My Lords, briefly, I support the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Warner. I will be brief, as I do not have a second voice. I draw the noble Earl's attention to the fact that, two years ago, the Joint Committee on Human Rights held an inquiry into Article 13 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People. Article 13 covers the right to independent living. At the time, we were given considerable evidence that disabled people’s right to independent living was beginning to be severely thwarted by the funding situation in this country. We heard very worrying evidence of disabled people losing their independence in our society—the independence that, over 20 years, they had developed. They were working and having families, and being part of society.
Two years on, the UN will begin to report on how well this country is keeping to Article 13. It will report on whether we will breach the convention, as our record on independence is severely dropping. Will the Minister be able to reassure the UN in the autumn that our record on independent living will not drop beneath the adequate levels that the UN would expect to see? I am not sure whether we will be able to do this, unless the funding elephant in the room is addressed.
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