Disabled people deserve better than being housed together in a Dickensian institution

When Bristol’s Labour-run council proposed moving disabled residents out of their homes and into care facilities, it sparked a public outcry. The plan has been stopped in its tracks – but, says James Moore, cash-strapped authorities elsewhere have taken note

Disabled people in Bristol had faced being relocated into a care facility to save the council money (AFP/Getty)

Kudos to Bristol Reclaiming Independent Living (Bril), a grassroots group that has managed to halt one of the ugliest policies towards disabled people that I’ve seen in quite some time.

The city’s Labour-led council had decided that if residential care was a cheaper option than care at home, then disabled people affected would be “offered a place” in a residential care facility. In this context, “offered a place” translates as “forced to take up a place”.

And you thought shutting people up in institutions – out of sight, out of mind – was a grim relic of this country’s history.