Why does the National Disability Strategy matter

It’s not due out until tomorrow, but it’s already been gaining attention and controversy. I’m talking about the National Disability Strategy. This long-awaited government plan is about removing barriers to participation in everyday life for disabled people in the UK.

Bit of a wide remit, isn’t it? It’s precisely what our charity has called for in the past, but of course, something so big has both great potential and great potential for problems. Even before publication, there are strong criticisms of how the strategy has been produced.

But how did we get here?

Back in 2019, we at Leonard Cheshire lobbied the Number 10 Special Adviser on Disability, Jean-Andre Prager, for the UK government to put in place a national strategy on disability.

The Conservative Party went on to include a pledge for just that in its election manifesto at the end of 2019, with the Prime Minister announcing that the government would put in place “the most ambitious endeavour on disability in a generation.” Quite a promise!

At Leonard Cheshire, we wanted this to translate into a strategy that will address long-term social inequalities. We mainly wanted to see the importance of social care recognised. Our new campaign #CareForEquality rightly highlights just how significant social care is to working-age disabled adults. For a Prime Minister with a levelling-up agenda, social care reform was a logical step.

What Johnson did do, was kick off the strategy in early 2020 by requesting every government department to feed into it. He claimed it was a key priority for him personally.

How the pandemic has impacted the strategy 

Enter Covid-19, and the original plans for workshops on data and evidence were disrupted until August 2020. Leonard Cheshire took part in these workshops once they resumed. The government, meanwhile, opened a survey to the public in January 2021.

Summer saw the government finally complete its strategy and begin sharing it with those in the sector ahead of its general publication on Wednesday, 28 July.

Looking forward 

There is already a mixed reception to the strategy. Our verdict will be available tomorrow. However, what perhaps will be most interesting and have the most impact on disabled people’s lives, is not the strategy itself, but what the government does next.