SEASIDE SPECIAL SEASIDE SPECIAL

Can you help two great charities?

“Sight will be saved and lives will be transformed This is such a significant and wonderful step forward in improving eye care for people with learning disabilities ”

Parent Alyson Farrell added: “This announcement means everything to us, and I’m sure to thousands more parents, to definitively know the scheme will roll out to all special schools at last ”

WORKERS across the UK have finally won the legal right to take unpaid leave to care for loved ones

LL TOGETHER

Walk

NOW!

Ahas teamed up with Wirral Mencap for the annual Seaside

In a joint fundraising initiative that celebrates this newspaper ’s 18th and Wirral Mencap’s 60th anniversaries, we want to get as many readers as possible striding out – or wheeling – along the Wirral coastline on Saturday September 9

Two routes are being planned – a two-mile stretch along the promenade from Seacombe to the Floral Pavlion, New Brighton; and a 10-miler that ends at the Green Lodge pub in Hoylake

Debbie Green, fundraiser for Wirral Mencap, said: “We want to use this year ’s Seaside walk as a special double celebration for both charities

“We are absolutely delighted to say we have secured two amazing sponsors –Chester-based law firm Elysium Law and United Utilities North West, who are both impressed by the work we do and the impact it has on people’s lives

“They both recognise how important support from local businesses is in helping us raise vital funds, and are keen to help us continue to ensure that families with loved ones with a learning disability can live and lead fulfilled and happy lives through not only the fabulous courses we run, but also the advocacy service we offer ”

FLASHBACK: Striding out along the New Brighton promenade last year

People taking part in the walk are asked to raise about £60 in sponsorships n Registration fees, £6 adults, £3 children Contact Wirral Mencap, Market Street, Birkenhead, Mon-Fri Tel 0151 666 1829 n You can also register online at www wirralmencap org uk or by emailing Debbie at dgreen@mencapwirral org uk

MEANWHILE, the Big Lottery’s Community Fund has awarded us £10K for the printing costs of the next two issues

It’s very much appreciated by our small team – and I’m certain by all our readers

Finally, another massive thanks to

Jane Harris, pictured, wh retiring as grants directo at the Steve Morgan Foundation

For almost as long as this newspaper has been running, Jane has been a fantastic supporter of our work

It’s no exaggeration to say that without the help we’ve had from her and Steve Morgan Foundatio have ceased to exist long ago

We send her all our best wishes for a long and happy retirement See Page 7

TOM DOWLING, editor

After a long passage through Parliament the Carers Leave Bill received Royal Assent, meaning it will now become law

The earliest date the legislation will come into force is next April

BSL to be a GCSE

A BRITISH Sign Language GCSE is one step closer to being taught in schools as the Government launches a consultation on the content of the subject

The Government is aiming for the British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE to be first taught to pupils in England from September 2025

Views on the qualification – including the language skills to be studied and the role of history – are being sought from teachers, employers and the deaf and hearing communities in a 12-week consultation

In 2018, the Government said it would consider introducing a GCSE in BSL after deaf schoolboy Daniel Jillings campaigned for the new qualification

Last year, BSL was recognised in law as a language of Great Britain

Hundreds complain over ‘toxic’ newspaper report

A WATCHDOG has received hundreds of complaints about a national newspaper inviting readers to calculate how much people on out-of-work benefits was costing them

The Daily Telegraph said millions were claiming benefits “without ever having to look for work” and it produced an automatic calculator that allowed readers to discover “just how much of our hardwon salaries are spent on the benefits of those who do not work”

More than 600 people have so far complained about the article to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)

Dr Jay Watts, a disabled activist and consultant clinical psychologist, drafted a letter to the Telegraph that has been signed by nearly 300 mental health professionals and describes the distress the “divisive” story has caused Natasha Hirst, President of the National Union of Journalists, said: “There is no place for toxic reporting that undermines and further marginalises a significant proportion of the population ”

MPs hear benefits’ plea

BENEFIT levels are too low to meet disabled people’s needs, MPs have been told

An annual independent assessment is what is needed, says national charity Disability Rights UK

The Commons work and pensions committee was hearing evidence on the adequacy of benefit levels in the UK Ken Butler, welfare rights and policy adviser for DRUK, said he believed most disability organisations would agree that such a test was essential and that benefits are inadequate to pay for the essentials of life for sick and disabled people

Debbie Abrahams, a Labour member of the committee, said the biggest cuts had fallen on sick and disabled people in recent years