Participation

Overall aim

Proportionately the same level of civic participation amongst disabled people as amongst the population as a whole.

Achievements from 2005 to 2009

• The Disability Equality Duty, which came into force in December 2006, introduced a new duty for public authorities to involve disabled people in creating Disability Equality Schemes.
• Launch of Access to Volunteering fund pilot (external link) in April 2009, which addresses barriers to volunteering experienced by disabled people.
• Review of benefit rules to ensure that any expenses paid to Service Users are disregarded for benefit purposes.
• Take Part local pathfinder programme (external link) launched, to encourage more people, who might otherwise not think of doing so, to influence and change local services and facilities, and to stand for public office.

Next steps on our strategy

• Deliver a work programme around increasing diversity in public appointments, so that disabled people make up 14% of new appointments made by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) by 2011.
• Right to Control trailblazers to go live in 2010, helping disabled people to exercise greater choice and control over the funding that is available to them.
• The Equality Bill, currently before Parliament, will introduce the Equality Duty which will require public bodies, amongst other things, to have due regard to the need to encourage participation in public life, and other activities, by people of different races, religions, genders, sexual orientations, age groups or disabled people, if they have been previously underrepresented.

• Article 29 - participation in political and public life

• 6.3 (increase access to volunteering opportunities for disabled people).
• 6.4 (participation in public and civic life).
• 10.8 (support young people to become active members of their local community).