Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
First Report - The National Disability Strategy
Women and Equalities Committee
HC 34
Published 6 December 2023
Recommendations
2
Accepted in Part
Develop a ten-year National Disability Strategy with disabled people, including clear targets.
Recommendation
The Government should develop the National Disability Strategy beyond the short- term actions already in progress. To support this approach, it should work with disabled people to develop a ten-year strategy with an action plan for the first five years …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government commits to delivering a long-term vision for the National Disability Strategy and has a new Disability Action Plan for immediate actions in 2024. However, it explicitly rejects the recommendation for the Disability Unit to have final say or power to challenge other departments, and does not commit to the requested ten-year strategy with five-year targets and timescales.
Government Equalities Office
View Details →
4
Accepted
Para 27
Improve government engagement with disabled groups, listening and acting on their input.
Recommendation
Disabled people and groups continue to feel excluded from having meaningful input into policies directly affecting them. This suggests the Government has not learnt lessons from the concerns raised over the development of the National Disability Strategy and that its …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states that its existing stakeholder engagement framework, which includes regular meetings with disabled people's organizations, regional networks, and charities, already ensures meaningful input from the disability sector, effectively addressing the recommendation.
Government Equalities Office
View Details →
5
Accepted
Establish a national advisory group to review and advise on disability policy.
Recommendation
The Government should immediately establish a national advisory group bringing together the DPO Forum England and the chairs of Regional Stakeholder Networks. The advisory group’s remit should include reviewing all government policy proposals targeted towards people with disabilities; advising ministers …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation to establish a new national advisory group, stating that its existing stakeholder engagement framework, which includes regular meetings with DPO Forum England and Regional Stakeholder Network chairs, already effectively replicates the proposed group's remit.
Government Equalities Office
View Details →
6
Accepted
Provide specific details on improving the disability evidence base and lived experiences.
Recommendation
The Disability Unit, in its response to this Report, should provide specific details on the steps it is taking to improve the evidence base on disability, including on disabled people’s lived experiences and the intersection with other protected characteristics. (Paragraph …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation and details specific steps the Disability Unit is taking to improve the evidence base on disability, including conducting research, collaborating with other departments to improve data quality, and building a case for a new national disability survey.
Government Equalities Office
View Details →
8
Accepted
Update Parliament and stakeholders on National Disability Strategy outstanding action timescales.
Recommendation
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work should immediately update Parliament and disability stakeholders with specific timescales for delivery on all outstanding actions in the National Disability Strategy. (Paragraph 39) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states that the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work already provided a full update to Parliament on 18 September 2023 regarding progress on the Strategy and outstanding commitments, and will publish further updates.
Government Equalities Office
View Details →
9
Accepted in Part
Require Government to explain UN CRPD non-attendance and outline steps to meet 2016 recommendations.
Recommendation
That the Government failed to engage with the CRPD process earlier this year is disrespectful to the UN Committee and disabled people. It sends the wrong message, both nationally and internationally, about the UK’s commitment to upholding the rights of …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government explains its reasons for not attending the August 2023 UN Committee meeting, stating it will participate in March 2024. It commits to improving understanding of the UNCRPD across government through the Disability Unit's work as part of the Disability Action Plan, and will outline further progress on 2016 recommendations in March.
Government Equalities Office
View Details →
10
Acknowledged
Para 44
Engage disabled people meaningfully to develop the National Disability Strategy into a long-term plan.
Recommendation
The National Disability Strategy is a positive step towards ensuring equality for disabled people. The Government now has an opportunity to put it fully into action. However, it needs to listen to the concerns that disabled people and their The …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The Government acknowledges the Committee's inquiry and highlights its views on disabled people's influence, stakeholder engagement, and commitment to the UNCRPD; it states its commitment to the Strategy and the Disability Action Plan.
Government Equalities Office
View Details →
Conclusions (4)
1
Conclusion
Rejected
Disabled people and their representative organisations told us they have had little to no influence over the National Disability Strategy. The result is a disability strategy in name only: a list consisting mainly of pre-existing departmental actions with minimal strategic thinking behind how those actions interact. Only a strategy which …
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the conclusion that disabled people had little influence over the National Disability Strategy, providing extensive details of meetings, consultations, surveys, and qualitative research undertaken with various disabled people's organizations and charities during its development.
3
Conclusion
Rejected
Para 19
The Government claimed to have carried out “the biggest listening exercise with disabled people in recent history” to inform the National Disability Strategy. We disagree. Rather than being listened to, many disabled people and their representative organisations felt excluded from the engagement process. The Government then chose to ignore their …
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the committee's conclusion by detailing the extensive engagement undertaken to develop the National Disability Strategy, including numerous meetings with various disability organisations, roundtables, and the UK Disability Survey.
7
Conclusion
Not Addressed
The act of appealing the High Court’s judgment on the lawfulness of the National Disability Strategy created many months of uncertainty and frustration for disabled people and their representative organisations. It was unclear why the Government chose to pause 14 policies in the strategy while allowing a hundred others to …
Government Response Summary
The government defends its decision to appeal the High Court judgment and its handling of the National Disability Strategy during that period, stating the appeal was successful and most policies continued. It does not address the committee's observation about needing a system for monitoring and updating stakeholders.
11
Conclusion
Acknowledged
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 …
Government Response Summary
The Government is grateful to the Committee for their inquiry into the National Disability Strategy (the Strategy). They highlight the Committee’s views on: how far disabled people influenced the development of the Strategy, the Government’s engagement with stakeholders on disability policy-making and the Government’s commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The actions set out in the Strategy demonstrate the Government’s commitment to implementing the UNCRPD through its legislation, policies and services and they remain committed to fulfilling the commitments made in the Strategy.