Health and Social Care Bill
The Bill creates a new 'integrated' Care Quality Commission (taking over from the Commission for Social Care Inspection, Healthcare Commission and Mental health Act Commission), reforms regulations of health professionals in the wake of Shipman and other scandals and makes some minor reforms to social care (but it does not deal with any of the big issues covered in the Independent Living Bill).
RADAR is calling for the following improvements:
- CQC puts human rights and the promotion of independent living at the heart of all it does, with a clear set of regulatory objectives focused on increasing freedom, choice, control, dignity and equality for disabled people and their families
- CQC is able to articulate the aspirations of health and social care users and their families and engages them as true partners in policy making, inspection and improvement.
- Disabled and older people using private/voluntary sector care providers can all rely on the protection of the Human Rights Act.
Read RADAR's briefing for the House of Lords Grand Committee stages here
Housing and Regeneration Bill
THe Bill creates a new Homes and Communities Agency to deliver more affordable, social housing and promote regeneration; introduces measures to increase the sustainability of new housing; creates greater freedom and incentives to local authorities to build more social housing and creates a new body to protect and strengthen the rights of social housing tenants.
RADAR believes the Bill could have a very positive impact in reducing housing inequality among disabled people and tackling the crisis in the supply of accessible housing if certain issues can be clarified and key improvements made. RADAR seeks:
a fast-track timetable for mandating Lifetime Homes Standard as the standard for all new homes of all types and tenure and an action plan to tackle the need for 330,000 wheelchair accessible homes;
guarantees that the new Homes and Communities Agency will make the need for accessible, inclusive housing a top priority and that exemplar schemes such as eco-towns will deliver lifetime homes
action to tackle gross inefficiencies in the way existing accessible housing stock is managed with a statutory requirement for Disability Housing Registers and
a commitment to timely provision of adaptations to tenants’ homes
Read RADAR's Parliamentary Briefing for the House of Commons here