the UK’s 14 million disabled people, particularly those with physical conditions, are being forgotten and allowed to to fall through the cracks. Providers of services are facing spiralling costs, a rapid drop in income from cancelled fundraising activities, but huge surges in demand as a result of the crisis, creating the perfect storm.”
They went onto say; “Right now, we are collectively supporting millions of disabled people who are anxious, isolated and alone. Our staff are providing vital services, information and support under incredibly difficult circumstances.
We want to be there for every disabled person who needs us, but this could soon be a impossibility. Disability charities, large and small, are all at risk of disappearing at the very time that disabled people need us most. Without vital funds, we will have stark choices to make about cutting services or, in some cases, closing our doors.”