Campaign action plan: ILF national meeting 28 May 2015

This plan details the campaign goals, actions and ideas discussed and agreed at the ILF national meeting on 28 May 2015.

Short-term campaign goals, actions and ideas

Priority campaign goals:

  • Keep the ILF open
  • LAs to ring fence ILF transition money
  • Make sure individual ILF recipients are aware of their rights, how to complain and where they can access support to challenge decisions

Campaign actions and ideas:

  1. Maintain pressure to keep ILF open until end of June:

a)Petition

b)Parliament lobby on 24 June

c)Lobby Cameron & ministers

d)Continue to work with the media to increase attention on the issue

  1. Get a Parliamentary Question asked to Osborne about his TV statement saying ILF users will get pound for pound same support:

a)Get transcript of TV interview and share

b)Liaise with Labour and SNP to ask PQ

  1. Request meetings with Parliamentarians:

a)Identify Tory MPs interested in social care issues and request meetings

b)Write to new Ministers asking to meet

  1. Campaign and lobby Local Authorities to ring fence ILF transition funding:

a)Analyse and share the findings from the latest round of Freedom of Information requests to Local Authorities

b)Contact ADASS and LGA to see if there is common ground on ring fencing & push benefits of ring fencing

  1. Spread awareness and info about Care Act and how best to navigate / use the Act:

a)Share and promote FAQ ILF guidance

b)Organise a DPO in each region to run ILF workshop using FAQ guide and Kate Whittaker’s slides

c)Identify peer advocates who can provide advocacy support to ILF being re-assessed

  1. Develop the ILFaction website so it is primary place to share and store information
  2. Set up an Independent Living Campaign Fighting Fund
  3. Start capturing evidence of what independent living means in reality and impact of transition and cuts:
  4. Use ILF action website to hold info
  5. Use video diaries of before and after
  6. Share and use results of other independent living surveys and work
  7. Support the work of the LB bill and lobby for a private members’ bill which would get Article 19 into domestic legislation.

Tasks we need people to help with:

  • Writing a ‘How to’ resource with quick and easy ideas for different ways people can start to record their experiences of transition
  • Organising local workshops in your area to share the ILF FAQs
  • Getting involved in the lobby on 24th June
  • Taking part in surveys, for example:
  • Publicising the latest petition:
  • Helping set up a fighting fund

Medium -term campaign goals, actions and ideas

Priority campaign goals:

  • Collect the evidence & show the impact of inadequate independent living support and funding
  • Strengthen independent living interpretation of the Care Act through test cases

Campaign actions and ideas:

  1. Drop the F: re-name campaign “ Save Independent Living” from 1 July
  2. Continue to lobby and meet with Parliamentarians
  3. Spread awareness and info about people’s rights under the Care Act and how to access support to challenge Local Authority decisions:

a)Continue to share and promote FAQ ILF guidance

d)Link ILF users with solicitors

e)Bring test cases on transition issues and Care Act

f) Build the range of information available on the ILFaction website to cover different issues flagged up by ILF campaign members including for example Disability Related Expenditure and pensions.

4. Keep capturing evidence of what independent living means in reality and impact of transition and cuts:

a)Use ILF action website to hold info

b)Use video diaries of before and after

c)Share and use results of other independent living surveys and work

d) Write up evidence

e) Get media interest in coverage

5. Mass lobby of Parliament in the Autumn to highlight evidence and impact:

a)Maintain / build links with wider movements Trade Unions, anti-austerity campaigns

6.Communicateour view of independent living, how it is radically different to a functional / deficit approach used by LAs and the benefits of it to Disabled people and society.

7.Continue to develop our thinking and policy work on independent living

Long term goal

  • To enshrine disabled people’s right to independent living in UK legislation