26 September 2012
Secretary of State
The Right Honourable Iain Duncan Smith MP
Department for Work and Pensions
Caxton House
Tothill Street
London SW1H 9DA
Dear Secretary of State,
An Open Letter to the Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions.
I am writing to you as the Acting Chair of the UK Disabled Peoples Council (UKDPC), to formally raise concerns over proposed actions outlined in the document published by the Department for Work and Pensions, Fulfilling Potential Next Steps.
It has been agreed since the Ratification of the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) that UKDPC would serve as the umbrella organisation for civil engagement, as identified under Article 33.3. As such we have been engaged actively with the DWP in relation to the implementation and monitoring of the Convention through a working group, and delivering information and training nationally on the CRPD for disabled people.
UKDPC initially had welcomed the long awaited publication of the Government Disability Strategy, Fulfilling Potential. This important document would have guided the implementation of the Convention and been a public declaration of intent to support disabled people to exercise full participation in every aspect of society.
UKDPC was surprised and disappointed to find that the action plan, Fulfilling Potential Next Steps, has set out the intention of creating a Disability Action Alliance, convened by Disability Rights UK, (DRUK). This alliance is apparently intended to be a partnership of ‘organisations from the voluntary, public and private sector who have expertise and influence’.
UKDPC is unable to support this action based on the following:
• The contracting of DRUK to convene such a group was not obviously opened to expressions of interest or tendering by any other organisation. Alongside the appointment of the CEO to lead an employment review commissioned by Lord Freud without public tender, this places DRUK in a position of preferred supplier to the ODI.
• The continued contracting of DRUK by the ODI and the convening of an unaccountable group could be construed as the creation of a Quango, which is against the principals of co-partnership and accountability.
• This is a ‘top down’ structure that excludes disabled people from setting the agenda or defining the terms of reference. The creation of this alliance by the government is antagonistic to the principals of the CRPD which advocates the value of consulting and full involvement of disabled people.
• Without clear terms of reference there is the possibility that the service providers or corporate employers represented would have a potential conflict of interest, eg if participating in government backed schemes such as Workfare or if being awarded contracts determined by changes in the benefits system.
• The use of the name, Disability Action Alliance, gives rise to potential confusion with Disability Awareness in Action, a human rights based disabled peoples organisation that closed last year, with a well earned respect not just within the sector but also internationally.
• As UKDPC considers the convening of the alliance as a flawed process then it follows that the function of such a group would similarly be flawed.
UKDPC wishes to state these concerns publically, and calls for:
• The process of contracting DRUK as the convenors be questioned and an open response be sought from government.
• The potential for forming a Quango be questioned and an open response from government.
• Any proposed alliance be guided by disabled people with agreed terms of reference drawn up by the participants.
• Any further move to implement this alliance be suspended pending the questioning and satisfactory response to these concerns.
UKDPC will not be planning to participate in the proposed alliance until such a time as the above matters are successfully resolved. We await a response.
NB For information, UKDPC would like to state that there is no link or working relationship between Disability Rights UK and the UKDPC Disability Rights Watch UK, a web based project established in 2010 that allows disabled people and organisations to report breaches or failures in the implementation of the CRPD.
With all due respect,
Julie Newman
Acting Chair
United Kingdom Disabled Peoples Council
Cc: Minister for Disabled People,
Director of the Office for Disability Issues,
Chair of the Public Accounts Committee,
The Shadow Minister for Disabled People,
Stephen Twigg MP.
