Tuesday 1st July 2025

 

Disabled people’s organisations and campaigners are calling for the urgent reopening of the Independent Living Fund (ILF) in Northern Ireland, warning that its ongoing closure to new applicants is a clear violation of disabled people’s right to live independently and be included in the community. 

 

The ILF previously provided direct financial support to enable disabled people to exercise choice and control over their lives — including access to personal assistance to live in their own homes and to access employment. While the Fund closed to new applicants in Northern Ireland in 2010 and formally ended across the UK in 2015, ILF have Scotland continued to support existing recipients in Northern Ireland.  While it is welcome that some disabled people in NI continue to benefit from ILF.  This has created a two tier system leaving a whole generation of disabled people at a significant disadvantage. 

 

In 2019, the Department of Health in Northern Ireland convened a working group composed of disabled people’s organisations, health trusts, and civil society actors to develop proposals to reopen the ILF. This group produced clear recommendations to reopen the fund which were endorsed by the Department and Senior Officials at a point in which the Executive was collapsed.  The lack of political structures meant that there was no Minister in place to re-open the fund. 

The NI Executive and Assembly have yet to take action to restore the fund since February 2023 when the Executive and Assembly was restored.

 

Disabled people’s organisations and campaigners are calling for the immediate reopening of the fund.  Disabled people are calling on the Minister for Health to re-open the fund immediately. 

 

Peter Scott OBE, Chief Executive Officer at ILF Scotland said:

"ILF Scotland has had the privilege of administering the Fund in Northern Ireland over the last 10 years, working in partnership with the Department of Health. We have witnessed the profound and lasting impact that the Fund has on the lives of our most disabled citizens and therefore recognise that reopening the Fund here would be a powerful commitment to equality and inclusion. Should this decision be taken, we stand ready to work in co-production with partners to turn that policy intent into reality, benefiting those disabled citizens who face the greatest barriers to independent living."

 

David McDonald, long-time campaigner, ILF recipient and Chairperson, Independent Living Fund NI Advisory Group adds:

"The Independent Living Fund makes all the difference to disabled people. It makes life worth living. This cannot be expressed too strongly! We fought to keep it here in Northern Ireland and with the help of our politicians and Ministers we succeeded — but only for those already in receipt of it. It is a tragedy and a travesty that others like us are deprived of it and of lives worth living like ours. It is well beyond time for that to change."

 

The Northern Ireland Assembly All Party Group has supported the call to reopen the ILF:

 

Robbie Butler MLA, Chair of the APG on Disability said: “A number of recent proposals and legislative change by the Labour Government has heaped serious concerns on many disabled people. Lack of disability awareness, safeguards, scrutiny and support from some local MPs both local and regional during the Assisted Dying Bill was glaring and looming cuts to both Universal Credit and PIP mean that any conversation like this one about reinstating the ILF here in Northern Ireland must be welcomed. Recognising the fiscal pressures in Government we must also recognise the everyday squeeze on our disabled community.” 

 

Carál Ní Chuilín, MLA, Sinn Féin adds:

 

"I want to commend Disability Rights Groups for their tireless work in campaigning for the reopening of the Independent Living Fund. These groups have given a voice to those who are disabled and highlighted their needs. Their call to re-open this fund can help people have a better quality of life and realise their rights enshrined under the UN."

 

“I would call on the Health Minister to meet and engage with these groups and to consider reopening the fund and reallocating support to those most in need of it."

 

Danny Donnelly MLA, Alliance Party adds:

"Disability organisations and campaigners have done their part, they’ve brought forward clear, co-produced proposals to reopen the Independent Living Fund. But the collapse of Stormont and the absence of Ministerial leadership meant these voices went unheard, and people were left without vital support. The result is a continued two-tier system where far too many are denied the chance to live independently, on their own terms. This isn’t just a policy failure, it’s personal. It means people missing out on the freedom to decide how they live, where they live, and who supports them. Now that our institutions are back, we have a responsibility to put that right. Reopening the ILF would be a clear and immediate step towards fairness, dignity, and inclusion for all."

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) condemned the Fund’s closure in its 2023 report, calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to urgently reopen the ILF and properly resource it as part of its obligations under Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People, which guarantees disabled people the right to live independently and be included in the community.

 

ENDS

 

For further information please contact Nuala Toman, Head of Accessibility at Disability Action at [email protected] or 07967322369

 

1. The Independent Living Fund (ILF) was originally established in 1988 to provide financial support to disabled people with high support needs, enabling them to live independently in the community rather than in residential care. The Fund helped cover the cost of personal assistance and other services that promoted choice and control.

 

2. The ILF closed to new applicants in Northern Ireland in 2010 and formally ended across the UK in 2015. However, existing recipients in Northern Ireland continued to receive support through an agreement with ILF Scotland, which administers the fund on behalf of the Department of Health. This has created a two-tier system, where only those in receipt before the closure can access this crucial support, while others with similar needs are excluded.

 

3. ILF Scotland is a public body established by the Scottish Government in 2015. It administers both the 2015 Fund for new applicants in Scotland and the 2015 Transition Fund. In Northern Ireland, ILF Scotland continues to deliver support to approximately 400 people who were in receipt of ILF before the fund’s UK-wide closure. ILF Scotland works in partnership with government departments and disabled people’s organisations to promote independent living.

 

4. As of the 2022–23 financial year, 349 individuals in Northern Ireland received ILF funding, totalling £6.85 million.

 

5. An NI-specific Social Return on Investment (SROI) study found that for every £1 of ILF funding in 2018-19, £10.89 in social value was generated across beneficiaries including recipients, carers, health trusts, and the wider movement

 

6. Disability Action is a leading disabled person-led organisation in Northern Ireland, representing and working with over 300,000 disabled people each year. It delivers a wide range of services, campaigns for rights and inclusion, and leads on co-designed solutions with disabled people. Disability Action was a core participant in the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, represents disabled people at the United Nations, and chairs the Disability Housing Forum.

 

7. The All Party Group (APG) on Disability is a cross-party forum within the Northern Ireland Assembly that brings together Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from all political parties to focus on issues affecting disabled people.

 

8. Article 19 of the UNCRPD affirms the right of disabled people to live independently and be included in the community, with equal access to in-home, residential, and other community support services. The UK Government and devolved administrations have ratified the Convention and are legally obliged to uphold these rights.

 

9. Photograph attached shows David McDonald, Peter Scott OBE, ILF Scotland with Danny Donnelly MLA, Alliance Party and Carál Ní Chuilín MLA, Sinn Féin