London’s richest borough denies human rights to disabled woman

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London’s richest borough denies human rights to disabled woman

The supreme court decision against Elaine McDonald’s appeal for her care package to include assistance to use the toilet at night is a blow against the human rights of all disabled people.

07/07/2011

Inclusion London agrees with the view of the dissenting judge in the case, Lady Hale, that the decision faces people with care needs being ‘warehoused’ at home ‘without regard to their quality of life’ and left’lying in faeces’ because local authorities would be entitled to withdraw help.

We believe that this ruling is intolerable and should be effectively overturned by government. Disabled people need to have the security that their care and support needs will be properly met, through a minimum national legal entitlement set at an adequate level. Instead people face total denial of their human rights and daily enforced misery and government remains silent.

Elaine McDonald had taken her case against the Conservative-led Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The authority covers Britain’s richest area – with the biggest concentration of wealth of any single borough in the UK. The borough had already been criticised for its decision, when faced with cuts in funding from central government, to cut services rather than dip into its extensive reserves www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article

Further information on Elaine McDonald’s case and reactions to it can be viewed at the following links:

www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jul/06/former-ballerina-judge-night-care-kensington?

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jul/06/care-battle-ballerina-supreme-court?