The Brexit Civil Society Alliance have now had the first in our #BrexitAnswers series of online discussions, in which we bring the experts to you. We were joined by Clare Gray from the Shaw Trust, Susie Fitton from Inclusion Scotland, and John Horan, barrister at Cloisters chambers to discuss the impact of Brexit on Disability Rights, particularly in light of the Covid-19 crisis.
Clare Gray kicked off by sharing the ways in which disabled people, who are more likely to be marginalised and less likely to participate in the community, access health care or be employed, are disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. The 2014 Social Care Act, for example, has been suspended, reducing the level of support local authorities are obliged to provide to disabled individuals in the community. She went on to explain that despite the UK being a breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the government has continually failed to consult disabled people and their representatives when forming policies in response to the crisis.
Turning to the replacement of EU funding for civil society organisations with the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, we learnt how disabled people are often reliant on EU funding for support in accessing the workplace. Whilst we do not know yet whether the UKSPF will replace that funding, it is clear that as a result of the current crisis, the implementation of the UKSPF will likely be delayed or perhaps never be implemented.
Susie Fitton set out the ways in which disabled people and their representative organisations have been excluded from the Brexit policy process: with no consultation and no mentions of disability in the UK government’s White Paper on Brexit or their subsequent position papers. With a lack of consultation, there are some real risks to disabled people: loss of rights, loss of the EU judicial system which has made up deficiencies in UK domestic law, loss of EU funding for organisations working with disabled people, and changes to reciprocal agreements to do with health and social care from which disabled people disproportionately impacted.
This is, however, an opportunity for the Scottish government to advance on disability rights in areas of devolvedcompetence. Politicians at Holyrood have taken a more progressive attitude to the rights of disabled people, and this may be a stimulus for the incorporation of the UN CRPD into domestic law.
Finally John Horan explored the current position in relation to legally enforceable rights. The UN CRPD both sets out a number of substantive rights, such as an obligation that States take all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies, and a requirement under Article 4 that States adopt domestic legislation and policies to enforce these rights. As the EU also signed and ratified the Convention, the UK chose to rely on its existence in EU law rather than enshrining the rights independently. With Brexit, these rights are no longer enforceable in our national courts unless there is replacement domestic legislation: putting the UK in breach of the Convention. John went on to explain that disability groups and individuals could work together to bring a case against the UK government to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for breach of their obligations.
We had a number of interesting questions from attendees including: what practical actions should we be taking (educate people about their rights, work together, call on your MP for change); what help there is for disabled women who are disproportionately likely to suffer from domestic violence (it has been delayed but we are expecting the Domestic Abuse Bill which specifically provides for the rights of disabled women); and what the main implications of Brexit are for disabled workers in the UK (insufficient protection in domestic legislation and the loss of workers’ rights directives which disproportionately impacts disbaled workers).
Thank you again to our experts, John Horan of Cloisters, Susie Friton of Inclusion Scotand and Clare Gray from the Shaw Trust for providing answers to our #BrexitQuestions.
Our next #BrexitAnswers discussion will cover the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. To sign up and find out about future events please visit bit.ly/brexit-answers.
Key Resources
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Coronavirus (Covid-19): changes to the Care Act 2014
Scottish Independent Living Coalition Statement on NHS and Rights of Disabled People during Covid-19
Plotting A Course: Brexit and Disabled People’s Rights In Scotland - A Statement of Principles