Disability in the United Kingdom
Disability in the United Kingdom covers a wide range of conditions and experiences, deeply impacting the lives of millions of people.
Defined by the Equality Act 2010 as a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, it encompasses various aspects of life, including demographics, legislation, healthcare, employment, and culture.
Despite numerous advancements in policy and social attitudes, individuals with disabilities often encounter unique challenges and disparities.
Businesses must make "reasonable adjustments" to their policies or practices, or physical aspects of their premises, to avoid indirect discrimination.
This act still protects disabled people against discrimination but also encompasses a number of other characteristics including age, gender reassignment, marriage, pregnancy, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation.
A DWP spokesperson said the survey results do not necessarily indicate an increase in the number of reports, but rather reflecting the outcomes of efforts to encourage people to come forward.
Some services required by disabled people do not fall clearly into either category, and are subject to local rationing decisions.
Wheelchairs both manual and electric are supplied and maintained free of charge for disabled people whose need for such a chair is permanent.
[8] The specific criteria of eligibility are decided locally by clinical commissioning groups in England and health boards in Wales.
The British Medical Association's annual meeting in 2017 unanimously passed a motion calling for wheelchair users to have "timely access to chairs suitable for their individual conditions".
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, which runs community services in the area, complained that these proposals were "incredibly damaging", contrary to national policy, robust evidence, and professional opinion..."[17] Disability rights has a long and varied history in the UK, ranging from the establishment of the Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation in the 1970s to more recent cutbacks of social security benefits and consequent protests.
The UK was an early adopter of anti-discrimination legislation in 1995 and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009.
[18] The organised disability rights movement in the UK can trace its roots back to the establishment of the Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation in the early 1970s.
[19] Disabled people disputing benefit claims are usually denied legal aid forcing them to deal with complex and distressing cases without help.
Sanctions are likely to cause unnecessary stress, pushing the very people that the government aims to support into work further away from the jobs market.
[28]: 16 This is in spite of The Equality Act 2010 requiring employers to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person so they are not at a "substantial disadvantage".
In 2005 eighty organisations took part in the Disability Standard benchmark providing the first statistics highlighting the UK's performance as a nation of employers.
Following the success of the first benchmark Disability Standard 2007 saw the introduction of the Chief Executives' Diamond Awards for outstanding performance and 116 organisations taking the opportunity to compare trends across a large group of UK employers and monitor the progress they had made on disability.
[39][40] In 2012 the BDF had a number of initiatives to assist businesses in meeting and including the needs of disabled customers and employees.
[42] Research published in 2002 found that many disabled people are not familiar with the rules regarding self-employed work.
[42] Self-employment is also sometimes the only option for some disabled people who may require flexible working patterns as a result of their impairment.
