Austerity has hit disabled people hardest – now they're fighting back

Until six years ago, Martin needed multiple hospital visits a year as well as regular visits from district nurses. Then he began receiving a personal budget and used it to access the gym and go on short holidays. The result has been fewer trips to the hospital and improved health, wellbeing and confidence.

Martin’s needs remain unchanged, but Norfolk county council has now cut his personal budget, leaving him extremely worried that his physical and mental health will deteriorate. Without help from the personal budget, he is more likely to end up turning to expensive NHS hospital visits.

His case is one of eight that Equal Lives, a group of disabled activists, has submitted to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as evidence that the council is in breach of the 2014 Care Act, which stipulates that local authorities must promote wellbeing when providing care and support. Mark Harrison, the charity’s CEO, says these case studies show that decisions are not being based on needs, but on budgetary considerations. The outcome? Disabled people are being deprived, yet again, of support that would enable them to make choices about their care and to live independently.

The charity has accused the council of systemic failures, including removing wellbeing payments without offering an alternative, and raising eligibility criteria for social care so that disabled people who previously received services are no longer able to do so.

It argues that, as the Care Act prescribes that councils promote wellbeing through adult social care services, the removal of wellbeing payments needs urgent attention. It also alleges that Norfolk county council has been using individual reviews of care needs to reduce or withdraw support “in ways which are unrelated to changes in need or circumstances”.Harrison, who fully grasps the severity of cuts, especially to adult social care since 2010, says he has “a certain sympathy” with the pressure the council is under to shave money from budgets. Norfolk has a higher than average disabled population aged over 65, and demand for services has been rising. However, he and the people who approached the charity with their concerns about cuts, are determined to seek intervention from the CQC, which monitors and regulates health and social care services in England.

The council says it takes the issues raised by Equal Lives very seriously and is looking again at individual cases. A review of decision-making processes is also underway. However, a spokeswoman says the council “categorically disputes” the formal complaint. Harold Bodmer, executive director for adult social services at the council, says: “The care we provide is as set out in the Care Act and we dispute any suggestion that we are not following this. In light of budget cuts and growing demand, adult social care is under huge pressure. This is not only the case in Norfolk but across the country.”

Until the CQC responds to the request for an investigation it’s impossible to know what will happen next in Norfolk. However one thing is certain: alarm bells will be ringing louder in Norfolk and elsewhere as the new financial year begins and local authorities are mired in the next wave of social care budget cuts. On 23 February the Local Government Association warned that planned council tax rises to pay for social care in 2016 to 2017 will not bring in enough money to alleviate the growing pressure on the vital services for elderly and disabled people.

In the meantime, disabled people who rely on a range of support packages to bolster independent living, and who have been hit harder than most by austerity, will be dreading yet another disproportionate impact.

Talk to us on Twitter via @Guardianpublic and sign up for your free weekly Guardian Public Leaders newsletter with news and analysis sent direct to you every Thursday.