Written evidence submitted by the Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) (COV0031)

Disabled People Against Cuts is a national network of grassroots disabled people and our allies. We have a formal membership of 3,800 covering England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and as well as 21,000 social media followers.

This submission addresses the question of whether the Government and food industry are doing enough to support people to access sufficient healthy food. It has been put together on the basis of feedback we have received through comments on our website, emails and social media posts since mid-March 2020. A selection of these comments is included at the end of the submission for illustrative purposes.

Summary

For the first few weeks after the lockdown started, disabled people had immense difficulties alongside everyone else in trying to obtain delivery slots. This caused considerable distress and anxiety for those disabled people left waiting for weeks without food. Where slots were obtained, a significant number of items were either not delivered or substituted.

Those who have managed best are those disabled people who already had a priority pass with individual supermarkets before the pandemic.

We have mixed feedback across different local authority areas with some disabled people reporting prompt pro-active contact from their adult social service departments followed up by regular deliveries of food and supplies while others report a lack of support and not being able to even get through to ask for help.

Disabled people’s food bills have increased as a direct consequence of the pandemic and yet there has not been an increase to ESA (Employment and Support Allowance) to match the government’s uprating of Universal Credit.

Supermarkets such as Sainsburys introduced their own systems for registering as vulnerable, but feedback indicates that these were also overwhelmed and that disabled people experienced considerable difficulty in getting through.

It must also be remembered that disabled people have a range of different communication access needs and that for people with certain impairments online and/or telephone communication can be inaccessible.

There have been improvements in the availability of delivery slots since the introduction of the government register but there are major concerns about the register including data protection issues and the fact that the criteria exclude so many disabled people who are either housebound or needing to self-isolate.

A better solution is needed.

Key concerns

About the government vulnerable people register

-          The data protection implications are not clear – there is no explanation about how information will be used, while use of the register to identify priority supermarket customers involves sending personal details to private limited companies.[1]

 

-          There is a danger that supermarkets will take the vulnerability definition used by the register as the same as the legal disability definition. There are 14 million disabled people in the UK, qualifying for reasonable adjustments of one sort or another under the Equality Act 2010, but the register will only assist an anticipated 10% of disabled people.[2]

 

-          There are disabled people who need to self-isolate through the pandemic who are not covered by the register - the ‘Extremely vulnerable’ category is too narrow.

Difficulties for disabled people in accessing supermarket deliveries

-          Disabled people who were receiving online deliveries before the pandemic due to being housebound or unable to do their own shopping but who do not fit the register’s ‘extremely vulnerable’ criteria are still facing considerable difficulties in obtaining delivery slots.

 

-          Disabled people are statistically less likely to have online access[3]. There are disabled people living alone in the community who may need to self-isolate while being unable to book online food deliveries or find out how about local mutual aid groups. Some of these may also not be able to read information from local groups that is posted through the door.

 

-          Non-priority delivery slots apparently become available late at night with reports of people staying up all night on consecutive nights in order to obtain one. For people with certain impairments, particularly those with energy limiting illnesses, this is not possible.

 

-          People have reported having to use more expensive shops than they usually would as these are the only ones they can find with available delivery slots. For people on benefits, this places a considerable additional strain on budgets.

 

-          Where supermarkets substitute items due to scarcity, substitutes may not be appropriate for people with impairments that require specialist diets.

 

-          Disabled people on benefits have highlighted that finding an available delivery slot may not coincide with receipt of benefit payments.

For disabled people who are able to leave the house for supplies

-          For those disabled people who do not need to self-isolate / are not housebound and need to go out to purchase their own supplies, many shops are still limited in what items they have available. Disabled people with certain impairments may face greater barriers to being able to shop around for the items they require, some of which may be medically required.

 

-          We have heard reports of food banks closing.

Recommendations

1)      Government to support local authorities to identify disabled people in their areas who live alone in the community without online access and to ensure contact is made with all those who are potentially at risk under current conditions.

 

2)      Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, supermarkets had failed to meet their anticipatory duty under the Equality Act 2010 in working out how to identify disabled customers. This led to government intervention in the form of the vulnerable people register. This is not an adequate solution. In the short-term, the category of “extremely vulnerable” needs to be widened out and there needs to be much clearer information and protocols surrounding data protection issues regarding use of the register.

 

3)      Pandemics are apparently likely to become a feature of everyday life. A better long-term solution is therefore needed. Government should support supermarkets to set up their own systems for identifying disabled customers which both have clear data protection protocols in place and apply the Equality Act definition of disability. Information and registration with these systems must be accessible to disabled people with different communication needs.

 

 

 

Selection of feedback received from DPAC members and supporters on the question of access to food during the pandemic:

“I have a delivery pass slot at ASDA every friday. I set this up last year before the pandemic even started because I already couldn't go out shopping.”

When we first started we had to wait, a few days, Then it went to 2weeks and now it is 3weeks. We are lucky to have a milk man. who comes twice a week.

I'm not vulnerable enough and there's no slots in my area.

I’ve had a phone call from my social worker with a list of places to try for food. I am permanently housebound and on the vulnerable list rather than the extremely vulnerable list. My social worker is aware that I’ve been housebound for years with no exceptions and cannot get any supermarket deliveries – I have been trying for weeks now. Some places on the list from my social worker were offering click and collect only. Relying on mutual aid and local charities was suggested. They were unable to help with alcohol cleaner for hard surfaces or hand sanitizer.

I too tried to register on the gov.uk website to be added to the list of vulnerable needing an online service.  However there were limited choices, none of which apply to my individual case. My health issues are both physical and mental.

For now, I am coping and for that I am grateful but I'm also anxious that if my carer were to take ill I would be left with no alternatives in place.

where I & others have registered on the gov.uk/coronavirus as a “vulnerable person” needing help. This is supposed to have been passed on to the supermarkets, to free up the priority slots (hasn’t worked) but who else has access to this information?

Nothing. Phoned my MP this afternoon, and after a week of trying and failing to buy food, about food inaccessibility, and ended up bawling my eyes out on the phone to his caseworker.

Ive been regular ocado many years.disgusted how ive been treated. I have fibromyalgia osteoarthritis asthma high blood pressure eczema ibs hayfever and i have two sons autistic complex needs. I have no car no support. Yet i cant get a slot.just been on ocado site is shutdown till Sunday etc...theyre only thing keeping going mo. Said give priority to vunerable etc...

Nothing available for weeks. Keep getting given the same email to contact for help locally but heard nothing. Luckily at the moment I have friends helping but I have no idea what I will do if they get sick.

The one I received.., had only 33items of the 70 ordered. No fresh at all... I am dependent on home delivery. House bound.

I am in my 60\'s and have various health problems/disabilities that mean that I am housebound. For some years now I have relied on having shopping delivered by local supermarkets. I live on my own and I am physically unable to leave the house. Since the Covid-19 situation arose, the supermarkets have prioritised their delivery slots for extremely vulnerable and over 70\'s, which means that I, along with many thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) of housebound and disabled people under 70, are excluded.

I have been told by District Nurse to Self-Isolate. I live alone with no nearby friends.

My food bills have been really high due to the panic buying of most things I usually buy.

I've heard that the slots come up at 12am at night for the next few weeks. Very annoying. My friend had to stay up a few nights in a row to get one for her dad 

been trying for weeks. Not even click and collect. I have cancer and my children are autistic. Eldest has a compromised immune system.

I was awake at 5:30 this morning and managed to get a slot for tomorrow lunch time

no even after reg on gov website for son chemo patient

I feel that the list for registering as most at risk is unfair to those of us with mobility problems, without the ‘at risk’ factor required to register. Myself, I am 63 years old, have spinal stenosis which causes chronic pain. I have been having deliveries online before this all happened as I was struggling with shopping . But now I can no longer find slots… I think the government register was not thought out that well! It totally disregards many with even worse mobility problems than I have!

Not got letter, have M. E that’s not on list. Have had pleaurisy many times not on list.have asthma on high dose combination inhaler and motilucast...phoned gp, they say they will put me on list to look at ,but not enough staff and prioritising those working

 

4

www.dpac.uk.net             


[1] https://www.frylaw.co.uk/archives/articles/dont-share-the-vulnerable-people-register/

[2] https://www.frylaw.co.uk/archives/articles/dont-share-the-vulnerable-people-register/

[3] In 2019, 78% of disabled adults in the UK were recent internet users compared 91% in the general population. https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/itandinternetindustry/bulletins/internetusers/2019