Can I Have A 'P' Please Iain
A Guest Post From HossyLass inspired by Personal Responsibility: The IDS Way
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/18/root-causes-riots-gangs-social-breakdown
After the shock of mobs terrorising communities and setting buildings ablaze has begun to subside, and as we watch the number of arrests and stiff sentences rising, the public is angrily asking how Britain, this tolerant and fair-minded nation, could have arrived at this point.
While I am, like many, appalled at the events of last week, I am not entirely surprised – I have felt that Britain's social fabric has been fraying for some time. On Monday the prime minister spoke of the social problems in some of our communities, characterised by;
the breakdown of responsibility,
of respect for one's neighbours and for authority.
He spoke of morality, the rise of dysfunctional and broken homes, fatherlessness, and a culture in welfare
and in schools that puts entitlement and rights above responsibilities and hard work.
These are all issues I examined in detail as chairman of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ). I spent years visiting our most deprived communities, speaking with individuals and families whose lives were blighted by social breakdown, and learning from the dedicated practitioners and volunteers working to turn those lives around. It became increasingly clear that six key pathways were driving the poverty and disadvantage: family breakdown; worklessness; educational failure; addiction; debt; and the need to pee.
While the Labour government focused on money, arguing for a bigger welfare state and more facilities for disabled people, those we heard from said toilet abuse was a symptom of fractured, dysfunctional lives, and tackling it meant addressing its root causes, such as the need to pee, and the disregard for those whose need is greater and whose facilities I was abusing.
In the past week we have had a harsh reminder of how dysfunctional able bodied people abuse disabled facilities and feed off social breakdown. Even without the riots this is a phenomenon we should be deeply concerned about. Disabled facilites are no-go areas and I, as an able bodied person, made impossible the very things that could help a disabled person to pee. Able bodied abuse of the disabled and using the disabled toilets are both a product of social breakdown and a driver of it.
That is why, almost four years ago, I commissioned the CSJ to look into Disabled Toilets. The resulting report, Dying to Pee, revealed a rising trend of abuse in one of Britain's most disadvantaged communities - disabled people. As far back as 2004, research estimated that up to 96% of disabled people needed to pee, a proportion that will only have risen since. The report revealed that the age at which disabled people were needing to pee was getting lower, blood pressure was rising, and communities were living in sewerage. This should have been a wake-up call to spur national and local government action, yet the problem was allowed to grow, mostly unchecked, culminating in the events of last week.
The report showed it is possible for able bodied people to effectively stay out of disabled facilities, but to do so you have to understand what you're doing. Disabled people have NOT invariably grown up in broken, chaotic homes, often experiencing domestic violence; they have rarely truanted from school and yet many have been excluded because of the lack of adapted toilet facilites; and they often live in neighbourhoods where worklessness, addiction and crime are rife, even though they never chose disability, or any of those lifestyles.
So we must address why disabled people need to pee, try to prevent them being forced to wait in the first place and help those who want to access disabled toilet facilities.
We can learn much from Radar, an effective programme in curbing disability facility abuse, in the UK. Mapping toilets and their facilities, a clear message was delivered: disabled toilet abuse by the able bodied will not be tolerated.
If you stop we will do everything in our power to help you to stay out of disabled toilets, if you continue we'll do everything to bring you to justice.
Intensive, targeted enforcement should be coupled with an intensive offer of support, delivered by community organisations, faith groups and local service providers. One unified message from community and police.
Someone somewhere will adopt this model in Channel 4 Studios and enforce it, with real results.
Of course there are wider social issues to be dealt with, and the early intervention work I have been asked to do, such as find an able-bodied toilet a few more strides away, is central to this; but dealing with the other able bodied people who abuse disabled facilities is a vital place to start – with local government, police and the community united.
While I am, like many, appalled at the events of last week, I am not entirely surprised – I have felt that Britain's social fabric has been fraying for some time. On Monday the prime minister spoke of the social problems in some of our communities, characterised by;
the breakdown of responsibility,
of respect for one's neighbours and for authority.
He spoke of morality, the rise of dysfunctional and broken homes, fatherlessness, and a culture in welfare
and in schools that puts entitlement and rights above responsibilities and hard work.
These are all issues I examined in detail as chairman of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ). I spent years visiting our most deprived communities, speaking with individuals and families whose lives were blighted by social breakdown, and learning from the dedicated practitioners and volunteers working to turn those lives around. It became increasingly clear that six key pathways were driving the poverty and disadvantage: family breakdown; worklessness; educational failure; addiction; debt; and the need to pee.
While the Labour government focused on money, arguing for a bigger welfare state and more facilities for disabled people, those we heard from said toilet abuse was a symptom of fractured, dysfunctional lives, and tackling it meant addressing its root causes, such as the need to pee, and the disregard for those whose need is greater and whose facilities I was abusing.
In the past week we have had a harsh reminder of how dysfunctional able bodied people abuse disabled facilities and feed off social breakdown. Even without the riots this is a phenomenon we should be deeply concerned about. Disabled facilites are no-go areas and I, as an able bodied person, made impossible the very things that could help a disabled person to pee. Able bodied abuse of the disabled and using the disabled toilets are both a product of social breakdown and a driver of it.
That is why, almost four years ago, I commissioned the CSJ to look into Disabled Toilets. The resulting report, Dying to Pee, revealed a rising trend of abuse in one of Britain's most disadvantaged communities - disabled people. As far back as 2004, research estimated that up to 96% of disabled people needed to pee, a proportion that will only have risen since. The report revealed that the age at which disabled people were needing to pee was getting lower, blood pressure was rising, and communities were living in sewerage. This should have been a wake-up call to spur national and local government action, yet the problem was allowed to grow, mostly unchecked, culminating in the events of last week.
The report showed it is possible for able bodied people to effectively stay out of disabled facilities, but to do so you have to understand what you're doing. Disabled people have NOT invariably grown up in broken, chaotic homes, often experiencing domestic violence; they have rarely truanted from school and yet many have been excluded because of the lack of adapted toilet facilites; and they often live in neighbourhoods where worklessness, addiction and crime are rife, even though they never chose disability, or any of those lifestyles.
So we must address why disabled people need to pee, try to prevent them being forced to wait in the first place and help those who want to access disabled toilet facilities.
We can learn much from Radar, an effective programme in curbing disability facility abuse, in the UK. Mapping toilets and their facilities, a clear message was delivered: disabled toilet abuse by the able bodied will not be tolerated.
If you stop we will do everything in our power to help you to stay out of disabled toilets, if you continue we'll do everything to bring you to justice.
Intensive, targeted enforcement should be coupled with an intensive offer of support, delivered by community organisations, faith groups and local service providers. One unified message from community and police.
Someone somewhere will adopt this model in Channel 4 Studios and enforce it, with real results.
Of course there are wider social issues to be dealt with, and the early intervention work I have been asked to do, such as find an able-bodied toilet a few more strides away, is central to this; but dealing with the other able bodied people who abuse disabled facilities is a vital place to start – with local government, police and the community united.
As senior police officers on both sides of the Atlantic have said, "Mr Duncan Smith, you can't just excuse your way out of this problem".
That is why, perhaps most importantly, I don't agree with the pessimists who say that the social breakdown is irreversible. I believe in a nation of the second chance, which will ensure that from the despair of my actions, and the shame of my abusive behaviour, we can fashion hope of a stronger and healthier society, that pees in its own loo's.
In future I wont state one thing and do another, and I will stay out of disabled people's toilets, just as my Mother and my God would want me to do.
And I will remember to flush, just like Nanny told me to.
Please Note, this post is a spoof inspired by the the factual report of IDS & the disabled loo reported here
8 comments:
Very funny! Laughed and was dismayed by the original too.
But, I am left with a slightly uneasy feeling...
Yes, the lack of flushing is horrible, thoughtless and shows a complete lack of respect for others, but just a question...
how do we know that IDS does not have a bladder problem or a prostate problem? We are assuming that he is totally able-bodied and he may not be. Anyone with these kinds of problems will tell you, if you have to go, you have to go NOW and if that was the closest loo, then it would be reasonable to use it. He may just be not as able-bodied as we assume.
Invisible illness, not so easy to call.
Just a thought.
Ah, could be true, could be true.
However he could have explained that to the disabled gentleman he kept waiting.
Then none of the articles would have been written.
Lets be honest, us crips fess up our most personal stories to other crips - solidarity, init?
I could give him the benefit of the doubt, but seeing as he and his cohorts are suggesting policies that are worrying in the least, and extremely damaging in reality, then I doubt he has much idea of living with disability, hidden or otherwise.
I would be honestly delighted to hear he had a hidden disability, but I have yet to find one that manifests itself by being a mouthpiece for Government and yet unable to explain his own behaviour.
Oooops, correction, yes I have. SOS syndrome. Afflicts lots of Secretaries of State it seems.
If we cant have a bit of fun at their expense... after all, they seem to think its fine to insult us!
Hiya,
Great blog - thanks for all your hard work.
I know it is probably pointless butI notice there are some petitions on the No.10 site about Atos and ESA and stuff - i wondered if you wanted to highlight them:
Petition: Stop the changes to DLA & ESA
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/8674
Stop the changes to DLA (disablity living allowance)
Responsible department: Department for Work and Pensions
Stop the stressful benefit tests to those claimants on DLA (disability living allowance), ESA (employment and support allowance) and for current incapacity claiments and for alll those claiments on passport benefits relating to incapcity benefit. Changes have already been made after the independent Harrington review last year, which concluded the tests were not working as well as they should and needed to be made fairer and more effective. The report noted the "high rate of appeals" against findings, and said that cases overturned by "first tier" appeals between October 2008 and August 2009 were "consistently around 40%".
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/2327
"David Cameron to apologise for misrepresenting incapacity benefit claimant figures and end Atos' role in assessments
Responsible department: Department for Work and Pensions
The undersigned ask that the House debate the notion that David Cameron should apologise for misrepresenting incapacity benefit claimant figures by not including results of successful appeals or those who have been excluded from the process because it is either too distressing for them or because they cannot physically attend an assessment. The undersigned also ask that the debate considers whether French private IT company, Atos' role in assessments should be ended and the process handed over to British medical professionals who are not driven by targets or profits.
There are others as well.
All good wishes,
Joss (had ME for 15 years and spinal arthritis for 12 - expecting to lose my benefits when i am 'migrated')
Hiya,
Great blog - thanks for all your hard work.
I know it is probably pointless butI notice there are some petitions on the No.10 site about Atos and ESA and stuff - i wondered if you wanted to highlight them:
Petition: Stop the changes to DLA & ESA
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/8674
Stop the changes to DLA (disablity living allowance)
Responsible department: Department for Work and Pensions
Stop the stressful benefit tests to those claimants on DLA (disability living allowance), ESA (employment and support allowance) and for current incapacity claiments and for alll those claiments on passport benefits relating to incapcity benefit. Changes have already been made after the independent Harrington review last year, which concluded the tests were not working as well as they should and needed to be made fairer and more effective. The report noted the "high rate of appeals" against findings, and said that cases overturned by "first tier" appeals between October 2008 and August 2009 were "consistently around 40%".
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/2327
"David Cameron to apologise for misrepresenting incapacity benefit claimant figures and end Atos' role in assessments
Responsible department: Department for Work and Pensions
The undersigned ask that the House debate the notion that David Cameron should apologise for misrepresenting incapacity benefit claimant figures by not including results of successful appeals or those who have been excluded from the process because it is either too distressing for them or because they cannot physically attend an assessment. The undersigned also ask that the debate considers whether French private IT company, Atos' role in assessments should be ended and the process handed over to British medical professionals who are not driven by targets or profits.
There are others as well.
All good wishes,
Joss (had ME for 15 years and spinal arthritis for 12 - expecting to lose my benefits when I am 'migrated')
While I find this funny there is a more serious side as I put in my article here.
http://www.access-ability.org/disabled_toilets.html
Hi Alan! You'll enjoy the #bogoff series I've run on this blog for a few years then, there's loads of the good, the bad and the downright scary of disabled loos all with photos :) Hope you're well!
Why do diabled people have separate khazis? It's discriminatory...Surely ALL publicly available toilets ought to be properly accessible...
So he is human then? I though he was an android.
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