Disability - EHRC report
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The Equality and Human Rights Commission produced a report in 2019 looking at state of Human Rights in the UK in 2018
The report was highly damning of the government's record on Human Rights, particularly in respect of disabled people
The EHRC said "Changes to the welfare system since 2010 have made life harder for those in poverty, and this disproportionately affects a large number of disabled people..."
The commission noted that access to justice has been severely curtailed due to cuts to legal aid and the disastrous impact of employment tribunal fees
EHRC found poverty is particularly prevalent among disabled people
UK-wide reforms to welfare and tax since 2010 continue to have a disproportionate impact on the poorest in society, particularly disabled people
Homelessness is also on the rise, putting more people in a precarious position and particularly affecting people from ethnic minorities, disabled people and other at-risk groups
Disabled people are not experiencing the progress experienced by other groups
The disability pay gap persists, with disabled people earning less per hour on average than non-disabled people
The likelihood of people with disabilities being in low paid occupations has increased
Disabled people are also more likely to be in poverty
Those who can’t work rely on an increasingly restricted welfare regime that is projected to lower their living standards even further
People with disabilities also face poorer health and lack of access to suitable housing
The overall finding of the EHRC report was that Disabled people falling further behind in all areas such as work, education, housing and poverty levels
EHRC reported that the UN expressed objections to the UK’s growing reliance on special schools
There are also concerns about the legal framework surrounding disabled children’s rights to redress in the education system
Tribunals do not currently have the power to award financial compensation when they make a finding of disability discrimination in schools
25.0% of pupils with Special Education Needs (SEN) attained reasonable grades in Maths and Englsih compared with 70.4% for those without SEN
Since 2010 there has been an increase in the proportion of disabled people in low-pay occupations
3.3 million disabled people aged 16–64 are economically inactive.
44.2% of disabled people of working age were neither in work, nor looking for work, compared with only 15.9% of non-disabled people
In March 2018, less than a quarter of people with learning difficulties, a speech impediment or mental health conditions were in employment
The EHRC report found disabled people, women, and many ethnic minorities are more likely to live in poverty or to experience severe material deprivation
UK-wide reforms to social security and taxes since 2010 are having a disproportionately negative impact on the poorest in society and are particularly affecting women, disabled people, ethnic minorities and lone parents
Benefit sanctions are applied inconsistently and disproportionately impact disabled people
Bedroom Tax introduced under the Tory / Lib Dem coaltion had a disproportinate impact on the disabled as the spare room was often needed to contain specialist equipment
EHRC found that disabled people across Britain are demoralised and frustrated by the housing system, reporting a severe shortage of accessible houses across all tenures
Disabled people can experience serious deterioration in their mental wellbeing due to living in unsuitable accommodation
Disabled people are also not getting the support that they need to live independently
EHRC analysis of changes to taxes, benefits, tax credits and Universal Credit since 2010 found that the changes will have a disproportionately negative impact on several protected groups
Negative impacts are particularly large for households with more disabled members, and more severely disabled individuals
For households with at least one disabled adult and a disabled child, average annual cash losses are just over £6,500
The sanctioning rate for self-declared disabled Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimants was 26%–28% higher than for non-disabled claimants
Research showed as more disabled people were sanctioned, there was a corresponding increase in the number of disabled people not in work
The UK Government’s policy to intensify the use of sanctions and introduce harsher penalties has been largely ineffective at moving people from JSA into sustainable employment
Benefit sanctions had no tangible positive effects in moving disabled people closer to paid work and worsened many disabled people’s illnesses and impairments, particularly mental health conditions
In 2015/16 disabled adults (25.5%) were more likely than non-disabled adults (17.9%) to be living in poverty
Those with mental health conditions (35.6%) and social and behavioural (37.6%) impairments were around twice as likely to be living in poverty as non-disabled adults
Of households with a disabled person 49% were likely to use food banks
Transport presents one of the greatest challenges to disabled people; not only those with mobility impairments, but those with vision and hearing impairments, and mental health conditions
Access to transport services is in danger of becoming more restricted for some users, due to reduced bus services and inconsistency in government efforts to ensure access to transport for disabled users
The report was highly damning of the government's record on Human Rights, particularly in respect of disabled people
The EHRC said "Changes to the welfare system since 2010 have made life harder for those in poverty, and this disproportionately affects a large number of disabled people..."
The commission noted that access to justice has been severely curtailed due to cuts to legal aid and the disastrous impact of employment tribunal fees
EHRC found poverty is particularly prevalent among disabled people
UK-wide reforms to welfare and tax since 2010 continue to have a disproportionate impact on the poorest in society, particularly disabled people
Homelessness is also on the rise, putting more people in a precarious position and particularly affecting people from ethnic minorities, disabled people and other at-risk groups
Disabled people are not experiencing the progress experienced by other groups
The disability pay gap persists, with disabled people earning less per hour on average than non-disabled people
The likelihood of people with disabilities being in low paid occupations has increased
Disabled people are also more likely to be in poverty
Those who can’t work rely on an increasingly restricted welfare regime that is projected to lower their living standards even further
People with disabilities also face poorer health and lack of access to suitable housing
The overall finding of the EHRC report was that Disabled people falling further behind in all areas such as work, education, housing and poverty levels
EHRC reported that the UN expressed objections to the UK’s growing reliance on special schools
There are also concerns about the legal framework surrounding disabled children’s rights to redress in the education system
Tribunals do not currently have the power to award financial compensation when they make a finding of disability discrimination in schools
25.0% of pupils with Special Education Needs (SEN) attained reasonable grades in Maths and Englsih compared with 70.4% for those without SEN
Since 2010 there has been an increase in the proportion of disabled people in low-pay occupations
3.3 million disabled people aged 16–64 are economically inactive.
44.2% of disabled people of working age were neither in work, nor looking for work, compared with only 15.9% of non-disabled people
In March 2018, less than a quarter of people with learning difficulties, a speech impediment or mental health conditions were in employment
The EHRC report found disabled people, women, and many ethnic minorities are more likely to live in poverty or to experience severe material deprivation
UK-wide reforms to social security and taxes since 2010 are having a disproportionately negative impact on the poorest in society and are particularly affecting women, disabled people, ethnic minorities and lone parents
Benefit sanctions are applied inconsistently and disproportionately impact disabled people
Bedroom Tax introduced under the Tory / Lib Dem coaltion had a disproportinate impact on the disabled as the spare room was often needed to contain specialist equipment
EHRC found that disabled people across Britain are demoralised and frustrated by the housing system, reporting a severe shortage of accessible houses across all tenures
Disabled people can experience serious deterioration in their mental wellbeing due to living in unsuitable accommodation
Disabled people are also not getting the support that they need to live independently
EHRC analysis of changes to taxes, benefits, tax credits and Universal Credit since 2010 found that the changes will have a disproportionately negative impact on several protected groups
Negative impacts are particularly large for households with more disabled members, and more severely disabled individuals
For households with at least one disabled adult and a disabled child, average annual cash losses are just over £6,500
The sanctioning rate for self-declared disabled Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimants was 26%–28% higher than for non-disabled claimants
Research showed as more disabled people were sanctioned, there was a corresponding increase in the number of disabled people not in work
The UK Government’s policy to intensify the use of sanctions and introduce harsher penalties has been largely ineffective at moving people from JSA into sustainable employment
Benefit sanctions had no tangible positive effects in moving disabled people closer to paid work and worsened many disabled people’s illnesses and impairments, particularly mental health conditions
In 2015/16 disabled adults (25.5%) were more likely than non-disabled adults (17.9%) to be living in poverty
Those with mental health conditions (35.6%) and social and behavioural (37.6%) impairments were around twice as likely to be living in poverty as non-disabled adults
Of households with a disabled person 49% were likely to use food banks
Transport presents one of the greatest challenges to disabled people; not only those with mobility impairments, but those with vision and hearing impairments, and mental health conditions
Access to transport services is in danger of becoming more restricted for some users, due to reduced bus services and inconsistency in government efforts to ensure access to transport for disabled users
