On International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December) the
government is announcing that it will be recruiting 6 new
disability champions to help tackle the issues disabled people face
as consumers.
The champions will use their influential status as leaders in
their industries to promote the benefits of being inclusive to
disabled people across 6 new areas: fashion, technology,
countryside and heritage, website accessibility, food and drink
and product design.
Poor access can restrict many areas of disabled people’s lives,
from online shopping to enjoying the country’s natural beauty.
The new champions will join the existing 14 champions who are
already driving improvements to the accessibility of services and
facilities in a range of sectors, including banking, music and
tourism.
Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work said:
There are nearly 14 million disabled people living in the UK.
By showing other businesses the importance of making disabled
customers a priority, our new champions will ensure disabled
people aren’t missing out on experiences and services which
many take for granted.
The existing champions have already made significant progress in
breaking down the barriers faced by disabled consumers.
The music champion Suzanne Bull has launched a new industry
taskforce aimed at improving the experience for deaf and disabled
customers when booking tickets for live music events.
Johnny is the disability champion for the
insurance industry and Industry Affairs Manager at Scottish
Widows. He is bringing together representatives from the
insurance industry, regulatory bodies and charities for the first
time to look at how to make the industry more transparent and
inclusive.
Insurance Champion Johnny Timpson said:
Walking the talk on diversity is essential for the insurance
sector, and my champion role enables me to work with the
industry to improve access to affordable insurance for disabled
consumers.
Becoming a champion has allowed me to bring key players to the
table to agree on a clear set of actions for making the
insurance industry more inclusive.
The disability champions are just one of the ways the government
is ensuring that disabled people can participate fully in
society. A whole range of support is on offer to support those
disabled people who want to work to find a job that is right for
them.
Applications from disabled people are particularly welcome, but
it is not essential to have a lived experience of disability.
The 14 existing disability champions are:
- advertising - Sam Phillips, CMO at Omnicom Media Group
- airports - Michael Connolly, Regional Training and Standards
Manager at OCS Ltd
- arts and culture - , National Council Member
for the Arts Council England and the Arts Council of Wales
- banking - Trudie Hills, Disability Manager, Lloyds Bank
- buses - Jane Cole, Managing Director at Blackpool Transport
Services
- gaming - Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO of UKIE
- hotels - Robin Sheppard, Chairman of Bespoke Hotels
- insurance - Johnny Timpson, Financial Protection Technical
& Industry Affairs Manager, Scottish Widows
- leisure - , Public Affairs Director
at UKActive
- media - Dan Brooke, Chief Marketing & Communications
Officer at Channel 4
- music - Suzanne Bull MBE, CEO of Attitude is Everything
- rail - Stephen Brookes OBE, Member of Rail Delivery Group’s
governance group and Non-Executive Director of Blackpool
Transport
- retail - Samantha Sen, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Revo
(Interim)
- tourism - Chris Veitch, co-founder of Access New Business
