The fightback has started. No more are people with learningdisabilities taking cuts to services lying down. After protests inLondon recently – and smaller ones around the country over localissues – more and more people with learning disabilities arefighting back and are increasingly turning to the courts to helpthem to do this. For instance, last week Gary Pockett, a man withlearning disabilities, and his brother Chris instructed lawyers tochallenge the legality of Gloucestershire County Council’s decision to closeDursley Training Unit, a centre for people with learningdisabilities. As Pockett’s lawyer, Ian Cohen, said, unless thecouncil “carefully reconsiders its position” – presumably aeuphemism for “reverses its decision” – by June 20, High Courtaction will follow “to protect Gary’s position and the quality oflife of the other disabled adults who attend the Centre.” The caseis being fought as a breach of the Equality Act 2010. There areother similar cases going on around the country and I’m notsurprised. In May, when 4 disabled people in Birmingham won theirlandmark case against the City Council’s plan to restrict socialcare provision to people with ‘critical’ needs, many suspected thiswould open the floodgates to other challenges. And so it isstarting to prove; savvy people affected – who have access to savvylawyers – have realised that there is a good legal case that can bemade to stop planned cuts. And with the precedent of the Birminghamcase strengthening their hand, it is possible that a number maysucceed. If this means that these service users retain much-neededservices that add value to their lives, so much the better. Butlegal challenges do bring other concerns that are trickier toaddress. For instance, if a council decides to fight a legalchallenge, that doesn’t come cheap – especially if it’s a case thatends up in the High Court – where will the money for that comefrom, except from elsewhere in the public purse? And, if a legalchallenge leads to, for example, a day centre remaining open, oneassumes this means the council will have to make cuts in otherparts of the social care budget, potentially leaving otherswithout services? Because at the heart of all of this lies thegovernment’s decision to slash public expenditure. Whether localaction of the sort we’re seeing in Birmingham and Gloucestershirewill affect thinking at the national level is open to debate. But,if it doesn’t, it’s local people and local politicians who willhave to deal with the fallout. So, while the legal challenges arewelcome, a win is by no means the end of the story for serviceusers. Managing council cuts is inevitably a difficult business andthe issues they bring in their wake are complex. With more legalchallenges seemingly on the horizon, things just got a whole lotmore complicated.
