§ 12.16 a.m.
§ Mr. Michael Jopling (Westmorland)I seek to present a petition on behalf of my constituents as part of the National Mobility Petition. The petition bears 5,424 names, gathered from all parts of the constituency. It reflects a great deal of credit on Miss Jean Simpson and her team, of Kendal, who have achieved this result.
The petition states:
To the Honouurable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in Parliament assembled. Whereby the statement of the Secretary of State for the Social Services on 23rd July 1976 on mobility policy for the disabled causes your humble petitioners great concern in that it removes the assurance of continued independent mobility from those severely disabled persons now driving invalid tricycles, and condemns many new applicants for mobility assistance to be housebound as a result of the inadequate levels of the mobility allowance. Your humble petitioners pray that your honourable House call upon the Secretary of State for the Social Services to promote policies and propose such necessary legislation as will:
- (a) Immediately guarantee the rights of continued independent mobility to current invalid tricycle drivers when the supply of tricycles is exhausted, in order to allay their great anxiety for the future.
- (b) Restore immediately the option of a suitably adapted car or an invalid tricycle to new applicants for mobility assistance, under the powers granted to the Secretary
1562 of State for the Social Services by Section 33 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968. - (c) Actively promote projects to decision and produce specialised vehicles which will enable an increasing number of severely disabled people to enjoy independent mobility.
- (d) Yourselves enact the legislation.
Further, your humble petitioners pray that your honourable House take all necessary steps to promote a total policy on mobility which would ensure that a choice is available to the severely disabled between a mobility allowance set at a level which will enable the purchase and maintenance of appliances that they need, the use of a specialised vehicle or the issue of a suitably adapted car; which policy should be implemented with all possible urgency.And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, etc.
§ To lie upon the Table.