In September 2012 the Government announced the formation of a new disability action alliance to help respond to the ideas put forward by disabled people, academics and their organisations on living fulfilling lives.
Convened by Disability Rights UK and supported by the Office for Disability Issues, the alliance will consider thousands of suggestions put forward by disabled people in 2012 as part of the ‘Fulfilling Potential’ discussion.
In September the Disabled People Esther McVey said:
‘The ‘Fulfilling Potential, the Discussions So Far’, summarises the issues raised, and shows how actions are already being taken across Government to address many of the issues.We have also published ‘Fulfilling Potential, Next Steps’ which sets out the vision and principles; outlines further public sector reforms; and announces a new disability action alliance, involving organisations from across the private, public and voluntary and community sectors.’
In February 2013 the Government published ‘Fulfilling Potential: Building a deeper understanding of disability in the UK today’.
The aims of ‘Fulfilling Potential: Building Understanding’ are:
to provide an analysis of the current evidence on disability in the UK to inform the development of the next stage of work on Fulfilling Potential using analysis from the new ONS 2012 Opinions Survey and working with academics and DPO’s– the development of actions, outcomes and indicators.to inform public understanding and prompt debate about disability and the issues faced by disabled people and how they contribute to society and there spending power. Disabled people still find it difficult to access a lot of public services.to raise awareness, drive a change in attitudes and support an increase in commitment to improving the lives of disabled people in the UK today especially around hate crime or harassment, disabled children’s involvement in the mainstream, increasing employment opportunities, access to transport and goods and services.
The main document is structured in two parts:
- Part 1 provides analysis of the number of disabled people in the UK as well as looking at the way disability develops over the life course and at the fluctuating nature of disability.
- Part 2 focuses on the lives of disabled people by looking at trends in outcomes and barriers to taking part in different areas of life.
The evidence is structured around the Fulfilling Potential: Next Steps themes of early intervention; choice and control and inclusive communities.
The main document summarises the analytical evidence on disability. It does not make policy recommendations but the evidence presented here will inform the work of the Disability Action Alliance and the development of government policy on disability.
Later in 2013 actions, outcomes and opinions will be released and how they can be monitored. This will include actions from the alliance and steps to ensure a strong legacy for disabled people from the Olympics and Paralympics.
The evidence base will also be further developed, including further analysis of barriers and choice and control. Using future waves of the Life Opportunities Survey to further analyse the fluctuating nature of the disabled population including onset and offset of impairment. Looking in depth at attitudes and perceptions; and exploring lessons from international comparisons.
As well as the main document there is also a summary version. The summary version is available in Easy Read and BSL u tube clip. Both the main document and the summary are available in Rich Text Format. Click here, to access these documents.