Last week, the Government published its Disability Action Plan outlining immediate goals for 2024. Regrettably, the actions set out in the plan are weak, vague, and inadequate, falling far short of addressing the concerns of Disabled people, particularly amidst the ongoing cost-of-living crises.
Moreover, many of the proposed “short-term” actions extend beyond 2024, introducing reviews or proposals for 2025, post-General Election. We would urge whoever is in government after the next election to work with DPOs, and to adopt a longer term and more strategic approach to address the many harsh practical, attitudinal and systemic challenges facing Disabled people.
In our response to the Disability Action Plan consultation, we emphasised the importance of listening to the lived experiences of Disabled people. We presented a long list of vital actions based on our evidence, unfortunately neglected by the Government.
There is no response to the evidence we submitted about the increasingly well documented concerns over the efficacy of the Disability Confident employer scheme, or our opposition to proposals toscrap proposed changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA).There is no commitment to augmenting financial support for Disabled people in light of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
We are particularly concerned by two housing related matters: the absence of any plan formalise minimum accessibility standards for new build homes; and that the maximum grant for Disability Facilities Grants has still not been uplifted for inflation despite a government commissioned review recommending this is in 2018.
Furthermore, the Disability Action Plan does not pledge to reinstate the Access to Elected Office fund in time for the upcoming General Election, actively marginalizing Disabled candidates.
“Disabled people represent the largest minority group, constituting 22% of the population. It is time that our voices be both heard and heeded,” said Real’s CEO, Jack Gilbert.
