16 Letters, ‘In austerity Britain, people need parks’, Guardian, theguardian. com, 25 December 2017.
17 Disabled Children’s Partnership, ‘The case for a disabled child’s fund’, disabledchildrenspartnership.org.uk, 16 July 2018.
18 Ibid.
19 National Children’s Bureau, ‘Put children and young people at the heart of Government spending’, ncb.org.uk, 17 October 2018.
20 Every Disabled Child Matters, ‘Short breaks in 2015: An uncertain future’, contact.org, 25 September 2015.
21 Ibid.
22 Contact, ‘Caring more than most’, contact.org.uk, 29 November 2017.
23 Alicia Clegg, ‘Respite care: Families at breaking point as councils slash funds’, Guardian, theguardian.com, 22 August 2018.
24 Contact, ‘School transport inquiry’, contact.org.uk, September 2017.
25 Carers UK, ‘Carers call for more support as new figures reveal worrying impact of caring’, carersuk.org, 19 May 2015.
26 Amy Walker, ‘Single mum’s heartbreaking suicide note to parents after struggling to care for her wheelchair-bound daughter’, Daily Mirror, mirror.co.uk, 26 October 2018.
27 Jenny Morris, Pride against Prejudice, Women’s Press Ltd, 1991.
28 Sally Weale, ‘£3.5bn cut for school buildings leaves pupils in crumbling classrooms – Labour’, Guardian, theguardian.com, 26 October 2018.
29 Mark Ellis, ‘Head teachers warn children with disabilities are hit hardest by Tory austerity agenda’, Daily Mirror, mirror.co.uk, 3 May 2018.
30 National Deaf Children’s Society, ‘New data shows councils cutting £4million of support for deaf children’, ndcs.org.uk, 15 May 2018.
31 Michael Savage, ‘Children in special needs education face £1.6bn cash shortfall’, Observer, theguardian.com, 16 December 2018.
32 Sally Weale and Niamh McIntyre, ‘Special needs pupils being failed by system “on verge of crisis” ’, Guardian, theguardian.com, 22 October 2018.
33 Department for Education, ‘Special educational needs in England: January 2018’, gov.uk, 26 July 2018.
34 Patrick Butler, ‘UN panel criticises UK failure to uphold disabled people’s rights’, Guardian, theguardian.com, 31 August 2017.
35 Tania Tirraoro, ‘Exclusions 2018: Children with SEND six times more likely to be excluded’, Special Needs Jungle, specialneedsjungle.com, 20 July 2018.
36 Gary Younge, ‘The British state has given up on the children who need it most’, theguardian.com, 16 November 2018.
37 National Education Union, ‘Vulnerable special needs pupils at risk of exclusion due to funding cuts – NEU survey’, neu.org.uk, 13 April 2018.
38 Chaminda Jayanetti and Michael Savage, ‘ “Devastating” cuts hit special educational needs’, Observer, theguardian.com, 10 November 2018.
39 Sally Weale, ‘Families take Surrey council to court over special needs funding’, Guardian, theguardian.com, 2 October 2018.
40 Tania Tirraoro, ‘SEND system in crisis, say headteachers’, Special Needs Jungle, specialneedsjungle.com, 5 September 2018.
41 Richard Adams, ‘Special needs funding at crisis point, say school leaders’, Guardian, theguardian.com, 5 September 2018.
42 Branwen Jeffreys, ‘Horrendous meltdowns: Why I home-educate my daughter’, BBC News, bbc.co.uk, 27 November 2017.
43 Sally Weale and Niamh McIntyre, ‘Thousands of children with special needs excluded from schools’, Guardian, theguardian.com, 23 October 2018.
44 Sally Weale, ‘Ofsted condemns “disjointed” special educational needs provision’, Guardian, theguardian.com, 4 December 2018.
45 Ibid.
46 Ibid.
47 Joseph Rowntree Foundation, ‘Special educational needs and their links to poverty,’ jrf.org.uk, 26 February 2016.
48 Caroline Wheeler, ‘General Election 2017: Theresa May vows to “rip up” Mental Health Act’, Daily Express, express.co.uk, 7 May 2017.
49 Katie Forster, ‘Third of NHS children’s mental health services “face cuts or closure” ’, Independent, independent.co.uk, 22 May 2017.
50 Denis Campbell, ‘Children waiting up to 18 months for mental health treatment – CQC’, Guardian, theguardian.com, 20 October 2017.
51 Richard Adams, ‘Tens of thousands of children in England rejected for mental health treatment’, Guardian, theguardian.com, 7 October 2017.
52 Frances Ryan, ‘When the state abandons suicidal children, something has gone badly wrong’, Guardian, theguardian.com, 26 October 2018.
53 Sarah Ward and Michael Young, ‘Council ordered to reverse special needs cuts in landmark High Court case’, Independent, independent.co.uk, 6 August 2018.
54 RNIB, ‘Parents force Hackney Council to reverse plans’, rnib.org.uk, 9 March 2018.
Conclusion
1 Patrick Butler, ‘Exclusive: universal credit linked to suicide risk, says study’, Guardian, theguardian.com, 15 November 2018.
2 Patrick Butler, ‘UK survey finds huge support for ending austerity’, Guardian, theguardian.com, 28 June 2017.
3 Women’s Budget Group, ‘Government must take urgent action on poverty’, wbg.org.uk, 16 November 2018.
Help and Resources
Advice Local
A website which helps you find advice services in your area for support with benefits, work, money and housing. https://advicelocal.uk. It also helps you find a local adviser on your rights. https://advicelocal.uk/find-an-adviser.
Benefits and Work
A website run by former welfare rights advisers providing information on how to claim and retain benefits. https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk.
C-App
A website providing guidance for people applying for the out-of-work sickness benefit Employment and Support Allowance. http://www.c-app.org.uk.
CASCAIDr
A specialist advice charity aimed at helping people get their full legal rights from the social care system. http://www.cascaidr.org.uk/about-us.
Citizens Advice
A nationwide service providing information and advice for benefit claims and appeals. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers.
Disability Grants
A website helping disabled people find grants towards the extra costs of disability. http://www.disability-grants.org.
Disability Law Service
A charity providing free legal advice and representation for disabled people. https://dls.org.uk. Contact them on advice@dls.org.uk or 0207 791 9800.
Disability Rights UK
A disabled-person-led website that provides support in a range of areas, including independent living, career opportunities and tackling hate crime. https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/how-we-can-help.
Equality Advisory Service
A helpline assisting people on issues relating to equality and human rights (equipped to assist people with a learning disability or who are Deaf). http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com. Contact them on Freephone 0808 800 0082 or textphone 0808 800 0084.
Fightback4Justice
A non-profit legal advice group offering nationwide support for benefit claims and appeals. http://www.fightback4justice.co.uk.
IPSEA
A charity providing free legal advice in England to help children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) get the right education. http://www.ipsea.org.uk.
Law for Life and Advice Now
A charity securing access to justice, including free self-help guides and tools to help people challenge benefit decisions. https://www.lawforlife.org.uk.
Pip Info
An online guide to Personal Independence Payments, as well as relevant case law. http://pipinfo.net.
Samaritans
A charity providing support for anyone in emotional distress, open twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year. Contact them on Freephone 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org (UK) jo@samaritans.ie (ROI).
Turn2Us
A national charity helping people in finan
cial hardship to gain access to welfare benefits, charitable grants and support services. https://www.turn2us.org.uk/About-Us/Contact-us.
Z2K
A London-based charity providing support including free legal representation and helping secure tenancies for single homeless people. https://www.z2k.org.
Index
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 65, 67, 158
Adult Social Services, 98, 159, 160
All Work Test, 48
Alston, Philip, 191
Amazon, 103
Amnesty International, 69
ASLEF, 141
Asperger’s Syndrome, 16
Association of Child Psychotherapists, 187
Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) 155
Atos, 49, 52, 53
Atos Miracles, 53
austerity, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16, 18, 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 34, 40, 41, 54, 68, 70, 74, 75, 81, 91, 94, 98, 123, 127, 128, 130, 140, 141, 142, 144, 151, 155, 158, 165, 169, 171, 172, 178, 179, 180, 182, 192, 193, 194, 195, 198
autism, 54, 56, 57, 64, 158, 159, 181, 185, 187
Barnardo’s, 166
Bedroom Tax, 12, 18, 22, 32, 124, 125, 126, 127, 135
Benefit Street, 26, 40
Betts, Mike, 96
Beveridge, Sir William, 46
Beverley Lewis House, 148
Big Issue, 130
Big Society, 80
Blair, Tony, 48
Bond, Lawrence, 51
Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ), 130, 151
Brexit, 9, 80, 192, 198, 199
Brignell, Victoria, 83
British Medical Association (BMA), 102
British Red Cross, 101
British Sign Language (BSL), 58, 146, 150, 153
Brokenshire, James, 110, 127
Burnip, Linda, 86
Burns, Sandra, 51
BuzzFeed, 99, 211
Cameron, David, 2, 3, 11, 16, 80, 123, 124, 128, 169
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) 187
Care Act, 85, 167
Care and Support Alliance (CSA), 78, 89
Centre for Welfare Reform, 3, 23
clinical commissioning group (CCG), 86, 174
Changing Lives, 141, 142, 214
Child Welfare Inequality project, 154
Church, Archibald, 157
Church Action on Poverty, 35
Churchill, Winston, 157
Crichton-Brown, Sir James, 157
Citizens Advice, 33, 70, 163
Clapson, David, 39, 43
Clifford, Ellen, 161
coalition government, 3, 11, 26, 29, 39, 42, 48, 68, 73, 123, 127, 195
Comic Relief, 144
Community Care (Direct Payments) Act, 85
community care grants, 34
ComRes, 103
Conservative Party, 3, 5, 62, 193
chronic obstructive pulmonary dis ease (COPD), 92, 98
crisis loans, 34, 35
Crohn’s disease, 73, 75
Davies, Philip, 62
DeafHope, 146, 153
Demos, 23, 43, 44
Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), 129
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), 21, 42, 43, 45, 50, 82, 145, 153
Dinenage, Caroline, 167
disabled facilities grants (DFGs), 109
Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), 25, 64
Disability Benefits Consortium, 18
Disability Discrimination Act, 25, 64, 67
Disability Employment Act, 24
Disability Law Service, 222
Disability Living Allowance (DLA), 17, 18, 26, 27, 69, 93, 94, 134
Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (Drill), 160
Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), 66, 86
Disabled Persons Act, 84
Driver, Amy, 40
Duncan Smith, Iain, 4, 26, 28, 47, 62
Education Policy Institute (EPI), 187
Employment Act, 24, 54
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), 17, 138, 146
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), 24, 61, 62, 87, 109, 110, 111
Equality Act, 64, 82, 124
Equality Commission, 211
Eugenics Education Society, 157
European Social Fund, 57
Every Disabled Child Matters, 218
Fawcett Society, 144, 215
fibromyalgia, 6, 49, 73, 98, 117
Field, Frank, 61
Fightback4Justice, 96, 223
Fitzpatrick, Suzanne, 21
Freedom of Information Act, 151
Freeman, George, 30
Freud, Lord David, 61
GMB, 64, 78
Greater Manchester Law Centre (GMLC), 70
Good4you, 131, 214
Great Ormond Street Hospital, 173
Greater Manchester Law Centre, 70
Guild of the Brave Poor Things, 15
Hammond, Philip, 61
Harrison Neves, Victoria, 152
Hawking, Stephen, 41, 50, 100
Home Builders Federation (HBF), 109
Health Service Journal, 100
Heath, Edward, 47
Heriot-Watt University, 20
Home Affairs Select Committee, 152
Homeless Reduction Act, 135
Housing & Finance Institute, 113
Incapacity Benefit (IB), 48
Independent Living Fund (ILF), 81, 82
Inclusion London, 161
Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), 120
Invalidity Benefit, 47, 48
Ipsos Mori, 125
Jimbob, 5, 6, 7
JobCentre, 33, 35, 39, 40, 50, 51, 56, 57, 58, 141, 142
Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), 34, 35, 39, 43
Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), 14, 15, 20, 127, 170, 185
JustGiving, 103
Kavanagh, Jane, 178
Kickstarter, 103
Labour Party, 42, 48, 55, 123, 126, 172, 193
Legal Action for Women, 154, 215
Leonard Cheshire, vii, 52, 56, 63, 77, 78, 107, 110, 111
Lewes Council, 118
Local Government Association (LGA), 76, 79, 155, 180
local housing allowance (LHA), 114, 123
Lifetime Homes standard, 108
Living Wage Foundation, 17
London Olympics, 2
London Paralympics, 2
London Plan, 108
Louis Vuitton, 133, 135, 136
London School of Economics (LSE), 46, 107
lupus, 73
Magna Carta, 84
Major, John, 48
Maximus, 49, 53
May, Theresa, 12, 30, 55, 76, 82, 123, 187, 193
McIntyre, Laura, 142
McVey, Esther, 30, 45, 96
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), 140
Mencap, 29
Mental Health Act, 219
Mental Incapacity Act, 83
Metcalf, David, 51
Mind, 17, 46, 100, 111, 135, 212
Ministry of Justice (MoJ), 69
Morris, Jenny, 179
Motability Scheme, 93, 94, 96, 104
multiple sclerosis (MS), 11, 89
MS Society, 89
Nascot Lawn, 174, 175, 177
National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), 180, 183
National Audit Office (NAO), 46, 50, 53, 96, 118, 127, 135
National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS), 180
National Education Union (NEU), 182
National Housing Federation (NHF), 114, 115
National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), 52
National Insurance Act, 25, 47
National Landlords Association (NLA), 114
Nationwide Foundation, 117
New Labour, 15, 48, 55
New Policy Institute (NPI), 20
NHS England, 99
Nuffield Foundation, 216
Office of National Stat
istics (ONS), 59
Ofsted, 184, 219
Opportunities Project, 142
Osborne, George, 3, 75, 123, 170, 198
Papworth Trust, 63, 107, 125
Parkinson’s disease, 14, 23, 46
Persimmon, 109
Personal Independence Payment (PIP), 26, 27, 69, 93, 94, 95, 138, 145
Peverely, Phil Dr, 41
Poor Law, 15
Portes, Jonathan, 52
Priestley, Mark, 54
Public Health England, 148
Public Interest Research Unit (PIRU), 66, 67
Public Service Excellence, 79
RADAR, 84, 140
Refuge, vii, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 215
Resolution Foundation, 113, 170, 212
Royal Association for Disability Rights (RADAR), 84
Royal Commission on the Care and Control of the Feeble-Minded, 157
Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), 29
SafeLives, 147, 148
Salter, Tim, 52
Samaritans, 223
sanctions, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 117, 127, 141, 142, 169
Scottish Welfare Fund, 35
Seebohm, Laura, 142
Shah, Sonali, 54
Sheffield Working Women, 142
Shelter, 14, 105, 114, 116, 118, 134, 135
Sisters of Frida, 156
Sisters Uncut, 122
Social Metrics Commission, 15
Somerset County Council, 168
special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), 180, 182, 183, 184, 189
St Mungo’s, 128, 130, 213
Sure Start, 155, 172, 218
Thatcher, Margaret, 28
Thompson, Gail, 40
Tilda Goldberg Centre for Social Work and Social Care, 160
Tizard Centre, 149
Toyota Mobility Foundation, 103
Trussell Trust, 36
UK Women’s Budget Group, 156
University College London (UCL), 91
University of Bedfordshire, 160,
University of Kent, 149
University of Liverpool, 51
University of Manchester, 60
University of Oxford, 36
University of York, 43
West Sussex County Council, 36
Whizz-kidz, 102
Winterbourne View, 90, 91
Without Nascot Lawn, 177
Women’s Budget Group, 92, 145, 156
Wood, Claudia, 23
Work Capability Assessment (WCA), 47, 48, 49, 50
Work and Health Programme, 57
Work and Pensions Committee, 27, 61, 141
Work Choice, 57
Work Programme, 57