The Appeal Court has overturned a High Court ruling that would have allowed the Government to abolish the Independent Living Fund (ILF) that currently allows some 19,000 people to live independent lives in the community.
The Government decided to close the £320m ILF, which pays out on average £300 a week, last December but were taken to court in April this year by five disabled people who argued that the closure decision was unlawful and that there had been a lack of proper consultation by ministers over the changes.
They said that, without ILF funding and support, which was, in effect, ring-fenced, they would be forced into residential care or lose their ability to participate in work and everyday activities on the same basis as able-bodied people.
The Government countered that they were merely devolving the funds to local authorities, which, in most cases, administer most social care, so the people would not be penalised financially.
However, the Court of Appeal unanimously quashed the decision to close the fund and devolve the money, on the basis that the Government had not specifically considered duties under the Equality Act, such as the need to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people and, in particular, the need to encourage their participation in public life and emphasised that these considerations were not optional in times of austerity.
The Government is now considering whether or not to seek leave to appeal the decision, with the Minister for Disabled People, Mike Penning, saying that the implications would need to be considered first.
However, lawyers acting for the claimants were delighted with the “powerful” ruling, as their clients had “feared that the loss of their ILF support would threaten their right to live with dignity.”