Response to Fulfilling potential: making it happen

Wed,3 July 2013
News

FULFILLING POTENTIAL – MAKING IT REALLY HAPPEN FOR DISABLED PEOPLE

Disability Rights UK welcomes the publication today of a set of outcomes and indicators to measure progress in disabled people’s opportunities, to ensure we as disabled people can achieve our aspirations and play a full role in society.  The detailed Action Plan contains many challenges which if they can be overcome, will contribute to enhancing the quality of life for disabled people. 

We are pleased to see that the Outcomes and Indicators Framework includes vital areas such as education, employment, income and inclusive communities. We believe this will be the real test of how much progress is being made for example whether the employment rate gap between disabled people and non disabled people is really narrowing or whether the gap between the proportion of disabled people and non disabled people who believe that they frequently have choice and control over their lives is really closing.  For real progress to be made it is essential that all government departments are subjected to a key test: will they help close these gaps of inequality? Will they mean disabled people have greater opportunities and freedoms?

Chief Executive of Disability Rights UK Liz Sayce says: “We have received thousands of calls from disabled people who report that they are finding their lives increasingly difficult as they try to cope with the effects of welfare reform, cuts in personal budgets, and the lack of opportunities to get into work and to get on in work.  According to DWP’s own figures (Response to FoI request from Disability news Service) the number of disabled people in ‘absolute’ poverty rose during 2011/2012.  It is good to measure progress and to have aspirations for increasing equality but the Government needs to ensure that all its policies are pushing in the same direction – not taking us one step forward and two steps back.”

To download Fulfilling Potential: Making it happen go to http://odi.dwp.gov.uk/fulfilling-potential/index.php

For more about Fulfilling Potential go to disabilityrightsuk.org/office-disability-issues-march-2012-fulfilling-potential-working-together-empower-disabled-people