January 2011 Archives

Here's my latest article for The Guardian.

The UK Government's consultation about Disability Living Allowance is due to finish on the 14th Feb (Valentine's day. How romantic). With this on the horizon, campaign group The Broken Of Britain has launched a blog entitled One month before Heartbreak to highlight just what's on the horizon for disabled people in the UK.

I get DLA. It pays for my car. If I didn't have the car, I would probably be a bit fitter. But I would struggle to play a full and active role as a parent. I would probably find working as a journalist very difficult too.n As a paraplegic, I am unlikely to lose my DLA. It's not hard to pass medical assessments when your legs resemble those of a half-melted Action Man.

But for many people, there is a real anxiety at the prospect of losing this support. People in care homes, for example, often rely on the DLA to provide them with some level of independence, and they Government have already announced that they will no longer qualify.

But the proposed changes to DLA need to be seen in a wider context.  Over the coming months and years, cuts look set to profoundly affect independence and quality of life for many disabled people and carers.

• The removal of funding through Access to Work for small businesses, self employed disabled people, and middle companies will result in fewer disabled people being able to work and contribute to the economy.

• Other benefits have been frozen which could mean an effective cut of 15% over the five year term of this Government.

• The 27% cut to local Government spending is certain to affect funding for specialist schools,  hospices, car homes and care packages for those still living in their own homes.

• The end to security of tenure in Local Authority Housing beyond two years. Where do people go then? The UK already has an acute shortage of accessible housing in both the public and the private sector.

• The end of the Independent Living Fund, forcing more people into a care system already struggling to cope.

• Employment Support Allowance (which replaced Incapacity Benefit for new claimants in 2008) will be limited to one year.

• Housing Benefit to be cut to 20% below market rates.

Cameron and Osbourne would have us believe that these changes are essential, that they will only affect work-shy people who shouldn't be on benefits, and that we're all in this together. (n.b. while it might not be very much, I don't avoid income tax, George). 

In practice, the changes will affect a section of society who are more likely to be poor and socially excluded than any other group. Around a third of disabled adults live in low income households, and only one third are in paid work.

I'm fortunate. I'm a gobby cripple with great support from family and friends. I don't get Incapacity Benefit. I chose to come off IB, even though the vagaries of freelancing means there are times when I would probably have been better off on benefits. Still, I am able to pursue something approaching a career. But I'm also part of a section of society that is more likely to be disadvantaged, and who often struggle to be heard in the wider political debate.

It's easy to shout loudly about benefit fraud and the 'Nanny State', but a small amount of scrutiny soon reveals that the majority of those affected by the cuts will be people who depend on relatively modest state support to allow them a reasonable quality of life.

We need to choose what is important. To put the deficit in context, have a look at this excellent graphic from David McCandless at http://www.informationisbeautiful.net 
(click on the image to enlarge)

We took a walk with friends on Sunday in an effort to blow away the cobwebs and cabin fever that inevitably follows a cold and damp Christmas. Our friends' daughter V is nearly 3 and in awe of Rosalie. To her eyes, five and a half is obviously really grown up.

Anyway, V was intent on holding Rosalie's hand all day, but each time they reconnected there was this strange elaborate handshake process, like some kind of (Sesame) street gang. After watching this a couple of times, I realised the problem. As they are both children (and therefore usually shorter than their hand-holding partner), they both expect to be the 'under' hand in the clinch.

This reminded me of a conversation that I had recently with a participant on a wheelchair skills training session. She mentioned the frustration that her daughter feels in not being able to hold her mother's hand. I was able to tell her that, now Rosalie is a little older, we are able to hold hand occasionally.  Yes, we need fairly flat ground, but the main change is that Rosalie is a little taller and a little stronger, so that she now gives me something to pull on to keep myself straight.

Once again, we are learning together. Once again, I am both excited and daunted by the prospect of having a new child and trying to develop this understanding all over again.

Following our depressing start to the year, today Hackney showed just why I love it. The diverse community, the sense of local tradition and the ability to laugh at the absurdities of local life.
This afternoon, I went with Rosalie to The Hackney Empire to enjoy a truly wonderful spectacle, The Panto (oh no I didn't, etc.). This year it is Jack and The Beanstalk (oh no it wasn't. Ok, I'll stop now), and it crackled with humour, villainy, slapstick, high camp and song and dance routines.

Clive Rowe is magnificent as the dame, while Jack and his friends all get to sing their own number. There is a cow, a snowman, a giant, two green bean villains, several fairies and a chicken. With plenty of jokes to entertain the grown-ups and some great ad-libbing, it would be easy to forget that the people who enjoy the show most are the children.

The theatre is a beautiful late-Victorian venue, all gilt and red velvet, perfect for this most strange theatrical tradition, and access is pretty good too (or wheelchair users there are tables with seats at the back of the stalls).

To understand the genre, it helps to go with children and hear them shouting, singing, booing and cheering. But when pantomime is done well, this peculiarly British tradition becomes genuine entertainment for the whole family.

Thank you Hackney, for reminding me that there are also good reasons to be in this part of the world.

A Happy New Year to all. Ours started with an early night following a day spent looking after a friend's two daughters while their third was being born. Hard to keep a six tear old engaged when they can't stop thinking about arrival of another sister. This also led to the conversation in which we had to break the news to Rosalie that she will not be attending the birth of her brother. I think taking her along to the most recent scan has given her an 'access all areas' view of the world.

As well as the earlynight, I started to come down with a stinker of a cold. To cap it all, my fitful night was also punctuated with the sound of gunfire at 6.30 a.m. I counted at least five shots. Sure enough, 1st January revealed the end of the road cordoned off with incident tape, and the news that a 20 year old man was in a critical condition in hospital. While I spent the day feeling sorry for myself and my sinuses, Penny went out and had the unenviable task of trying to distract Rosalie's curiosity from the crime scene that insinuated itself on our lives.

I do not believe in protecting children from all of life's tragedies, but the death of a pet is a different prospect from gangland warfare. What if it happens during the school run? Why should five year old's (or anyone else come to that) be confronted with this kind of world?

Just before Christmas Rosalie came home from school singing,
"Jingle Bells Batman Smells, Robin laid an egg. Santa took his fifty p and shot him in the head."

Novelty carols, Hackney Style. It would be funny if it wasn't so real.