06 December 2007 – Government charts progress towards disability equality
Important progress is already being made towards the government’s goal of equality for disabled people by 2025, the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) reveals today in its second annual report to the Prime Minister.
In the past year the ODI has:
- Set up Equality 2025, a new advisory body to government made up of 23 members who are all disabled people. Equality 2025 acts as a conduit for disabled people's voices to ensure that they influence policy and service delivery design at an early stage.
- Led the cross-government Independent Living Review which has worked extensively with disabled people to find ways of improving opportunities and support for disabled people. An expert panel including disabled people and chaired by Baroness Jane Campbell was set up to shape and steer the review. The Independent Living Review will publish a cross government five-year strategy to give disabled people choice and control over the support they need to go about their daily lives, in early 2008.
- Coordinated the signing of the UN Convention on Disability Rights on behalf of the UK. The Convention covers areas such as the right to life, access to justice, personal mobility, health, education and work.
- Developed an initial set of measures of progress towards equality for disabled people, following consultation with disabled people, published as an annex to this report.
- Commissioned the Office for National Statistics to develop plans for a longitudinal disability survey of Great Britain. This will track the experiences of disabled people over time to see what happens at the key points of becoming disabled, moving from childhood to adulthood and in and out of work.
Across government, crucial steps include:
- the Comprehensive Spending Review settlement of an additional £2.6bn by 2010/11 to enable social services to build on progress already made towards ‘personalisation’ - services that give users and their carers greater choice and control over the way in which their needs are met. An additional £190m by 2010/11 is also being provided for social care through the Department of Health.
- the ‘Aiming higher for disabled children: better support for families’ programme and investment of £340m in the period 2008-11, to help improve the situations of disabled children and their families.
- the new Equalities Public Service Agreement, covering the period 2008-11, which focuses on reducing inequalities for individuals on the basis of gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, and religion or belief.
Anne McGuire, Minister for Disabled People, said:
“In this past year the ODI and key government departments have made good progress on the journey to equality for disabled people. But there’s a long way to go, and we must keep up the pace. Early next year, the ODI will launch an independent living strategy aiming to give disabled people more choice and control over the services and support they need. And I have asked my officials to secure ratification of the UN Convention on Disability Rights by the end of 2008.”
Notes to Editors
- The ODI Annual Report
2007 is available in PDF, RTF, audio and Easy Read formats at www.officefordisability.gov.uk ,
and hard copies of these formats plus Braille are available on request from
the Office for Disability Issues:
Email: office-for-disability-issues@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 020 7962 8799
Textphone: 020 7712 2032
Address: Office for Disability Issues, 6th floor Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HT - There are two annexes that accompany this report, both of which are available from the ODI website in PDF and RTF formats: Annex 1: Performance on ‘Life Chances’ recommendations; Annex 2: Indicators data. The ODI welcomes feedback on any part of this report, by any of the means given above.
- The Office for Disability Issues (ODI) was established to help government deliver on the promise made in the report, ‘Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People’ – that by 2025, disabled people should have the same opportunities and choices as non-disabled people, and be respected and included as equal members of society. It reports annually to the Prime Minister on progress in implementing the Life Chances report.
- The ODI acts as a champion of disabled people within government and works with all departments to help them better understand and meet the needs and aspirations of disabled people.
DWP press office: 020 3267 5120
Out of hours: 079659 108 883
Website: www.dwp.gov.uk
www.officefordisability.gov.uk
www.direct.gov.uk/disability