ILF news

You can help campaign against the closure of the Independent Living Fund by asking your MP to sign the Early Day Motion 1234. More information can be found on Inclusion London’s website.

6th June 2014

A second Judicial Review has been launched against the DWP’s decision to close the ILF. The appeal is on the same grounds as the first, that the DWP has not adequately consdiered the impact of closing the ILF. DPAC report “the DWP admitted that in considering the proposal once again it had not consulted with any organisations or individuals outside of Government. It had not gathered any additional information from local authorities or other sources about what level or type of support former ILF users would receive from social services once the ILF element was removed and how many people would be likely to go into residential care or lose their ability to work or study.”

11th April 2014
Scotland has announced it will be opening its own Scottish Independent Living Fund using the money currently available through the ILF with an additional £5.5 million being made available to allow the SILF to be open to new claimants as well as support existing users.

Three ILF users say they will launch a second Judicial Review. This will be on the same grounds as the original ruling in November, i.e. that the government has again failed to give due consideration to the impact that closing the ILF will have.
Louise Whitfield, representing the three ILF users, said, “My clients’ concerns are so grave about the implications of closing the fund that they still feel it is essential that the government have a real hard look at what the impact would be on severely disabled people, and that just hasn’t happened.
“There is no real recognition that this is going to be devastating for large numbers of severely disabled people.”

6th March 2014
Minister for Disabled People Mike Penning has announced that the government will go ahead with plans to close the Independent Living Fund, although closure has been delayed by three months to the end of June 2015. Funding will be transferred to local authorities but will not be ring-fenced, meaning most people expect to see cuts in expenditure.

9th November 2013
The Supreme Court has ruled that Esther McVey, then Minister for Disabled People, did not give due regard to the impact that closing the ILF would have on its users.