A campaign organised by Alana Inness via change.org on behalf of her brother James has ‘forced’ Oxfordshire County Council to respond to an online petition which has attracted nearly 150,000 signatures.
The council proposed a cut in the care funding for James, aged 25, who has Down’s Sydrome and learning disabilities. The ultimate effect of this was that James was threatened with eviction from the house in which he has been living, with support, for the last 15 months.
Full details of James’s case may be found here, along with details of how to sign the petition which is still open – and which Alana makes clear was created not just for James but for all people faced with reductions in care provision.
On 5th November Alana published this Update:
We are very pleased to let you know that we had a productive meeting with senior representatives from Oxfordshire County Council. At this meeting the Council confirmed that they have been able to negotiate for James’ tenancy to be extended for six months while they work to find a permanent solution. We are sure this in no small part due to the support you have shown us in our campaign, so thank you.
Ensuring James’ long term independence is not yet over and so during the next six months we will be working closely with the council to look at a number of more permanent options for James. We will keep you updated with progress and any further help we may need from you.
We will be working on a a much wider campaign around this to help other people in a similar situation to James…