Independent Living Strategy

Find out what independent living means for disabled people and what the Office for Disability Issues is doing to deliver it

What is independent living?

Independent living is about disabled people having the same level of choice, control and freedom in their daily lives as any other person.

The Independent Living Strategy (ILS), published in March 2008, sets out actions aimed at improving the choice and control disabled people have over the services they need to live their daily lives.

The aims of the strategy are that:

disabled people (including older disabled people) who need support to go about their daily lives will have greater choice and control over how support is provided
disabled people (including older disabled people) will have greater access to housing, education, employment, leisure and transport opportunities and to participation in family and community life.

The strategy contributes towards the government's work to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled People, particularly:

Article 19, living independently and being included in the community
Article 23, respect for the home and the family.

As a result of the strategy a number of individual projects have been delivered. You can read more about these on the Independent Living Strategy projects page [insert link].

About the Independent Living Scrutiny Group

The Independent Living Scrutiny Group (ILSG) is an independent group of disabled people that offers government its views on progress on delivery of the ILS.

The ILSG will publish a report every year to keep disabled people informed about progress.

Why was the Independent Living Strategy developed?

In 2006, the government agreed to carry out a review of independent living. The Office for Disability Issues (ODI) established a cross-government Independent Living Review with an independent panel of experts.

The Independent Living Review project team worked in partnership with disabled people, making sure that the people whose lives are affected by policies have had a chance to influence and shape the project. In developing the Independent Living Strategy the project team also worked with government departments.

Resources

Independent Living Scrutiny Group Annual Report 2009 (PDF, 7 pages, 48 KB)
Independent Living Scrutiny Group - Second Annual Report 2010 (PDF, 13 pages, 71 KB)
Independent Living Strategy (PDF, 135 pages, 2 MB)
Involving disabled people: government response to the consultation on implementation and monitoring of the Independent Living Strategy (PDF, 24 pages, 1.75 MB)

Explore

Beyond the Office for Disability Issues

Independent Living and Older People website

Page last reviewed: 16 June 2011