“Imagine you need some support to use the toilet and knowing that every time you're going, you are creating more debt that they’re going to chase you for.” That’s the reality, says Rick Burgess, for the 60,000 Disabled people local authorities brought debt proceedings against last year.
Because, for many Disabled people in the UK, social care is now a paid-for service, forcing us to pay a tax on impairment. Often, we are chased and hounded to pay for even the most basic support.
And this support, explains Burgess, a co-founder of Manchester Disabled People Against Cuts, typically lacks “the essential part of independent living” – the principle that Disabled people are entitled to the same control over choices in their lives as anyone else.
