Disabled people must have a guaranteed right to travel abroad, MPs and peers have said, as further cases emerged of individuals barred from taking holidays as a result of “ridiculous” rules imposed by local NHS care boards and local councils. Leading figures have called on the government to bring in clear national guidelines to ensure people who require full-time personal assistants (PAs) are not prevented from using funding for their 24/7 support team for breaks and work trips. Wide variations in local rules governing foreign travel mean whether a disabled person can take their care team abroad can depend on where they live, the whim of local officials or whether they are prepared to mount a legal challenge.
The call came as it emerged two men with the same health condition and care packages, living 40 miles from each other, are subject to different rules regarding overseas travel with their PA support team. While Joel, 40, a graduate who works in marketing for a global brand, is barred by his local health board from using his personal health budget to contribute to the travel costs of his PAs when going abroad, David, 25, who lives in a neighbouring health board area, receives a travel costs allocation. While Joel (not his real name) has been effectively prevented from travelling overseas for the past eight years – he can afford his own travel costs but not those of his two PAs – David was free to take a trip to Europe this summer with his PA support team.
Stipulating where and when the person can use the support they’ve been assessed as needing is like tagging somebody, as if a prisoner out on parole.” The Guardian previously revealed NHS care boards and local councils were refusing to allow disabled people to use their care funding outside the UK, even when they paid PA travel expenses themselves. Joel’s case suggests other care boards are indirectly barring disabled people from travelling: while overseas travel is in theory allowed, in practice it is unaffordable without NHS funding for PA expenses. Lady Campbell said: “It’s as if those controlling the purse strings believe disabled people do not deserve the same experiences they enjoy.
The government constantly says how important it is for disabled people to work and take responsibility for their lives and yet when we do, these kind of rules are imposed. Joel, who has spinal muscular atrophy, was initially allowed to use his health budget to pay for his PAs to travel with him and had two short breaks in Europe, at his own cost. Eight years ago, his NHS funder, now Cheshire and Merseyside NHS integrated care board, reversed its decision, ruling travel costs were valid for the UK only.
He challenged the ruling but was rebuffed, being told earlier this year by the care board that the period in 2017 when it permitted him to use his personal care budget for overseas PA travel costs was a “historical error in decision-making”. Just 40 miles (64km) away David (not his real name) said his local care board made very different rulings. Greater Manchester integrated care partnership blocked his requests for holiday PA expenses for five years.
Officials finally relented last year after he submitted detailed evidence suggesting its decision would breach NHS guidance and human rights law. It allocated £2,370 annually to enable David to contribute to his PA team’s travel and accommodation costs. David, a graduate with a first-class degree, last year took his first trip abroad without his parents, paid for by himself.
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