Have your say on Council tax support- public consultation 2017 (NELC, 2017).

Dear Sir/Madam of North East Lincolnshire Council,

I am writing to request information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please provide:

• A copy of the impact assessment of the proposed changes to North East Lincolnshire Council's (NELC) Council Tax Support scheme, or the reason(s) as to why one has not been carried out.
• Bearing in mind the misinformation about disabled people, found in some sectors of the media, what, if anything, did NELC do to educate people regarding the reality of being a disabled person claiming Council Tax Support, prior to the above mentioned public consultation?
• What did NELC do to advertise the public consultation to residents who met the definition of disabled, under the Equality Act 2010 (GOV.UK, 2017)?
• In what formats was the public consultation provided in?
• What assistance was provided to disabled people who might have required help in order to complete the public consultation?
• What percentage of respondents were disabled people who were entitled to Council Tax Support?
• What percentage of respondents were disabled people?
• What percentage of respondents were residents of the most affected wards?
• What percentage of respondents were residents of the least affected wards?
• What percentage of North East Lincolnshire councillors are disabled?
• What percentage of NELC staff are disabled?
• Are all of the disabled residents in the county, who are claiming Council Tax Support, able to access all of the facilities and services that are provided by NELC, as easily and as fully as non-disabled residents?

If this request is too wide or unclear, I would be grateful if you could contact me, as I understand that under the Act, you are required to advise and assist requesters. If any of this information is already in the public domain, please can you direct me to it, with page references and URLs if necessary.

I understand that you are required to respond within twenty working days after receipt of this request.

I look forward to receiving your response.

Yours faithfully,
Miss Starr

References

GOV.UK (2017). Definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010.
https: www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-unde..., (accessed 9 December 2017).

North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC) (2017). Have your say on Council tax support.
North East Lincolnshire: NELC (published 5 September, 2017),
https://www.nelincs.gov.uk/say-council-t..., (accessed 9 December 2017).

Dear North East Lincolnshire Council,

Thank you for having taken the time to respond to my FOI of 9 December 2017. I wish to request further information in light of two of the provided responses.

A copy of the impact assessment of the proposed changes to North East Lincolnshire Council's (NELC) Council Tax Support Scheme, or the reason(s) as to why one has not been carried out. - An impact assessment was not completed as part of this proposal. North East Lincolnshire guidelines were completed.

Why was the decision taken to not complete an impact assessment? Please can you provide the North East Lincolnshire guidelines referred to.

Are all of the disabled residents in the county, who are claiming Council Tax Support, able to access all of the facilities and services that are provided by NELC, as easily and as fully as non-disabled residents? - Yes

Please can you provide support for the above claim, as I dispute that this is likely to be the case, and therefore disabled people ought to be considered for a Council Tax discount as opposed to an increase. For example, the council provides leisure facilities and disabled residents of NELC face numerous barriers regarding participation in leisure activities, such as: negative attitudes, low income, being short of spare time, lack of accessible transport, inaccessible venues and formats and lack of necessary special equipment. Arguably, the most disabled and the least wealthy disabled residents have significantly less opportunities to take part in leisure activities. Supporting evidence for this claim follows.

Negative attitudes
Non-disabled people may be unwilling to make friends with disabled people or behave in a derogatory manner towards them when they see them, which may deter disabled people from accessing council facilities. Gill claims that disabled people are, 'irrationally disdained by others' (2001: 366). Barnes commented that, 'Initial encounters between the able-bodied and the physically impaired are frequently uneasy' (1990: 79). Matthew remarked that he felt that people found his presence offensive (Murray, 2002), perhaps, as suggested by one young person, because of being reminded about their fear of acquiring an impairment (Murray, 2002). Concerns about non-disabled people finding their presence awkward may deter disabled people from using council facilities, especially those whose conditions are visible, referred to as discredited by Goffman (1963). Such people may opt to isolate themselves due to felt stigma, the shame and fear of how others will react to their condition (Scambler and Hopkins, 1986). As Vick confirms, 'My disability is how people respond to my disability' (in Gill, 2001: 352).
The mental health condition of anxiety may prevent some people from leaving their home to access council facilities (Mind, 2015). The Guidance for the Equality Act 2010 acknowledges social barriers (Office for Disability Issues, 2011: 26). The mental pain resulting from internalized oppression is revealed in Sobiech's words, 'I am simply ashamed. I hate anybody staring at me and seeing the lack of my left arm.' (Sobiech in Mason, 1990). Disabled people who have a poor self-image may choose to avoid going out, for example an acid attack survivor may not feel comfortable going swimming, especially with the relative lack of privacy provided by the glass windows of the new leisure centre. As Cameron remarked, 'how do disabled people manage to feel good about who they are in a culture that keeps on telling us that we're shit...?' (in Williams-Findlay, 2014: 107).
Commonly held negative views about disabled people are perpetuated by the Media, 'These include the pitiable victim; the tragic but brave supercrip who triumphs over adversity; the bitter and twisted crip with a chip... charity cases, 'superhuman' inspirations or fraudulent burdens on society' (Cameron, 2014: 144-145). Disabled people may not identify with representations of disabled people in the Media or with how others view them. Albrecht and Devlieger reported that a participant commented, 'other people can't understand why I am so happy. They don't have the same appreciation of life' (in Gill, 2001: 368). Frustration may occur from the dismissal of positive identities that disabled people try to create, in favour of negative stereotypes, such as that of a spoilt identity, especially given that not all experiences associated with conditions are negative. For example Frank (1991 and 1995) reported that the worldviews of people with chronic conditions resulted in their appreciation of detail and a more holistic understanding of human experience (in Gill, 2001).
Negative attitudes result in exclusion from education opportunities and low employment rates making it less likely that disabled residents will have university or work colleagues to socialise with at council provided facilities. Researchers have reported that, once disabled, people become alienated from their families (Gill, 2001). It is also often the case that once a condition has been acquired, the number of non-disabled friends that the person has, reduces, as claimed by Barnes, (1990); Morris, (1989) and Oliver et al. (1988), in Barnes (2000). Former friends may leave out a disabled person because of the barriers that disabled people face to participating in leisure activities, and the amount of planning and preparation that has to be done. As Sara explains, 'my friends can't invite me out because they know I won't be able to use the toilet, get up stairs, etc. They do make an effort to go to accessible places sometimes, but find them boring because everyone's somewhere else that we know, somewhere I can't get in easily' (Shakespeare, Gillespie-Sells and Davies, 1996: 31).
It is reported that the extent to which non-disabled people are willing to socialise with disabled people varies in accordance with the type of conditions. Esses and Beaufoy (1994) in Gill (2001: 360) found that attitudes towards amputees were less negative than people with depression or AIDS. It was suggested that perceived control over the condition accounts for this (Gill, 2001: 360). Additionally, Tsao (1998) and Vernon (1998) reported that disabled gay people and those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds were marginalised within those communities (in Gill, 2001 365), thus they experienced double disadvantage. Murray also found that young women with learning difficulties from the black and minority ethnic (BME) community were the most likely to be socially isolated (2002: 31).
Aitchison reported that disabled young people aged eleven to fifteen participated in leisure activities more infrequently than those who were not disabled (2003: 960). They can find themselves in, 'prisons of protection' (Koller, 2000: 25), in Hamilton, (2002: 43), as parents are excessively protective. Young non-disabled people find it easier to obtain work through paper rounds, weekend and holiday jobs, providing them with the necessary income to participate in leisure opportunities. Anderson and Clarke (1982) reported that disabled young people were dissatisfied with their social lives (in Barnes, 1990: 98).
The family and friends of disabled people may experience negative attitudes, especially when they are with the disabled family member or friend, referred to as courtesy stigma by Goffman (1963). As highlighted by Ben, who, 'talked about his younger sister being bullied simply because she was his sister' (Murray, 2002: 27-28). Thus whilst people may feel comfortable socialising with a disabled person in the privacy of their own home, they may be reluctant to be seen with the disabled person outdoors, in order to avoid what Scambler and Hopkins (1986: 33) called enacted stigma, or discrimination. Friends and partners might find it difficult to confront the public perceptions of disability. Parents may be ashamed of disabled children and not take them to council provided leisure facilities and coach their children to try to hide their condition, as one individual with epilepsy explained, ''Mother wanted to keep it a big, dark secret and not let anyone know'' (in Scambler and Hopkins, 1986: 34).
Disabled people may become victims of hate incidents and hate crimes when travelling to council provided facilities or whilst using them, this may act as a deterrent. It is documented that violence and low-level incidents are more prevalent towards disabled people and it is recognised that, 'Disabled people restructure their lives to minimise real and perceived violence personally' (Smith, 2015: 38). Even serious disability hate crimes, it is claimed, 'are not always being prosecuted as they should be' (Macdonald QC, in Giannasi, 2015: 239). Threats to personal safety, 'can directly undermine a disabled person's psycho-emotional well-being' (Smith and Papathomas, 2014: 224). As Green, Stafford and Pugh claimed about residents of Grimsby's East Marsh, 'Crime and fear of crime have damaged health, especially mental health, leading to higher levels of unemployment' (2009: 22). Other threats to psycho-emotional well-being include being stared at or hearing jokes made about you due to your condition.
In addition to public attitudes and misunderstandings, the attitudes of staff working at council facilities can be a barrier. Some leisure facilities have special times when disabled people are particularly welcome to attend, such as speciality disabled swimming sessions (Lincs Inspire, undated). Whilst some may appreciate such sessions, their availability may cause others to feel uncomfortable attending the venues outside of the specialist sessions, concerned that they will be unwelcome. Indeed, it has been reported that some managers are of the opinion that disabled people are likely to ruin the activity for others (Barnes, 2000). Understandably, disabled people may choose to avoid a potentially awkward situation.
Murray (2002) researched disabled teenagers experiences of leisure and found that how they claimed to benefit from inclusive leisure was different to the providers' aims. Disabled teenagers reported that they valued having fun, sharing experiences with their peers and the support that they received from one another. Aitchison also found that disabled young people valued the social interaction resulting from leisure activities (2003: 960). Providers of the service, in contrast, valued the development of skills, independence and confidence (2002: 170). Leach and Bailey (1995) reported an emphasis on physical activity and physiotherapy, as opposed to social interaction (in Aitchison, 2003: 964). In contrast Stensman (1985), reported that people with mobility conditions ranked relating socially relatively highly, (in Gill, 2001: 363).
The Paralympic legacy reinforces the interpretive repertoire of disabled people with physical conditions triumphing over tragedy. Thus, disabled people who wish to engage in sport for recreation, may find that others try to push them into competition, which may act as a deterrent to participating in sport. Disabled people are left with the ideological dilemma of striving to be a superhuman athlete or being a not fully human disabled person.

Lack of disposable income
Many disabled people struggle to afford disability related costs, let alone have disposable income. A low income household is defined as having below sixty percent of the median household income after housing costs. Between 2001-2011, about one third of disabled working age adults over the age of twenty-five lived in low income households compared to around one sixth of non-disabled people. This was because disabled adults of working age were more likely to be unemployed (Family Resources Survey, in Palmer, 2011). Halliwell, Main and Richardson (2007: 70) reported, less than six in ten and four in ten employers would employ an applicant with a physical condition or a mental health condition, respectively. Disabled people, in comparison to non-disabled people, are around three times more likely not to have any qualifications (DWP and ODI, 2014: 2) and whilst almost thirty percent of working age non-disabled people have a degree, less than fifteen percent of disabled working age people do (DWP and ODI, 2014: 3). This, combined with the reluctance of employers to employ disabled people (Halliwell, Main and Richardson, 2007: 70), leads to poorly paid work and underemployment. Over fifty percent of working age disabled people are unemployed (DWP and ODI, 2014). Recent changes to benefits, such as Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) becoming a loan and NELC decreasing Council Tax Reduction for disabled people, have left disabled people with lower incomes.
Entrance fees for council provided leisure facilities may be unaffordable for disabled residents. As Barnes reported, 'a major source of dissatisfaction among disabled people with regard to leisure will almost certainly stem from their lack of financial resources' (2000: 184). Finances may even make it difficult for disabled people to participate in free leisure activities, such as going to the park or visiting the library, due to the costs associated with travel. Furthermore, a disabled person may need to pay for someone to accompany them, for example they may need someone to assist them when they go swimming. As Burchardt found, 'Inaccessible transport and lack of availability of personal assistance are most often identified by disabled people as barriers to greater participation' (2000: viii).

Lack of spare time
Depending on an individual's condition, it can take longer to do the household and everyday chores. This is especially true for severely disabled people and for those who are employed, as they have to manage time for personal and domestic needs, possibly with relatively inflexible assistance, in addition to work, for the latter. Women are particularly affected by lack of time, as they tend to do more of the domestic chores (Barnes, 2000).

Lack of accessible transport
Difficulties associated with travel may make it difficult or impossible for disabled people to travel to council facilities. They may not be able to get to a bus stop or train station. Bus drivers may fail to stop if the disabled person is unable to signal to them, as bus user Cathy commented, 'I can't remember how many times a bus went past me' (in Brown et al., 2014: 219). Disabled people have been taken off the Motability scheme (Express, 2017). Even if they have access to a car, the venue may not have sufficient accessible parking bays and the use of these carries stigma. Low income makes it more likely that disabled people will live in areas of high crime and not feel safe leaving their home. It also forms a barrier to using taxis, but even their use does not always go smoothly, as reported by a participant in Murray's study, who informed that drivers dropped her off at the wrong place frequently (2002).
Specialist transport services such as Dial a Ride offer a way of getting past the barriers associated with travel, to some extent. However, the use of such services carries a stigma and plans need to be made days in advance. Additionally, such services have limited availability, for example in North East Lincolnshire the service only operates Monday to Friday between the hours of nine am and three thirty pm (North East Lincolnshire Council, undated). Furthermore, disabled people are frequently unaware of the existence of such schemes, as information about them is not available in the required format. Disabled people may find that they rely on unpaid assistance in order to access facilities, which could make them feel a burden and cause difficulties in relationships with unpaid carers. They may be reluctant to ask for assistance on top of help with essential daily living tasks.

Venues and formats that are not fully accessible
Some council owned buildings or buildings within which council services are provided are not fully accessible, for example is the Time Trap museum accessible to wheelchair users? This resulted from disabled people's needs, on the whole, not having been taken into account when buildings and urban areas were designed. An explanation as to why that resulted is due to disabled people having been placed into institutions, 'the ultimate human scrap-heaps' (UPIAS, 1976: 2) away from the mainstream of society. It is suggested that this occurred because disabled people were regarded as being unable to play a relatively productive role in post-industrial UK, as they did not fit into the machinery, which was designed to optimise productivity. Disabled people may contact venues before they attend, whereas non-disabled people can be spontaneous. Disabled people may stick to only accessing facilities that they know to be relatively accessible and welcoming to them. Tolerating disabled people is not the same as including people with impairments as equals.
There are disabled people living in institutions today, where they experience a lack of privacy. Furthermore, they may have a substitute decision maker, who may make decisions, including those about accessing council provided facilities, that they believe are in the best interests of the individuals, as opposed to making the decisions that the individuals themselves would choose (Shue and Flores, 2002). Day centres have been accused of putting the needs of carers first (Barnes, 1990: 35) and have been described as a, 'dumping ground' (Barnes 1990: vii), where integration for socially excluded people is seldom achieved (Barnes, 1990: 185). Many users of which, 'felt that they were offered little else when their education ceased' (Barnes, 1990: 90). This is in contrast to non-disabled people, who can choose how to spend their leisure time.
Services provided may not be fully accessible to disabled people, for example only limited selections of books in the libraries are available in accessible formats. The example of not being able to read Harry Potter at the same time as friends, was given by visually impaired people in Murray's study (2002). When I clicked on Accessibility on the North East Lincolnshire Libraries (2018) webpage, it went to a, 'the page you are looking for cannot be found' page. Disabled people or their friends or family need to be sufficiently determined and tenacious to push for their requirements to be met, such as information about services and facilities being provided in accessible formats.

Lack of necessary special equipment
Disabled people with jobs may be provided with specialist equipment, through statutory authorities, such as Access to Work (Inch and Greaves, 2015) that they are also allowed to use for leisure activities. But with over fifty percent of working age disabled people unemployed (DWP and ODI, 2014), many disabled people do not have access to specialist equipment, unless they can afford it or it is provided through charity. Not surprisingly, the most severely disabled people are the least likely to participate in leisure activities (Burchardt, 2000).

References

Aitchison, C. (2003). From leisure and disability to disability leisure: developing data, definitions and discourses. Disability and Society, Vol. 18, No. 7 pp. 955-969.

Barnes, C. (1990). 'Cabbage Syndrome' The Social Construction of Dependence. London: The Falmer Press.

Barnes, C. (2000). Disabled people in Britain and Discrimination: A Case for Anti-Discrimination Legislation (Third Impression).
London: Hurst and Company.

Brown, A.M., Gertig, P., Gillman, M., Anderson, J., Clarke. C and Powell, S. (2014). Accessing Social and Leisure Activities: Barriers to Inclusion Experienced by Visually Impaired People in Swain, J., French, S., Barnes, C. and Thomas, C. (Eds). Disabling Barriers - Enabling Environments. London: Sage pp.214-221.

Burchardt, T. (2000). Enduring Economic Exclusion - Disabled People, Income and Work. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Cameron, C. (2014). Stereotypes in Cameron, C. (Ed). Disability Studies a student's guide. London: Sage pp. 144-147.

Department for Work and Pensions and Office for Disability Issues (2014). Disability facts and figures.
London: DWP and ODI (published 16 January 2014),
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio..., (accessed 24 January 2018).

Express (2017). Disability benefit changes could have thousands housebound as adapted cars are axed. (Published 12 April 2017).
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/790608..., (accessed 26 January 2018).

Giannasi, P. (2015). The Criminal Justice System, Response to Disability Hate Crime in Shah, R. and Giannasi, P. (Eds.) Tackling Disability Discrimination And Disability Hate Crime. London: Jessica Kingsley, pp. 231-246.

Gill, C.J. (2001). Divided Understandings: The Social Experience of Disability in Albrecht, G.L., Seelman, K.D. and Bury, M. (Eds). Handbook Of Disability Studies. London: Sage pp. 351- 372.

Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma. Notes On The Management Of Spoiled Identity. London: Simon and Schuster Inc.

Green, G., Stafford, B. and Pugh, P. (2009). A new neighbourhood dynamic for Grimsby's East Marsh: An integrated impact assessment. Sheffield: Sheffield Hallam University.

Halliwell, E., Main, L. and Richardson, C. (2007). The Fundamental Facts: The latest facts and figures on mental health. London: Mental Health Foundation,
http://www.health.org.uk/sites/default/f...

Hamilton, C. (2002). Doing the Wild Thing: Supporting an Ordinary Sexual Life for People with Intellectual Disabilities. Disability Studies Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 4 pp. 40-59.

Inch, M. and Greaves, I. (2015). Access to work: Disability Rights UK Factsheet F27.
London: Disability Rights UK (published 23 October, 2015),
http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/access..., (accessed 26 January 2018).

Lincs Inspire (undated). Disability activities and services.
https://www.lincsinspire.com/enterprise/..., (accessed 26 January 2018).

Mason, M. (1990). Internalized Oppression, in Reiser, R. and Mason, M. (Eds). Disability Equality in Education. London: ILEA.

Mind (2015). Anxiety and panic attacks. London: Mind (published February, 2015),
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-supp..., (accessed 26 January 2018).

Murray, P. (2002). Hello! Are you listening? Disabled teenagers' experience of access to inclusive leisure. York: York Publishing Services Ltd.

North East Lincolnshire Council (undated). Dial a Ride.
Grimsby: North East Lincolnshire Council (undated),
https://www.nelincs.gov.uk/roads-parking..., (accessed 26 January 2018).

North East Lincolnshire Council (2018). Your Library Service
Grimsby: North East Lincolnshire Libraries,
https://www.lincsinspirelibraries.com/we..., (accessed 24 January 2018).

Office for Disability Issues HM Government (2011). Equality Act 2010 Guidance. London: ODI.

poverty.org.uk (undated). Low income and disability.
Palmer, G. (updated 2011),
www.poverty.org.uk/40/index.shtml, (accessed 26 January 2018).

Scambler, G. and Hopkins, A. (1986). Being epileptic: coming to terms with stigma. Sociology of Health and Illness, Vol. 8, No 1 pp. 26-43.

Shakespeare, T., Gillespie-Sells, K. and Davies, D. (1996). The Sexual Politics of Disability. London: Cassell.

Shue, K.L. and Flores, A. (2002). Whose Sex is it Anyway? : Freedom of Exploration and Expression of Sexuality of an Individual Living with Brain Injury in a Supported Independent Living Environment. Disability Studies Quarterly, Vol. 22, No.4 pp. 59-72.

Smith, M. (2015). Disability Hate Crime - A Call For Action in Shah, R. and Giannasi, P. (Eds). Tackling Disability Discrimination And Disability Hate Crime. London: Jessica Kingsley pp. 36-53.

Smith, B. and Papathomas, A. (2014). Disability, Sport and Exercising Bodies in Szwain, J., Franch, S., Barnes, C. and Thomas, C. (Eds). Disabling Barriers - Enabling Environments. London: Sage pp. 222-228.

UPIAS (1976). Policy Statement.
http://pf7d7vi404s1dxh27mla5569.wpengine..., (accessed 26 January 2018).

Williams-Findlay, R. (2014). The representation of Disabled People in the News Media in Swain, J., French, S., Barnes, C. and Thomas, C. (Eds). Disabling barriers - Enabling Environments (3rd edition). London: Sage pp. 107-113.

Yours faithfully,

Miss Starr

Dear North East Lincolnshire Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of North East Lincolnshire Council's handling of my FOI request 'Participation of disabled people in NELC's public consultation about Council Tax Support'.

I wish to know how you arrived at the provided response of 'yes' to the following query, 'Are all of the disabled residents in the county, who are claiming Council Tax Support, able to access all of the facilities and services that are provided by NELC, as easily and as fully as non-disabled residents?

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...

Yours faithfully,

Miss Starr

Dear PPD - FOI,

Thank you for having taken the time to provide a response.

Yours sincerely,

Miss Starr