I’ve come to the end of another week at Mencap Liverpool, and as always, this one has sped by. Last Friday we held our comic relief coffee morning at the office and had lots of fun catching up, playing games and decorating fairy cakes (which was what I spent most of my time doing!)

Everyone in Liverpool’s loved the springtime sunshine this week. I’ve been out and about quite a lot as well, so I’ve been able to make the most of the warm weather! On Tuesday I went to the Manchester Big Cuts Event in Wythenshawe. It was great, really informative, and the speakers did a brilliant job of encouraging everyone to unite in the fight against the cuts.

At the event I had the opportunity to speak to loads of different people, and to hear about the varying ways in which the government cuts are affecting them. I also heard a couple of success stories that proved campaigning can really work, which was encouraging!

A particular highlight was hearing legal expert Luke Clements’ talk (he is also speaking at our Liverpool event… so very excited about that!). His speeches were so interesting, and I left the event feeling a lot more informed about the legal rights that everyone is entitled to.

So thought I’d share a little bit of what I learnt with you! Here are just some of the things he talked about:

National Assistance Act (1948)

Basic outline…

• The state has a LEGAL responsibility to provide care for disabled, elderly and ill people.
• The state has a duty to provide accommodation for vulnerable people who need it, REGARDLESS OF RESOURCES.

In other words, if for example your local authority closes a care home which provides VITAL support to people with disabilities because they say they can no longer afford it, they are essentially breaking the law.

Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act (1970)

Basic outline…

• The state has to provide services for disabled people who are not in residential care where they are needed.
• This might mean giving them practical assistance around the house.
• To deny someone these services when they are classed as essential is ILLEGAL.

Empowering stuff!!

So as you can imagine, I am getting very excited about the Big Cuts Event we are holding in Liverpool! Places for it our filling steadily and it is now being advertised on the National Mencap website. Here’s the link…

http://www.mencap.org.uk/page.asp?id=20547

Hope everyone else has enjoyed their week!