Roundtable held on implications of Green Paper on disabled people

On 5 August, the Guardian newspaper held a roundtable, sponsored by the Department of Health, to allow disabled people and the organisations that represent their rights to discuss the recently-published Green Paper on social care. Overall, the participants voiced their support for the introduction of a new social care service that is presented in the Paper, entitled ‘Shaping the future of care together.’ But they felt that the scope of the paper focused too much on caring for elderly people at the expense of younger disabled adults. Issues discussed at the roundtable included:

• The language used in the Green Paper, which some felt was patronising to disabled people and younger adults. Terms such as ‘national care service’ and being ‘looked after’ were seen as contrary to the outlook of most young disabled adults who want to be independent and included in society.


• A concern that the Paper implies through its tone that the cost of funding care for younger adults is a burden rather than an investment.


• The Government’s encouragement of people to participate in the Big Care Debate was seen as an opportunity to effect cultural change and to get the rights of disabled people to be reflected in mainstream Government policy.


• The roundtable liked the idea that, further to a single needs assessment, their care package would be ‘portable’ and they would be entitled to the same level of care funding wherever they lived in England. However, it was noted that the Paper did not refer to any specific services that an individual could expect to receive from the national care service. Participants also pointed out flaws in both of the proposed methods for setting funding levels – locally and nationally – and expressed concerns that adopting either method would not eradicate the current ‘postcode lottery’ of care funding and standards.


• Although the roundtable was told that the Government does not intend to abolish the Disability Living Allowance (DLA), some people were worried about the intention to re-allocate funds from Attendance Allowance (AA), a similar mobility benefit for those aged 65+. However, others considered that funds currently spent on AA might be better spent elsewhere.

To read the full article about the roundtable discussion, visit the Guardian’s website.