despite widespread opposition from disability groups and two legal challenges, the government is pressing ahead with the abolition if the Independent Living Fund.

The ILF enables people with disabilities to pay for the support they need to live a full life, going to work or study and integrating into society.

The ILF is to be scrapped and funds transferred to local councils to set up their own schemes. However the money transferred is not ring fenced and there are fears that some councils like Hillingdon will cut the support and use the money elsewhere at the expense of disabled people.

Some Labour councils have voluntarily ring fenced the funds.

John McDonnell MP is calling upon Hillingdon Council to ring fence and protect the funds for disabled people.

John said” I am totally opposed to the scrapping if the ILF and have supported lobbies of Parliament against this Government policy. Now that it is going through I am demanding that Hillingdon Council commits itself to ring fencing and protecting the funds transferred and introduces a local ILF scheme to support people with disabilities in the way the ILF did. The ILF makes the difference for many disabled people between living a full life in our community or being placed in a residential home. I say Save the ILF. “