A UN panel has slammed the UK for creating a “human catastrophe” for disabled people, and is “going backwards” in areas such as education, health, transport and social security.
Following a major review, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) said a combination of funding cuts, rights restrictions and Brexit mean its fears about the UK outstrip those of anywhere else it has investigated in its 10-year history.
The SNP said the report had to act as a “wake-up call” for the UK.
UN CRPD committee chair Theresia Degener said the investigation revealed that “social cut policies have led to a human catastrophe ... totally neglecting the vulnerable situation people with disabilities find themselves in.”
She said austerity measures are affecting 500,000 people, costing those with disabilities up to £3000 a year and pushing “vulnerable” people into work, despite their needs. The committee raised concerns over restrictions on the ability to choose where, how and with whom to live and cited evidence presented by charities and expert groups about in-school bullying and service cuts. Degener said: “The evidence that we had in front of us was just overwhelming.”
But the report praised action by the Scottish Government to include disability groups in planning and policy making and for their inclusion of disabled people in designing the Scottish social security system.
SNP MSP and convener of Holyrood’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee, Christina McKelvie, said: “The UK Government should be totally ashamed that the pursual of welfare cuts and an austerity agenda at all costs has led to this damning criticism from the United Nations Committee. Now the UN is telling them to change the sanctions regime and Personal Independence Payments will they finally listen?
“The UN’s report needs to act as a wake-up call. The UN could not be clearer – UK ministers’ record on disabled rights is shameful ... and must be changed.
“Their dangerous policies stand in contrast to the action the SNP Scottish Government is taking to support persons with disabilities.
“The Tories must urgently rethink their disastrous welfare cuts, which have driven people into poverty, caused an exponential rise in the use of foodbanks, lowered living standards of vulnerable people across the country, and has now been condemned, yet again, by the United Nations.”
The report criticised the “lack of consistency across the [UK] state party in the understanding of, adapting to and applying the human rights model of disability and its evolving concept of disability”.
It also found that existing laws, regulations and practises “discriminate against persons with disabilities” and hit out at a “lack of information on policies, programmes and measures that will be put in place by the State party to protect persons with disabilities from being negatively affected” after Brexit.
Committee member Stig Langvad, who led the investigation, argued that this group must be actively involved in preparations for withdrawal talks to ensure protections that currently exist under EU law are not lost.
John McArdle and Dr Stephen Carty, of the Scotland’s Black Triangle Campaign, said the report supports its call to scrap the work capability assessment “immediately”, adding: “Not to do so will ensure that this catastrophic harm continues unabated.”
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