If you are worried about the coalition government’s funding in relation to services for disabled people, we invite you to join The Campaign for a Fair Society. In the government’s comprehensive spending review, announced on 20 October 2010, Chancellor George Osborne insisted that those with the "broadest shoulders should bear the greatest burden." In fact, the government is implementing funding reductions that will impact on some of the most vulnerable people in society, including people with learning disabilities.
Cuts include:

• Reductions in local authority budgets of up to 25%, which lead to similar reductions in funding to all local authority funded care and support services.
• The closure of the Independent Living Fund (ILF) and the loss of funding, which will affect 21,000 of the most severely disabled people in the country, and may prevent many from continuing to live independently in the community.
• Changes to Support for Mortgage Interest benefit effectively rule out shared home ownership for disabled people.
• A threat to the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people in residential care, which helps meet some of the cost of things such as electric wheelchairs, mobility aids and taxis where there is no accessible public transport. Without it many people could be isolated at home.

The campaign argues that cuts to benefits and services are counterproductive and unfair:

• Counter-productive, because there is evidence that, when people have the support to lead fulfilling lives, their needs become less severe and the cost of supporting them actually reduces over time.
• Unfair, because they will prevent disabled people enjoying many of the things most of us take for granted: our own home, loving relationships, work, an income.

The campaign is not just about protest, but also about making a positive contribution. Brandon Trust's Steve Day and Stefania Rulli-Gibbs are members of the steering group for the campaign.