City Hall's social care budget sees Centre for Independent Living threatened with closure - Disabled groups divided on its future

Published: 17 December 2010
by JOSH LOEB

A FEUD has broken out between rival disabled rights groups over the fate of a day centre that has been threatened with closure because of cutbacks.

The Centre for Independent Living in Westbourne Park Road could close next year as part of a proposed £2million reduction in City Hall’s social care budget. 

Campaign groups SOS Westminster and the Westminster Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisation (WDDPO) are fighting the plans, which they say would remove a “safety net” for hundreds of vulnerable adults.

However, another group of activists – the Westminster Action Network on Disability (Wand) – has controversially called for the centre to be closed.

Wand chairman Afshin Naghouni said money spent on caring for disabled people should be “spread around” rather than allocated towards institutions. He said: “Wand has 1,400 disabled people as members who don’t use the day centre. Where is their money? Tied up in centres like this. What we say is give people the choice. Release the money that is tied up in block contracts with big, ugly organisations and spread some of it around.”

Andrew Griffin, who has cerebral palsy and offers advice, information and support as part of his work for Wand, said he believed the Centre for Independent Living “institutionalised” disabled people.

He said: “If the government wants to cut back, money that is available has to be used wisely. We can do a better job than the day centre. We can get people motivated.”

Wand has not been shy about slamming the centre in the past, and the most recent issue of its newsletter is even headlined: “Why government has a duty to disabled people to close more day centres.” 

The organisation says it supports the idea of personal budgets, which would allow disabled people to have more control over how money allocated towards their care is spent. 

SOS Westminster chairwoman Janet Marks said she also supports this idea – but she defended the Centre for Independent Living, saying it was a “social outlet” for hundreds of people.

She said: “Our issue with Wand is that the people that are criticising the Centre for Independent Living are cognitively not disabled, whereas many of the people who use this centre are. The centre supports them in living an independent life.”

The WDDPO has also given its backing to the centre. A spokesman for the group told the West End Extra: “Many disabled and deaf people need assistance to work towards independent living and sadly some don’t recognise or validate this need.”

Westminster City Council’s public consultation on its proposed cuts to the social care budget ended last week and City Hall insists it has not yet made a decision on whether to press ahead with closure. Social care chiefs are expected to announce their decision in January.