UK Government has released a press release announcing launch of National Disability Strategy on July 30, 2021.
Key features of the strategy are:
- National Disability Strategy aims to improve the life of disabled people by providing them equal job opportunities.
- The Strategy seeks to provide more accessible housing and easier commuting as well. £300m investment have been declared in support for children with special educational needs and disabilities in schools and an online work passport to help disabled students move effortlessly from education to work.
- The Strategy also plans to consult on disability workforce reporting for businesses with more than 250 staff.
- The strategy also seeks to improve inclusion of disabled people in the workplace by tackling the disability employment gap. It has also set out commitments supported by £1.6 billion of funding alongside an ambitious agenda for future reform.
- The Strategy will launch a new online advice hub available to both disabled people and employers, which provides information and advice on disability discrimination in the workplace, flexible working and rights and obligations around reasonable adjustments.
- The strategy outlines new technology making rail journeys easier and more accessible by providing various measures such as enabling disabled passengers to contact staff from their seat on the train with the new support in place by end of March 2022, with DFT supporting innovative projects that will improve communication for disabled passengers and others with reduced mobility on rail services. Projects will be supported with between £50k and £400k and will use new technology to make using the railways easier and more accessible.
- The strategy builds on the Disability Discrimination Act which enshrined protections for disabled people when it comes to employment, transport, education and provision of goods and services.
*Tanvi Singh, Editorial Assistant has reported this brief.