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Judges set to rule on disability cash

Appeal court mulls over fight for Independent Living Fund

Disability rights activists waited with bated breath yesterday as a potentially "devastating" ruling loomed at the Court of Appeal in London.

The future of Britain's Independent Living Fund hung in the balance as the Morning Star went to press, with a panel of judges still considering whether to grant an appeal that alleges the government's decision to scrap the scheme was unlawful.

Around 19,000 people across Britain have disabilities severe enough to draw on the £320 million fund, which pays for personal assistants to help carry out basic tasks such as cleaning and cooking, allowing them to live independently rather than in care homes.

But the coalition plans to scrap the scheme entirely from March 2015 and leave such care to local authorities, with no details on councils will be able to pay for the schemes.

High Court judges rebuffed a legal challenge by five of the fund's recipients in April, finding that the decision was lawful under the Equality Act.

But lawyers for the five yesterday insisted that the court had overlooked the "public-sector equality duty," with no evidence that then disabilities minister Esther McVey's officials had vetted the policy for any discriminatory effects.

Anne Pridmore, who has cerebral palsy, said the decision was bearing down "like the Sword of Damocles."

If the fund closed then local authorities would likely force her and thousands of others into residential care, she said.

"It means devastation to many of us. It'd be awful. I'd have to give up my service dog.

"I don't want to move from my home. I won't go without kicking and screaming, I can tell you that," she said.

The case closely parallels a High Court ruling in July against victims of the bedroom tax.

Housing charity Shelter and the Equality and Human Rights Commission sought a judicial review, arguing Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith had failed to make exemptions or consider the policy's disproportionate effect for people with disabilities.

But Lord Justice Laws ruled it was not the government's responsibility to ensure local authorities complied with equality legislation when carrying out the policy.

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