Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) have called a demonstration in Southampton today (Wednesday February 15th) to protest the actions of Capita, a private firm ordered by the City Council to offer financial incentives to Social Workers to cut care packages for disabled people. 

The protest will take place at Southampton’s Civic Centre today at 1:45 pm. The action comes after a big success for DPAC in January of this year, when they forced Southampton City Council to back down over proposals to cap social care support awards as part of their budget savings.

Today’s demonstration comes in response to scandalous evidence that has come to light implicating the local council in an incentive scheme that offered cash bonuses and luxury accommodation to freelance social workers in return for cutting disabled and older people’s care packages.

As seen in emails leaked to the Disabled News Service (DNS) by a whistleblower, management at Capita has been piling pressure on its team of social workers to cut social care spending, on the orders of Southampton City Council. the emails also explicitly offered cash bonuses to employees who ‘made savings’ by cutting care packages. 

The whistleblower alleged that bosses made it clear that team members would only keep their jobs if they produced enough cuts to the packages of the people whose care needs they were assessing.

Linda Burnip, co-founder of Disabled People Against Cuts, said the latest revelations of the council’s “underhand behaviour” were “shocking”.

She said: “Southampton council and also the CCG seem to be trying their hardest to prevent disabled people living independently in the community with the right levels of support,” and that Capita was “immoral, incompetent and obviously willing to stoop to any lengths to make money”.

DPAC’s protest will take place today, Wednesday the 15th of February, at 1:45 pm, outside the Civic Centre, SO14 7LY.