New promises, old problems
CHARITY and union leaders have been quick to blast the Government’s long-awaited National Disability Strategy. More accessible housing, improved public transport and better job prospects are among the £1.6bn worth of pledges made in the 120-page document.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed it as a chance in a generation to build a better and fairer life for all disabled people in the UK.
He said: “Our new National Disability Strategy is a clear plan. From giving disabled people the best start in school to unlocking equal job opportunities, this strategy sets us on a path to improve their everyday lives.”
But after a decade of Tory cuts to services and benefits, and unfulfilled promises, many feel it is a missed opportunity, and that action not words matter now.
Much of the strategy’s focus seems to be on helping those who can work, with little mention given to those who just can’t.
Social care reform, a promise the PM made two years ago, has been left for a later date, and while there are ambitious plans to increase the use of technology and online services, there is no mention of tackling digital exclusion, which affects 12m people in the UK.
Kamran Malik, chief executive at Disability Rights UK, says: “There has also been a lack of proper engagement with disabled people and organisations. There was an online questionnaire, and there’s a judicial review happening to decide if that was legal. It’s as though they don’t want to hear what our real requirements are in order to change society.”
Ismail Kaji, parliamentary officer at the learning disability charity Mencap, said: “We were promised a disability strategy that would change the lives of disabled people but, right now, there is still a long way to go.”
Mike Hobday, director of policy at the National Deaf Children’s Society, said: “We’re very pleased to see the publication of a strategy, though it will remain an uphill struggle to ensure an urgently needed transformation.
“There’s a bitter irony in the fact that this strategy has been published on the same day that the Government has lost a court case on failing to provide sign language interpretation at its Covid-19 briefing.”
Business Disability Forum’s head of policy, Angela Matthews, said: “To have long term impact, the strategy must also be accompanied by financial investment. Much of the funding announced today is not new. The Prime Minister has made it clear that this is a “down payment” only. We will await the
Autumn Spending Review when we must see more on long-term, additional funding for the strategy.
“The strategy has put disability higher on the political agenda but it is what happens next that is important.”
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady
said: “The Government has once again missed the chance to act. Disabled people are far less likely to be in paid employment – and when they are, they are hit by a 20% pay gap, which is growing year-on-year. The way to end this is to make employers report on their disability pay gaps – but ministers have failed to support this.”
Nell Andrew, GMB equality officer,
said: “This will be remembered as an historic missed opportunity.”