Recommendation 18

The way the Government has communicated with disabled people has, on occasions, caused confusion and compounded already keenly felt anxiety. The chosen method and timing of communications with people categorised as clinically extremely vulnerable, and therefore likely to be living under very considerable stress, has sometimes been poorly thought out, with insufficient consideration given to the psychological effects on recipients and their families. We recommend Ministers and officials involved in communicating public health messages to disabled people should undergo training in psychologically informed communications which take fully into account and empathise with disabled people’s lived experience.