A young woman who has Down’s Syndrome has been granted permission for Judicial Review of Norfolk County Council’s policy of charging people for essential care and support.
The 24 year-old claimant, SH, and her mother and litigation friend, MH, are part of a group of Norfolk disabled people, carers and supporters who have campaigned against Norfolk County Council’s decision to introduce a cut to the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) for working age disabled people.
The cut, combined with Norfolk County Council’s decision to include all but one component of SH’s benefits in a calculation of her contribution to care charges, leaves her in real terms, on a permanently depleted income.
MH fears this means her daughter will never be able to afford to live independently, given the total of charges levied on disabled people in supported living.
DR UK’s Head of Policy Fazilet Hadi said: “It’s shocking that disabled people aren’t given the support we need to live full and active lives. The government’s failure to fund the social care system is resulting in disabled people being second class citizens. We saw through the crisis that social care was not on an equal footing to health care. This needs to change or disabled people will continue to struggle to survive rather than leading independent lives.”
Members of Disability Network Norfolk Group (DNNG) have been fighting since November 2018 to have the council’s charging policy reversed.
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