Cardiff Council has failed in services to disabled people, report finds

Cardiff council has come under fire for failing to meet the
needs of disabled people, writes Shirley
Kumar.

A local government ombudsman report said it was concerned by the
council’s “general approach of queuing disabled
applicants at the enquiry stage” for lengthy periods so it
can avoid processing applications within the six months statutory
period.

Lack of staff training and budgetary pressures may have led to
disabled people funding adaptations themselves or through a
voluntary body because they were not being “correctly advised
of their rights”.

The council’s failures were highlighted by a disabled woman
who suffered hardship because she was forced to wait 18 months for
a stair lift.

The woman who cannot be named for legal reasons won £1,000
compensation from the council because it “put her at
risk” and forced her to sleep downstairs.

Cardiff council had ignored requests from her MP in December 2001
that her mobility was deteriorating and she could not climb
stairs.

Since then the council, known to have a poor track record in
assisting disabled people, had implemented a Disabled Facilities
Service.

It has now agreed to implement the reports recommendations to
improve its systems further when assessing the needs of disabled
people.