What difference will Brexit make to
disabled people in the UK?
On face value things one would imagine that things would stay as
they are; but we may be completely mistaken in this assumption. A great deal of
today’s equality laws is based upon EU directives and European Court of Justice
judgements, not on a caring UK Government (see
below). So, disabled people need to be aware of what may lie ahead.
In the House of Lords the cross-bench Baroness Jane Campbell
stated recently that she and fellow peers must be “highly proactive”, particularly
noting the current Government’s wish that parliament should have little to do
with Brexit. So she has warned that peers would need to be a “vigilant watchdog”
as the negotiations take place.[i] She
seems concerned that a correct process may lead to secondary legislation that may
“bypasses proper parliamentary scrutiny” and disenfranchise millions of
disabled people in the UK.
She also commented that disabled people needed to ensure their
messages “get to the ears of the people charged with developing this
legislation”. Many of these misgivings were voiced at a seminar where great concern was voiced ‘that many disabled people had
not understood the risks posed by leaving the EU.’[ii]
This warning to disabled people co-insides with the UN Committee on the Rights of Disabled
Persons (CRPD). It has found unfavourable findings with regards the UK’s implementation
and compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(UNCRPD).[iii]
The committee has found that the UK is
in breach of the Convention following an inquiry into recent social security
reforms.[iv]
"[G]rave and systematic violations” have been noted by the committee. The
issues are in connection with Welfare Reform Act 2012,[v]
Care Act 2014,[vi]
and Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016.[vii]
The
Committee has taken note of concerns raised by the Equality and Human Rights
Commission.[viii]
The Government does not believe that it is in breach of the Convention, but then
again it wouldn’t would it.
Cite this article as: Fr. Jeffrey
A.Leach.OSP, "Brexit and the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities"
in Disabling
Barriers to Church Blog, 1st April 2017,
http://disablingbarrierstochurch.blogspot.co.uk/
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