Queen's Speech December 2019 - National disability strategy

National disability strategy

• ●  We want to transform the lives of disabled people, ensuring they have access to opportunities and are able to achieve their potential. We will publish a National Strategy for Disabled People in 2020 to ensure disabled people can lead a life of opportunity and fulfilment. Our strategy will be ambitious, supporting disabled people in all aspects and phases of their life.

• ●  The strategy will set out practical proposals on the issues that matter most to disabled people and we will use all the levers of Government to support disabled people to achieve their potential.

• ●  The strategy, to be developed with disabled people, disability organisations and charities, will include housing, education & transport.

• ●  The benefits aspects of the National Disability Strategy will be considered in a Green Paper, and will consider how we can ensure the benefits system and wider DWP support can best help disabled people.

• ●  The consultation “health is everyone’s business” will set out measures to encourage employers to play their role in retaining disabled people and people with health conditions in the workplace. We will be bringing forward detailed proposals later next year in light of the consultation feedback.

• ●  We will reduce the disability employment gap. We have always been clear that no single measure can capture everything that we want to achieve and we will continue to monitor improvements in the employment rate gap and other measures alongside the existing goal to see an increase of 1 million disabled people in work between 2017 and 2027.

• ●  We are introducing a minimum award length for the Personal Independence Payment because we know that the assessment process can be burdensome for some disabled people and we want the benefit system to work better for those it supports. We will ensure no one will be reassessed for at least 18 months from their last review, unless they tell us their needs have changed. This will provide greater certainty for those in receipt of PIP.

• ●  We will end unfair hospital car parking charges by making parking free for those in greatest need, including disabled people. We will make it easier for people with learning disabilities and autism to be discharged from hospital and improve how they are treated in law as well as legislating so that patients suffering from mental health conditions, including anxiety or depression, have greater control over their treatment and receive the dignity and respect they deserve.

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Key facts:

• ●  Over the past six years, we have seen 1.3 million more disabled people in work. The employment rate gap between disabled and non-disabled people has narrowed by 5.6 percentage points over the same period. However, the disability employment gap remains large at 28.6 per cent.

• ●  The Government is spending over £55 billion this year on benefits to support disabled people and those with health conditions.

• ●  This is around 2.5 per cent of GDP, and over 6 per cent of Government spending.

• ●  This year (2019-20) spending on the main disability benefits – PIP, DLA and Attendance Allowance – will be £6 billion higher in real terms than in 2010.