On The Road

In September I spent a week visiting disabled people and organisations to see what is working and, more importantly, what could be improved.

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!