These visits helped me gauge opinion on current priorities and where we need to focus efforts in the future to reach our goal of equality by 2025.

I heard a lot of positive comments – particularly about Access to Work (AtW), which supports disabled people in the workplace – and was pleased that much of the support we have put in place is reaching the right people. The visits also gave me the opportunity to explain more about Right to Control and hear more views about the way disabled people use the funding they receive.

I was fortunate to visit a variety of organisations: these included Disability Cornwall, who showed me a ’Sand Chair’ scheme in Newquay which enables wheelchair users to access the beach; the Calvert Trust in Devon, which offers activity holidays for families with disabled members; and the Foxes Hotel and Training Academy, which trains young people with learning disabilities in the catering trade.

I spoke to disabled university students and graduates in Wales about the support available while studying and through Jobcentre Plus when applying for first jobs. I also visited the Bridging the Gap project run by Scope, which develops volunteering opportunities for older and disabled people from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities to prepare for work, and the Plas Newydd Tearooms – run by mental health charity Mind with employees and volunteers with mental health conditions.

I visited the Blackpool Centre for Independent Living; the CHANGE organisation in Leeds, which employs people with learning disabilities; and a pilot project in Newcastle testing greater choice and control in AtW budgets. I went to an Open Day in Ashington promoting high quality goods manufactured by Remploy for local businesses.

My week of visits ended in Scotland where I held discussions with various organisations about issues affecting disabled people across the country. I visited Working Health Services Lothian, which provides specialist healthcare services to enable people to stay in or return to work. In Edinburgh I met representatives of the Capital City Partnership, which works to promote social inclusion, and visited two of the organisations they work with: one providing education and employment preparation to some of the most excluded people in society, the other providing employment support primarily for those with acquired brain injuries or autism.

These visits are only a small part of the way we include disabled people in our work, and it is vital that we continue to involve disabled people when we make decisions, so that our policies and services meet the needs of those they will affect. I wish to thank all of the organisations that went to so much effort to make the meetings interesting and valuable. I expected a good exchange of views, which is exactly what I got!

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The Special Olympics provides a fantastic opportunity to showcase the talents of people with learning disabilities, and challenge preconceptions about the capabilities of disabled people.

People with learning disabilities are among the most socially excluded in the UK and it is vital we use major events like the Special Olympics to tackle these issues.

The Special Olympics is open to all people with learning disabilities and a number of gold medals are awarded in each sport. It provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with learning disabilities. This gives athletes the opportunity to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and share friendships with other athletes and the wider community.

Special Olympics Great Britain currently provides a free sports programme to more than 8,000 children and adults across Great Britain through 135 clubs. Athletes in Britain can develop skills and further independence by volunteering as coaches in Britain, with Special Olympics GB. Directgov was proud to sponsor the athletics event at the Special Olympics.

The Special Olympics is, of course, distinct from the Paralympic Games, which provides elite level sports competition every four years.

London 2012 will provide a wonderful opportunity to drive a real change in society’s perceptions of disabled people.

Although entering people with learning disabilities into the Paralympics is a decision for the International Paralympics Association, the Government fully supports the efforts to see athletes with learning disabilities competing once again in the Paralympics.

It is encouraging that the International Paralympic Committee envisages having systems in place to enable athletes with learning disabilities to participate in London 2012.

I have been impressed by programmes that raise the awareness of learning disability more widely, such as the Healthy Athletes programme at the World Winter Games in Idaho. People with learning disabilities were visibly involved at the World Winter Games, not only as athletes, but as performers and presenters at the Opening Ceremony, and behind the scenes as volunteers.

It is important that we learn from all these successful programmes and opportunities to raise the awareness of disabilities on a global scale in 2012.

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Having never skied before myself, seeing our athletes at the recent Special Olympics World Winter Games hurtle down what appeared to me to be the most frightening ski runs was truly impressive! The confidence and ability of these skiers, who adapted easily to the slopes of Idaho was inspiring. It was with joy and high spirits I supported our skiers at this year’s event while leading them in the opening procession was a very proud moment. I’d like to congratulate them on their 13 medals as well as voice my praise for their coaches and staff, many of whom were volunteers.

It is my firm belief that everyone should have the opportunity to participate in sports, at all levels. I praise the work of my colleagues at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the many sporting organisations throughout the country, who are working to achieve inclusion for disabled people in sporting activities in the run up to 2012. Ensuring disabled people have greater access to leisure opportunities, including sport, is important so that they are able to enjoy independent lives. In fact, one of the aims of our five-year Independent Living Strategy – launched in March 2008 – was to increase choice and control, and promote greater access to housing, transport, health, employment and leisure opportunities for all disabled people.

I am particularly keen, as Minister for Disabled People, to see the profile of disability sport raised in this country and that the efforts and achievements of all our athletes are recognised and celebrated. The more we promote disability sport, the more disabled people will be inspired to take up sport – and that could include the Paralympic and Special Olympic athletes and champions of tomorrow. It can change social perceptions of disability too, by showing how disabled people are more than able to participate in the same activities as non-disabled people.

While representing the UK in Idaho to champion the participation of disabled people in sport, I was privileged enough to take part in a discussion with young people – both disabled and non-disabled from across the globe – on promoting awareness and understanding of disability issues. They were interested to hear more about new UK initiatives including Playground to Podium, which will work with more than 22,500 young disabled people, and 2,000 disabled adults, during the next four years – widening the talent pool at the base of Paralympic sports.

It’s exciting times for us in the run up to 2012 and I, like most, am looking forward to watching all our athletes take part. In the meantime I will carry on my work to ensure disabled athletes receive just as much attention as their non-disabled counterparts when competing for their country.

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One of my priorities for 2009 will be to focus on hate crime. As Minister for Disabled People I am appalled to hear that hostility and prejudice can be a common occurrence for many disabled people, which can then escalate into a crime against the person.

We have all read cases in the media where disabled people have been seriously injured or even killed; although such cases are extremely rare, just one incident is one too many. What we don’t hear about is the abuse – both physical and verbal – that many disabled people have to deal with as part of their daily lives. Whether on the bus, or in the shops, or simply trying to go to and from their homes, abuse and the fear of violence can be a constant, unwanted companion.

As yet, there are very few statistics to tell us what we are dealing with. In fact this year was the first time that information on disability incidents was captured by the Crown Prosecution Service. Earlier this year the Home Office agreed to change the British Crime Survey so that all respondents who have been assaulted are asked if the incident was aggravated by hate, and if so, what sort – vital if we are to know the extent of the problem. In the meantime I welcome reports by organisations – such as Scope, the UK Disabled People’s Council (UKDPC) and Mind – and thank them for highlighting the issue and putting it on the disability agenda.

Sometimes even the way disabled people are spoken about can perpetuate prejudice. Using words such as “vulnerable” can single people out. We do know that the overwhelming majority of individuals and organisations do not intentionally go out of their way to discriminate against disabled people. Most of the time it’s because people are fearful or ill-informed about issues around disability. Through disability awareness workshops and training we can replace fear with understanding. This in turn improves attitudes to recognising and valuing difference.

Change must come from all corners of society, whether it be by tackling bullying as soon as it starts or working with employers to change their perceptions of employing disabled people. Together, we must aim to eradicate disability hate crime and make our society a fairer, better informed and more accepting place to live. I will have more to say on the subject over the coming months and look forward to the debate.

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The last few months have been busy as we continue work on our Welfare Reform Bill, setting out our vision for how we want to transform the lives of disabled people.

These reforms are about improving individuals’ lives: about what more the welfare state can do to offer each person the support they need to move away from a life on benefits.  I believe that for the many disabled people I’ve met, work is the path to that better life – our reforms will give each person help to overcome their own barriers to work, achieve their goals and ambitions and get a better life for themselves and their families.

As part of the Welfare Reform Bill, we made the important decision to offer severely visually impaired people the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance from 2011.  This additional money will support over 20,000 severely visually impaired people with additional mobility costs, allowing them greater freedom to get out and about either socially or to find work – transforming their lives. The Government has always been supportive of this change so I am delighted that we have been able to include it in our Welfare Reform Bill.  Organisations, such as RNIB, have been working closely with the Government to make this possible so I’d like to thank them all for their support.

Many of you will be pleased to know that March saw the beginning of the Parliamentary processes for ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People, and that in February we signed the Optional Protocol. As Minister for Disabled People, I am particularly proud of the progress the Government has made towards ratification over the last few months and I hope that our work on the Convention will be seen to reinforce our commitment to achieving equality for disabled people by 2025.   I know there has been much debate on whether there should be ratification of the Convention without reservations.  However, I am of the firm view that this would simply delay the process further.  We have to ratify as soon as we are able in order to send out the very strong and clear message that the Convention contains – and which the Government fully supports – that disabled people have, and should be able to enjoy, the same human rights as anyone else. I look forward to bringing you news of ratification as soon as possible.

These initiatives demonstrate important steps forward for the Government and offer help and support to disabled people across the UK. I look forward to updating you all on disability issues again soon

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Recently the Government pledged £5 billion helping jobseekers during the economic downturn.

This includes creating jobs for young people and those in the hardest hit communities, delivering training and skills, and providing 16,000 extra frontline staff in Jobcentres across the country. The Government is determined to meet the biggest challenge facing communities – unemployment.

I personally want to ensure, as Minister for Disabled People, that disabled people do not get left behind. We will continue to act, to support disabled people, their families, communities and the economy through the downturn to prevent long-term unemployment.

The Government wants to make sure every disabled person gets the help and support they need to overcome their barriers to work, fulfil their potential and build a better life for themselves and their families.

Our welfare reforms will provide the type of personalised help, which is flexible and sensitive to disabled people. We recently announced the pilots for the Personal Employment Programme to help those not yet ready or able to work get the skills or advice they need to prepare for employment in future. People will be able to access a variety of back to work support, whilst still being able to benefit from any specialist support that they need. For example, someone with a mental health illness affected by anxiety will be able to access specialist support to help them manage that condition.

Phil Hope, Minister for Care Services, and I recently announced 400 employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities across the DWP, including in Jobcentre Plus. We have pledged to get as many as possible into jobs where they are working at least 16 hours per week in order to close the gap between the employment rate of people with learning disabilities and that of disabled people generally.

A fairer more equal society; this encompasses everything the Government is trying to achieve in its vision to radically reform the welfare system, reflecting our aims to see virtually every disabled person in work, with the personal help they need to get there.  When times are tough, it is more important than ever that we provide people with the extra help they need.  People in control of their lives. A fairer and more equal society.  I look forward to updating you on how we are progressing with these new initiatives.

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