Luke Davey has been given permission by the High Court to start judicial review proceedings against his local authority for reducing his care package. Oxfordshire Council is accused of failures in its statutory duties under the Care Act, the first substantive legal challenge in respect of the Care Act; the only other one to date being about provision of advocacy services.

Significantly, Mr Davey was a beneficiary of the Independent Living Fund, until it was closed down last year, and responsibility for meeting the totality of fundholders' needs passed over to their local authorities, without ring-fenced money to accompany the new duty... you can read the full story here.

Social care law expert, Belinda Schwehr, has written a very helpful commentary on the case – which she expects to be the first of many. Incidentally, her webinars for July are highly topical: indicative personal budgets and housing and homelessness with reference to the Care Act

 

Apple has announced that the next software update for their smartwatch will enable it to act as a fitness monitor for wheelchair users.

Until now, the facility was only available to ambulant people, but following the free update, coming along in the next few months, those in chairs will be prompted to wheel around or spin their chairs regularly, and the watch will track distance, speed and calories burned, as it does for walkers and runners.

The company hopes that this step towards inclusiveness will help it boost its appeal in competition with stand-alone fitness trackers such as FitBit, which currently outsell the Apple watch three to one. It was a surprisingly complex challenge, as existing research on burning calories doesn't include wheelchair users – and you can't readily translate the data, because of all the variables that apply. People push differently depending on the surface material, any gradient, their physical condition, and other factors.

If you are looking for activity ideas to get fit this summer, check out our inclusive sport area on Independent Living.

Shown here is Paralympic athlete, Carly Tait

 

According to statistics from the Tribunal Service, the success rate for PIP appeals in the last quarter of 2015/16 is 63%; up from 53% in the same period of the year before.

The rate of successful appeals has gone up quarter by quarter since PIP was introduced – and the number of appeals heard has also gone up very significantly, from 3,826 to 15,971. The DWP introduced the “mandatory reconsideration” as an extra step claimants have to complete before going to appeal, but even with this, a clear majority of cases that go to appeal find in favour of the claimant.

Employment and support allowance (ESA) appeals are high, approaching the two thirds figure. There were 14,691 ESA appeals in the last quarter of 2015/16, and the success rate was 58%. This compares with 11,202 in the last quarter of the previous year, when the success rate was 59%.

Read more here

 

Changing Places campaigner, Samantha Buck, has written a powerful account of daily life as a family with two teenagers and a severely disabled 10-year-old, Alfie, whose health needs tend to dominate their daily routines.

If you have ever made a quick dash to the shops – there and back in the shortest time possible – spare a thought for the lengthy preparations they go through every time they go out as a family...

You can read her story here

 

Impey Showers is the pioneer in wetroom technology, and you can see some of their innovations on their new showcase page on Independent Living.

From the bestselling Level Dec floor former (the crucial bit that makes sure the wetroom has efficient drainage) to their comfortable and supportive new Slimfold shower seat, the company is focused on making showering both stylish and accessible.

To take a look, follow this link!

If you provide high quality products and services, and you would like to reach our site visitors and newsletter readers, please email derek@independentliving.co.uk

 

Last week, Derek asked for feedback about good mobility retailers, following some very negative experiences in our Facebook Group. One new scooter user, Wendy Stevens, had a happy story to tell, though she had to travel 20 miles from home to find her helpful retailer. Her story appears in our Readers' Letters section.

Coming up - I'm planning to look at delays in Disabled Facilities Grants, and tightening up of eligibility criteria. Please let me know if you have any experiences of this, either professionally or as an applicant.

As always, there are various ways you can get in touch with Independent Living: email me; visit our Facebook page and leave a message there; or if it's short and sweet, Tweet!

Previous newsletters are archived here.

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Until next time, all good wishes,

Frances