Policy paper

National Disability Strategy: Forewords, about this strategy, action across the UK, executive summary, acknowledgements

Updated 2 December 2022

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by Command of Her Majesty, July 2021
Command paper number: CP 512
ISBN: 978-1-5286-2841-9
© Crown copyright 2021

The National Disability Strategy sets out the actions the government will take to improve the everyday lives of all disabled people. It has 4 sections:

• Introduction (this section)
• Part 1: immediate commitments to improving disabled people’s lives
• Part 2: including disabled people in policy making and service delivery
• Part 3: summary of actions each government department will take

See the main publication page for alternative formats.

Foreword from the Prime Minister

National Disability Strategy - Prime Minister

Imagine if there was a vast British city where the 14 million residents were much less likely than those elsewhere to have a job or even any qualifications at all. Where the children were twice as likely to become victims of crime, far fewer adults owned their own home, and the impact of Coronavirus had been distressingly disproportionate.

If such a place existed, policymakers and politicians would be clamouring to intervene and fix the obvious injustices that bedevilled the population. Think tanks would whirr into action, task forces would be created, no stone would be left unturned.

Yet these statistics relate to the daily reality of life of the UK’s 14.1 million people living with a disability. And, even though it is more than a quarter of century since John Major introduced the ground-breaking Disability Discrimination Act, no UK government has ever drawn up such a comprehensive, concerted, cross-government plan to deal with such problems and make disability policy a truly ecumenical endeavour.

That is, until now.

Because if there is one thing more than any other that drives this government, it’s our determination to level up the country so that whoever and wherever you are, the spark of your talent and potential can be connected with the kindling of opportunity.

Viewed through such a prism the situation facing our disabled people – 1 in 5 of the population – is not only a scandal for those involved but a waste of talent and potential that we can ill-afford. And while progress has been made in some areas, for example with more housing becoming more accessible, we can and must do better. Which is what this strategy is all about.

Formulated with the input of more than 14,000 disabled people in one of the largest-ever exercises of its kind, refined over many months, with help from policy experts, campaign groups, charities and more, it is a truly cross-cutting national strategy. It sees departments and agencies in every corner of Government setting out how they will do their bit to bring about the practical and lasting change that will make a material difference to the lives of disabled people right across our country.

Not just bridging the gaping chasm of education, skills and employment – even in 2021 a disabled person with a degree is no more likely to have a job than a non-disabled person who left school at 16 – but addressing the countless instances of unfairness that plague daily life in everything from grocery shopping to the accessibility of courtrooms.

It is the most far-reaching endeavour in this area for a generation or more, not merely a set of worthy aspirations but a concrete plan for the future. And, ultimately, its name is something of a misnomer. Because this strategy is not about disability at all, but ability.

The enormous ability of disabled people and the potential to see it realised.

And our ability to acknowledge and appreciate the contribution that disabled people make to our national life, and to listen and respond to their needs.

As we emerge from the long shadow of Coronavirus, I want to build back better and fairer, for all our disabled people – and this strategy is the down payment on making that happen.

Foreword from the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Minister for Disabled People

Many of us will have woken up this morning confronted with all the potential ways our day might be defined, not by our actions or aspirations, but by the barriers that stand between us and our day. This is a daily reality for many of the over 14 million disabled people in this country.

Whoever you are, wherever you live, whatever your background, whether or not you have a disability – either visible or hidden – everyone should be able to participate fully, safely and free from prejudice in everyday life, enjoying all the freedoms and opportunities that entails – as a commuter, colleague, customer, consumer, student, patient, service user, holiday-maker, theatre-goer, job applicant, employee, voter or juror.

Our 2019 manifesto committed to publishing a national disability strategy to improve the everyday lives of disabled people in areas like housing, transport, jobs and education. As we all start to enjoy the taste of freedom once again with our economy and society opening up from the pandemic, the significance of this strategy is even greater. Building back fairer means taking this opportunity to go further and faster to ensure disability is not a barrier to living full, independent lives where people can reach their full potential.

Building on the progress that has been made over the last 25 years since the Disability Discrimination Act, this strategy represents the single greatest focus and collaboration across government to develop a wide-ranging portfolio of practical actions that will help us to level up opportunity and improve the experience disabled people have going about daily life.

We have carried out the biggest listening exercise with disabled people in recent history, with 14,000 people responding to our UK Disability Survey. As a result, this strategy is far more wide-ranging than approaches of the past. Informed by what we have heard, the strategy sets out the actions that will positively impact every part of disabled people’s everyday lives: accessible homes; commuting and getting out and about on public transport; using the local high street or going online; enjoying culture, the arts or the great outdoors; and exercising civic roles like jury service and voting. The strategy also sets out how we will help disabled people fulfil their potential through work, aiming to fulfil another manifesto commitment of reducing the disability employment gap.

Individually, each commitment may seem like a small step. Collectively, they represent a significant leap forward. And to deliver the truly transformational change across government and society we want to see, the strategy is a platform for our longer-term ambition to put disabled people at the heart of how government makes policy and delivers services. That includes transforming how we use evidence and data to better understand and highlight where the gaps are, leveraging government procurement to drive change and developing a new world-leading Centre for Assistive and Accessible Technology.

Alongside the action and ambition, this strategy also serves as a single point of focus for holding to account every part of government that has a responsibility for delivering specific changes. Each department has nominated a minister responsible for driving delivery of the relevant commitments in the strategy and who will serve as a champion within their department to ensure the needs of disabled people are at the heart of policy-making. Ministerial Disability Champions are set out in Part 3. We commit to publish an annual report which will measure progress and offer the opportunity to update the strategy, turning it into a living document.

Informed by the experience of disabled people, the breadth of the strategy reflects the reality that disability affects people differently across different aspects of everyday life. Conversation by conversation, department by department, policy by policy, action by action, we are understanding and dismantling the barriers and attitudes that hold disabled people back so they can fulfil their personal potential and the promise of every day.

About this strategy

A huge range of organisations and individuals have shaped the development of this strategy.

The UK Disability Survey launched in January 2021 and ran until April. Thousands of people responded to inform this strategy, including disabled people,^{[footnote 1]} families and carers.

We have also worked with Policy Lab, which brings people-centred design approaches to policy-making, to build a more in depth understanding of the everyday experience of disabled people.^{[footnote 2]} This work took place in 2020, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and aimed to deepen our understanding of the everyday experience of 11 disabled people.

Findings from the UK Disability Survey and our lived experience research are being published alongside this strategy. We hope these are useful additions to the qualitative and quantitative evidence base on disability, as well as useful context for the development of this strategy.

The UK Disability Survey and lived experience research complements a wider programme of engagement which has been running since February 2020, including:

• 42 regional meetings of the nine Regional Stakeholder Networks (RSNs) involving disabled people, their organisations, parents and carers, totalling 225 members
• 10 meetings with the Disability Charities Consortium, a group of 10 of the UK’s largest disability charities
• 4 meetings of the Disabled People’s Organisation (DPO) Forum
• 11 roundtable discussions with a total of 98 disabled people about their experiences in daily life
• 6 cross-cutting thematic groups with a total of 130 attendees including disabled people and representatives from disabled people’s organisations (DPOs), charities, academia and think tanks

We are grateful to everyone who has taken the time to share their thoughts on what we should include in this strategy, whether through completing the UK Disability Survey, attending meetings or events, or engaging through social media and correspondence. Their expertise and insights have been integral to the development of the strategy. A list of organisations we have spoken to is attached with our thanks at Annex A.

The timeline for the development of this strategy has coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, making it difficult for us to engage in person. Many disabled people have been shielding, while large scale events have been impossible. We are thankful for the flexibility everyone who has engaged with us has shown in moving our meetings and events online.

The engagement we have set out is only the beginning. We see this strategy as a dynamic plan that we will refresh annually to reflect ongoing work in response to disabled people’s priorities. We welcome feedback on the areas we have prioritised and will take action now. In Part 2 we set out our ambition to step up our engagement with disabled people going forward.

Action across the UK

The UK, Welsh and Scottish governments, and the Northern Ireland Executive, share a strong commitment to supporting disabled people to enjoy the choice and control so vital to independent living.

The Equality Act 2010 applies in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 applies in Northern Ireland.

Each administration sets and pursues its ambitions, consistent with its devolution arrangements. For example, both the Welsh and Scottish governments have strategies and frameworks in place to increase equality for disabled people. The Northern Ireland Executive is in the process of developing a strategy specific to the needs of people in Northern Ireland.

Underlying the approaches of devolved administrations is the Social Model of Disability. The social model helps us recognise barriers that make life harder for disabled people. Removing these barriers creates equality and offers disabled people more independence, choice and control.

Many of the policy areas relevant to this strategy are devolved. Devolution recognises the value of such policies being tailored to the particular needs and wishes of the people in each part of the UK. As a result, different approaches have been taken on some issues, and that is to be expected.

But not all issues of importance to disabled people are devolved and decisions made by the UK government may affect the lives of disabled people across administrations.

This strategy reflects the experiences of disabled people across the UK. It recognises and celebrates the diversity of approaches being pursued and highlights good practice and initiatives of note in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. There is a huge opportunity to learn from each other. The UK government and the devolved administrations will continue to work across the UK to improve the lives of all disabled UK citizens.

Information is provided below about the key strategies in place in devolved administrations.

Northern Ireland Executive statement

The Northern Ireland Executive began work on a new Disability Strategy for Northern Ireland in September 2020. The strategy is being developed through co-design with involvement from disabled people and their representative organisations at all stages of the process. It will be outcomes-focused, rights-based and aligned with international obligations including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Grounded in evidence, it will target areas of greatest need.

Scottish Government statement

The Scottish Government plan, A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People, was published in 2016 as a delivery plan to 2021 for the UNCRPD. It was written with the direct involvement of disabled people and disabled people’s organisations. It was built around 5 longer-term ambitions and a set of 93 actions. These actions were steps toward equality in order for longer strides to be made in the future, knowing it will take time and commitment from all of Scotland to bring true equality for disabled people. We remain committed to achieving equality beyond the lifetime of this report. The final progress report was published earlier this year.

Scotland has a National Performance Framework, made up of indicators to give a measure of national wellbeing. They include a range of economic, social and environmental indicators. To monitor progress towards advancing equality for disabled people in 2019, and again in 2021, the Scottish Government published: Scotland’s Wellbeing: national outcomes for disabled people, an analysis of the National Performance Framework (NPF) outcome indicators from the perspective of disability. The NPF indicators have been used to measure how disabled people’s experiences of living in Scotland compares to non-disabled people’s experiences. The use of established data, monitored on an ongoing basis, is enabling the Scottish Government to track progress towards equality.

Welsh Government statement

The Welsh Government’s Framework – Action on Disability: The Right to Independent Living was launched by the former Deputy Minister and Chief Whip on 18 September 2019. Our Framework was developed with disabled people, disabled people’s organisations, service providers and other stakeholders, including many Welsh Government departments. The Framework is based on equality and human rights and sets out how we are fulfilling our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The Framework also highlights the role of key legislation including the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

Underpinning the whole Framework is the Social Model of Disability, which was adopted in 2002. The Framework is accompanied by an action plan to tackle some of the key barriers faced by disabled people including transport, employment, housing and access to buildings and places. For example, our Disabled People’s Employment Champions work with employers to effectively support disabled people into work. In March 2021, the Welsh Government commenced the Socio-economic Duty, another key lever to help achieve greater equality in Wales.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, work has been undertaken to look at necessary changes to the Action Plan. Through the Ministerial Disability Equality Forum, this culminated in a report by Professor Debbie Foster, entitled ‘Locked Out: Liberating Disabled People’s Lives and Rights in Wales Beyond COVID-19’. A taskforce will be convened to take forward actions arising from the report through consultation.

Executive summary

The vision: transforming disabled people’s everyday lives

Over 1 in 5 people in the UK are disabled. That is over 14 million of us. It is a number that continues to rise as people live longer and treatments and technology in healthcare improve.^{[footnote 3]} Disability matters to all of us.

This national strategy recognises and builds on the progress that has been made since the Disability Discrimination Act was introduced more than 25 years ago. There have been many improvements in services, access and opportunities for disabled people. The employment gap has narrowed. Levels of understanding and visibility have increased. And there have been profound changes in public attitudes towards disability, captured and catalysed by national moments such as the 2012 Paralympic Games.

Disabled people have told us that these positive changes in recent years, while welcome, are not enough. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our economy and society makes the case for concerted action all the more important. Disabled people have felt the impact more than most.^{[footnote 4]} Now is the time – as we build back fairer – to raise the level of our ambition.

Our vision is to transform the everyday lives of disabled people. This will not happen overnight. We know meaningful change to transform the physical and social environments across all sectors of society will require a sustained collaboration across government.

We want to level up opportunity at every stage of disabled people’s lives, as well as in all areas of disabled people’s lives. Disabled children should have the same opportunities to fulfil their potential as non-disabled children, and so should disabled young people. In this strategy, we outline targeted action to support disabled children in education, as well as broader action such as changing perceptions which will benefit disabled children as well as disabled adults.

We want to transform the lives of all disabled people. We include disabled people with visible and invisible disabilities. We include disabled people who do not identify as disabled. We include non-disabled people who might have been disabled in the past, or become disabled in the future.

This strategy sets out immediate actions we will take on the path towards our vision to transform disabled people’s everyday lives.

The lived experience: rooting the strategy in the everyday experience of disabled people

What does disability mean to me? The usual connotations - I find it harder to do certain things than others would. I see things differently. I don’t struggle. I have just spent my life finding efficient ways of getting round the challenges I’ve had.

(Beth)

Disabled people’s aspirations for their lives are no different from non-disabled people’s aspirations.

We all want to live fulfilling lives. We want to be safe and healthy. We want autonomy about where we live, how we live, and with whom we live. We want to go outside, meet other people, and go places. We want to easily access the support we need to live an independent life and to feel confident that we won’t lose it. We want to be able to participate in society, to be valued, to go to work.

However, disabled people’s everyday experience is very different from non-disabled people. Every day, many disabled people:

• wake up in a home that is not adapted to their needs
• rely on an unpredictable transport network to get out and about
• navigate inaccessible and inflexible workplaces or education settings
• face limited choice and additional expense when shopping around for goods and services
• use unresponsive and fragmented public services that do not meet their needs
• feel excluded from leisure opportunities and socialising
• find themselves barred from exercising rights such as voting and serving on a jury

The current evidence base on disability is incomplete and of variable quality,^{[footnote 5]} but nonetheless underlines the scale of the challenge in tackling the enduring barriers disabled people may face throughout their day.

While at home

Only 1 in 10 homes in England have at least one adaptation for disabled people.^{[footnote 6]}

When commuting

Just a quarter of train stations have step-free access between all platforms.^{[footnote 7]}

At work or in education

There remains more than a 28 percentage point gap in the employment rate of working age disabled people compared with working age non-disabled people,^{[footnote 8]} and while the proportion of disabled people with a degree has increased from 15.9% in 2013 to 2014 to 23.0% in 2019 to 2020, the gap between disabled people and non-disabled people has not narrowed.^{[footnote 9]}

When shopping or getting about

2 in 5 disabled people had experienced difficulties shopping around for products or services, with reported barriers including a lack of appropriate facilities (16%), difficulty using public transport (15%), and difficulty moving around premises (13%).^{[footnote 10]}

When accessing public services online

When tested in September 2020, the websites of nine of the 10 most populated English county councils did not meet accessibility standards.^{[footnote 11]}

In feeling connected to others

Disabled people are more than 3 times more likely than non-disabled people to often or always feel lonely, with wellbeing rates for disabled people consistently lower than for non-disabled people. Disabled people more often indicated that the impact of the pandemic had affected their well-being more than non-disabled people.^{[footnote 12]} The disparity in wellbeing and loneliness between disabled and non-disabled people has not improved since 2013 to 2014.^{[footnote 13]}

When it comes to basic rights like the right to be safe from harm, disabled people are disproportionately affected by crime. Disabled adults are more likely to be victims of crime (20.8%) than other adults (19.0%), and disabled children aged 10 to 15 (12.0%) are almost twice as likely to be victims of crime than other children (6.3%).^{[footnote 14]}

The 14,500 earlier respondents to the UK Disability Survey and the participants in our lived experience research told us a similar story to these statistics. Their experiences can be found throughout this strategy.

The action now: practical steps to improve disabled people’s everyday lives

Part 1 sets out immediate commitments we will make to improve every part of a disabled person’s day, from the moment someone gets up to the moment they go to bed.

These immediate steps will not, in and of themselves, lead to the transformative change we want to see in disabled people’s everyday lives, so we do not stop there.

The longer-term ambition: putting disabled people at the heart of the design and delivery of services

Part 2 sets out ambitious changes to how the government works with and for disabled people into the future. We commit to putting disabled people at the heart of government policy-making and service delivery – laying the foundations for longer term, transformative change.

We will ensure disability is well understood by UK government departments and that the needs and experiences of disabled people are central to policy-making and always taken into account by frontline staff.

We will work across government departments to embed the following elements, which underpin our future approach to disability:

• Ensure fairness and equality – we will empower disabled people by promoting fairness and equality of opportunities, outcomes and experiences, including work and access to products and services.
• Consider disability from the start – we will embed inclusive and accessible approaches and services to avoid creating disabling experiences from the outset.
• Support independent living – we will actively encourage initiatives that support all disabled people to have choice and control in life.
• Increase participation – we will enable greater inclusion of a diverse disabled population in the development and delivery of services, products and policies.
• Deliver joined up responses – we will work across organisational boundaries and improve data and evidence to better understand and respond to complex issues that affect disabled people.

These elements complement those of the UNCRPD.

The practical steps in Parts 1 and 2 will set us on the path towards our goal to transform disabled people’s lives. We do not pretend to have addressed all the issues disabled people have raised with us, nor do we pretend that transformation of our physical and social infrastructure will happen overnight.

This is a realistic and deliverable strategy that is rooted in the everyday experience of disabled people. It will not sit on a shelf. We will publish an annual report by summer 2022, and continue to drive action in the areas requiring sustained cross-government ambition. In 2021 to 2022 we plan to focus further action on:

• accessible products and services
• tackling crime against disabled people
• social participation

We have chosen these areas because disabled people have told us they have a major impact on their everyday lives, at every stage of life from childhood, through working age, to old age. They require concerted action from government and beyond, and longer term action is required to make a tangible difference.

The call to action: disability is everyone’s business

This strategy sets out how the government will play its part, but disabled people have told us that there is a need for action from wider society. Disabled people’s everyday experience is shaped by a wide range of actors. Individual citizens, charities, wider public services and businesses must all play their part in driving the transformative change we want to see.

This strategy is also a call to action across society. We set out the immediate steps we will take to encourage wider society to take action – for example, awareness raising campaigns to encourage individual behaviour change. We also outline how we will work with wider society in the future to drive longer term transformative change – for example, with business through appointing new Disability and Access Ambassadors.

We want to go beyond these initial steps. We want to work with disabled people, businesses, charities, local authorities and wider society to build a national conversation about disability and a movement for change. Disabled people will be at the centre of these efforts.

You can sign up for regular updates on the work outlined in this strategy and how you can take part through the Disability Unit’s GOV.UK page or email us directly at [email protected].

The accountability: ensuring cross-departmental action

There is clearly huge breadth to the challenges that disabled people experience every day. Responsibility for tackling these challenges spans many different government departments.

Part 3 summarises clearly the actions each government department will take as part of this strategy to improve disabled people’s everyday lives. This section makes clear which department is responsible for which commitment. Each department commits to play their part, with ministerial champions setting out how they will personally drive progress.

We will maintain momentum and hold ourselves to account by publishing an annual report that will update on progress against objectives.

To advance the objectives of the strategy, individual departments are setting out their plans in a number of the areas that disabled people have told us are key to improving their quality of life. These include:

• the Health and Disability Green Paper Shaping Future Support, led by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), setting out proposals to make the disability benefits system easier to access and navigate
• the Government response to the Health is Everyone’s Business consultation (DWP and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC)
• the Department for Education’s (DfE) publication of the findings of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Review and DHSC’s refreshed Autism Strategy

We know from the UK Disability Survey and our lived experience research that social care is a hugely important area of support to many disabled people, and we have also heard it needs reform.

This strategy does not ignore the need for social care reform, which will be led by DHSC with proposals published later this year. We present what we have heard about the importance of this support to many disabled people and point to longer term reform efforts, led by DHSC, throughout this strategy.

Acknowledgements

We would like to recognise and thank the huge number of organisations and individuals who have provided us with views and lived experience during the development of this strategy.

This includes the over 16,500 disabled people, parents and carers who completed the UK Disability Survey, the 11 participants in our lived experience research, and the hundreds of organisations and disabled people who have spoken to us as part of our regular stakeholder forums, roundtable discussions and workshops.

Responsibility for the content of this strategy rests solely with government, but we want to thank the organisations below who have so generously shared their time and insights.

• Ability Net
• Activity Alliance
• Andrew Miller MBE, previously Disability and Access Ambassador for Arts and Culture
• Andrew Roach Talent Ltd
• Asif Iqbal MBE, Deaf Parenting UK
• ATLAS
• Autistica
• Barclays
• British Association for Supported Employment
• British Association of Social Workers (BASW)
• Business Disability Forum
• Campaign to End Loneliness
• Care and Repair England
• Centre for Social Justice
• Claire Dove CBE, Crown Representative VCSE
• Contact
• Disabled Children’s Partnership
• Disabled Motoring UK
• Dominic Abrams, Kent University
• Dr Heather Smith, Disability and Access Ambassador for Countryside and Heritage
• East Midlands RSN
• East of England RSN
• Education Endowment Fund
• Equality and Human Rights Commission
• Family Fund
• Getting Things Changed Project, University of Bristol
• Good Things Foundation
• Greater London RSN
• Johnny Timpson, previously Disability and Access Ambassador for the Insurance Industry
• Leonard Cheshire
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• Macular Society
• Manchester Metropolitan University
• Mark Priestley, University of Leeds
• Mencap
• Microsoft
• Mike Adams OBE, Purple
• Mind
• MS Society
• National Autistic Society
• National Citizen Service
• National Development Team for Inclusion
• National Network of Parent Carer Forums
• NATSPEC
• NATSPEC Student Parliament
• Netflix
• Newbold Hope
• North East RSN
• North West RSN
• Northern Housing Consortium
• Office for Rail Regulation (ORR)
• Onward
• Policy Connect
• Professor Kim Hoque, Warwick Business School
• Professor Nicolas Bacon, University of London
• Professor Helen Lawton Smith, Birkbeck, University of London
• Professor Brian Lamb, Derby University
• Professor Melanie Jones, Cardiff Business School
• Rehabilitation Officer for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People
• Respond
• RNID
• Royal Association for Deaf people (RAD)
• Royal College for Speech and Language Therapy
• Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
• Sainsbury’s
• Scope
• Sense
• Shared Lives Plus
• South East RSN
• South West RSN
• Sport England
• Start Change
• Stephen Brookes MBE, previously Disability and Access Ambassador for the Rail Industry
• TechUK
• The Careers and Enterprise Company
• The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
• The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS)
• The National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF)
• Thomas Pocklington Trust
• Tina Emery and Mrunal Sisodia OBE
• UCL
• UK Sport
• UNLtd
• Versus Arthritis
• VODG (Voluntary Organisations Disability Group)
• West Midlands RSN
• Whizz Kidz
• Working Together With Parents Network
• Yorkshire and the Humber RSN

1. The Equality Act 2010 defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ effect on their ability to do normal day to day activities ↩

2. Policy Lab is a part of the Civil Service that helps departments to design services around people’s experience, using data analytics and new digital tools. ↩

3. Family Resources Survey: financial year 2019 to 2020: DWP ↩

4. Outcomes for disabled people, UK: 2020; Updated estimates of coronavirus (COVID-19) related deaths by disability status, England ↩

5. ONS equalities data audit ↩

6. English Housing Survey 2018 to 2019: Accessibility of English Homes ↩

7. DfT estimate, based on information from Rail Delivery Group ↩

8. Labour market status of disabled people,ONS, January to March data, published May 2021 ↩

9. Dataset: Disability and education ↩

10. Disabled People’s Access to Goods and Services 2010 (Ipsos MORI) ↩

11. Tests reveal biggest councils failing on legal web accessibility duty 2020 (Scope) ↩

12. ONS Coronavirus and the social impacts on disabled people in Great Britain: February 2021 ↩

13. Outcomes for disabled people, UK: 2020 ↩

14. Crime in England and Wales: Annual Trend and Demographic Tables ↩