Report requires ‘radical and impressive’ disability technique – Incapacity Information Service

A new report, based on the views of hundreds of people and organizations with disabilities, has called on the government to develop a national strategy on disabilities that is “radical and ambitious”.

The Disability Rights UK report (PDF) follows a three month engagement campaign to find out how disabled people want society to change.

Now she wants the government to incorporate recommendations from her We Belong report (pictured) – in five key areas – into her national disability strategy, which will be published this spring.

The report’s recommendations include calls for the extension and facilitation of the enforcement of equality law for people with disabilities and for the incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into British law.

Disability Rights UK (DR UK) also urges the government to ensure that there is a properly funded disability organization (DPO) in each area, as well as “meaningful” and “thorough” co-production and collaboration with DPOs at national and local levels Levels.

Further recommendations are the reform of the benefit and social security system, measures for barrier-free living as well as measures for national and local authorities and transport organizations in order to achieve improvements in public transport together with the data protection officers so that stations, platforms, trains and ticket systems are created “faster” accessible.

Regarding attitudes towards disabled people, the report calls for a new public disability awareness campaign based on the social model of disability and the inclusion of disability equality and the social model of disability in the school curriculum.

DR UK also says there should be improved support for disabled people experiencing domestic abuse and stricter laws against hate crimes for disability.

Kamran Mallick, Managing Director of DR UK said: “We will share the comments of everyone who contributed to this project with the government so that they can hear the views that have been expressed.

“We call on the government to take bold and radical action to tackle persistent systematic discrimination and inequality and develop an ambitious breakthrough strategy that creates a society where we really belong.”

He added, “It’s not enough to tinker with the current policies and services, we need radical and ambitious changes.”

Last week, other data protection officers spoke of their shock and dismay at the government’s failure to contact them when the Minister for Disabled People, Justin Tomlinson, announced a new national survey on disabilities but gave disabled people just four weeks to answer if they wanted views to influence the strategy.

DR UK has joined this data protection officer to criticize the deadline.

Fazilet Hadi, Head of Policy at DR UK said: “It is understandable that engagement has been made difficult due to the coronavirus crisis, but it is not acceptable to give disabled people a month to respond.

“For many of us, it will take some time for information about the survey to reach us. Some of us want to discuss our answers with others, and some of us need support in responding.

“One month is just not enough to allow disabled people to truly influence breakthrough changes in the way society treats us.”

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