Select committee: Women and Equalities Committee
Conclusion 11
First Report - The National Disability Strategy
Published 6 Dec 2023
Paragraph 45
Addressed to Government Equalities Office
Women and Equalities Committee National Disability Strategy All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The findings from our inquiry are split into three parts. This report looked at the extent to which disabled people had the opportunity to influence the National Disability Strategy. It focused on the Government’s engagement with stakeholders on disability policymaking. A further two reports will separately examine the inequalities that people with learning disabilities and autism face and disabled people’s access to products and services.
From: Women and Equalities Committee, First Report - The National Disability Strategy (HC 34), paragraph 45, 6 December 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 6 March 2024.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it remains committed to the National Disability Strategy and the Disability Action Plan, and does not take up the Committee's recommendations to give the Disability Unit the final say on disability policy or to create a new national advisory group.
- On a longer-term strategy, the government says it is "fully committed to delivering the long-term vision in the Strategy" and points to the Disability Action Plan, which sets out immediate actions for 2024.
- On the Disability Unit's role, it says it "would not be appropriate for the DU to have the final say on all disability policy", describing this as a shared responsibility across departments.
- On a national advisory group, it says the recommendation "would effectively replicate the DU's existing stakeholder engagement framework", and describes the existing framework.
- On updating Parliament, it says it "will publish further updates" on the Strategy's commitments alongside its planned report on the Disability Action Plan. On the UN Committee, it says it agreed to take part in a dialogue in March 2024.