A Consultation on the future use of resources devolved following the UK Government's decision to close the Independent Living Fund
A consultation asking for people's views and opinions in respect of the announcement of the closure of the Independent Living Fund from April 2015 and the announcement that money will be distributed to the devolved institutions. The document poses questions to gauge what and how the resource devolved to the Scottish Government should be used to support disabled people
Finance and the future
The UK Government has decided that the ILF cannot carry on in its current form.
The Scottish Government think that a "Scottish ILF" would not work either. This is because there is not enough money to meet demand.
The Scottish Government is working with its partners to make sure any new fund is sustainable. This means there needs to be the money and resources to carry on the fund in the future
For any new awards it would not be possible to always make it a payment for life.
Thought needs to be given to what group of people a new fund would target. The Scottish Government would like to use this limited fund in a way that has the best results on individual lives.
The Scottish Government is open to all ideas for the use of a new fund. They will think about all of the ideas put forward and pick the one that is the most sustainable.
One idea is that the new fund could be used to overcome short term challenges in a person's life.
For example, a person gets support from a day centre that is closing. This person wants to be more independent and do more things. They are at risk of losing the friends they have made when the day centre closes.
The fund could be used in the short term to support them in keeping these friends and getting out and about more.
Question 3
If ILF is not going to continue, how would you like to see the money used?
Question 4
Can you think of any ways to help increase the money that there is to give disabled people support?
Case Study
Mrs Jones is 74 and cares for her daughter Frances.
Frances has learning and physical disabilities. Mrs Jones gives most of the support her daughter gets.
Frances attends a day centre 3 days a week. She needs support from her mother to take part in any other activities.
Mrs Jones has a lot of health problems and is finding her caring role difficult.
She worries that Frances will never have the chance to live independently as the ILF is now closed.
Question 5
How can we use the resources available to help people live more independent lives?
What is the most important thing that we need to do to help people live more independent lives?
Contact
Email: Chris Raftery
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