Disabled Persons (Independent Living) Bill [HL]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a provider of adult social care. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Ashley of Stoke, for introducing this Bill again. My maiden speech in your Lordships’ House was on this subject. Coming from the care sector, I sympathise very much with some of what is in the Bill. I shall concentrate on individual budgets and the support and advocacy that would be required to ensure that people using such budgets had all the right safeguards in place. In all the years that I have been in care provision, there have been huge changes in who is eligible for what type of care. Those of us who have supported independent living have become quite frustrated that the criteria have changed so much so quickly and that, instead of assisting people to become independent, it has made them more dependent and less able to communicate in the wider community. So I looked at the Bill carefully. On the basis that every human being has the right to live their lives to the best of their ability, we should look at some of the serious issues that it raises. The noble Lord, Lord Ashley, is right to take a holistic approach to provision for people with disabilities. Such an approach ranges from how houses are built to how they can provide for people in the longer term, rather than saying that people can no longer stay in their homes but will have to go into institutionalised living. People are now living longer, but all of us will eventually become less able to manage our own lives as we are hit by the affects of age. It is worrying for most of us that we are not looking at issues such as how houses are built and how access is provided to services—particularly because we are dependent on 6 million voluntary carers. Those people also will eventually require care. Part of my business looks after people with severe disability, but much of the Bill is about people who are able to manage major parts of their lives and who need just light-touch support in care. I hope that when the Minister responds she will be able to give us a little more detail on the safeguards built around the individual budgets. I agree completely with the noble Lord that individuals should be able to assess themselves and participate in deciding the kind of care they receive. As often as not they are told, "In this care package you are going to get a wash in the morning and be put to bed in the evening". The rest of the day they have to manage by themselves, without access to the outside world—to shops, the theatre or cinema, the simple things that the rest of us take very much for granted. I hope that the Minister can give us some detail on the promotion of individual budgets and the safeguards behind them. I accept that we need to control how money given to individuals is spent, but who will be responsible if an individual budget is set? Who will be responsible for the CRB checks and the insurance behind the individual budgets? Who will be responsible for complying with the PAYE scheme? Who will be responsible for the sickness benefit of a person looking after somebody with an individual budget? Who will look after those areas of employment? With an individual budget you are largely employing somebody in your own right to carry out your care. As I look through the Bill, my heart goes out to the many people who do great work in this sector of care. However, social services have always been the poor relation of care in this country. If we are going to prevent greater dependency on the NHS, we will need to look at how to encourage a better quality of life for people within their own homes. It is disgraceful to assume that just because we cannot manage parts of our life we cannot manage the majority of it. Most disabled people, with the right support mechanisms, can do most of the things that the rest of us do. I have some very simple questions for the Minister which arise from reading the Bill. How much pressure is being put on local authorities to ensure that people with disabilities are able to access public places easily? Are facilities available for people who have wheelchairs or who use walking sticks or who may be partially sighted? Many public places and leisure centres are restricted in their access. What are the Government doing to encourage better access to transport? The worst thing for a person with disability is to find himself bound to his home, unable to go anywhere unless people are there to assist. I could go on at length about this huge issue but I shall not. My final question to the Minister is whether she will ensure that all new housing is built to a minimum standard so that wheelchair access is available in the long term and so that stairs are wide enough for stair-lifts should they be needed.