An official working group report identified the main barriers to social participation experienced by people with disabilities in Northern Ireland, and made recommendations on how these could be removed.
Source: Report of the Promoting Social Inclusion Working Group on Disability, Northern Ireland Executive
Links: Report | Sub-group reports | NIE press release | NIHRC press release | ECNI press release
Date: 2009-Dec
An article examined the association between socio-economic position and physical disability at older ages, using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Socio-economic circumstances affected the prevalence and scale of physical disability even at older ages. In particular, wealth appeared more important as a socio-economic factor for physical disability than social class or education. Socio-economic gradients in physical disability were greater for men than for women and for those in the younger age groups.
Source: Edlira Gjonca, Faiza Tabassum and Elizabeth Breeze, 'Socioeconomic differences in physical disability at older age', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 63 Number 11
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Nov
An article drew on a case study of an employment project aimed at young people with learning difficulties (funded as part of the Single Regeneration Budget), to explore how such projects operated in the context of area-based renewal – and what the gains, if any, were for disabled people.
Source: Claire Edwards, 'Regeneration works? Disabled people and area-based urban renewal', Critical Social Policy, Volume 29 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Nov
Researchers examined public attitudes to disabled people and their rights, using cognitive testing methodology.
Source: Michelle Gray, Hayley Cripps and Avneet Johal, British Social Attitudes Survey – Attitudes Towards the Rights of Disabled People: Findings from cognitive interviews, Research Report 588, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Date: 2009-Nov
The government published an action plan on hate crime, including new measures to support victims of hate crime, bring more perpetrators to justice, and increase reporting of the crimes concerned.
Source: Hate Crime: The Cross-Government Action Plan, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Action plan | Equality impact assessment | ACPO press release | Community Care report
Date: 2009-Sep
People in Northern Ireland with a disability reported experiencing a wide range of forms of hate crime, including verbal abuse, assaults, and damage to property.
Source: Agnieszka Martynowicz and Mary-Katherine Rallings, People with Disabilities: A baseline study of experiences in Northern Ireland, Institute for Conflict Research (028 9074 2682)
Links: Report | NIE press release
Date: 2009-Jul
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on disability discrimination under the new single Equality Bill. It said that the Bill would deliver strengthened and streamlined disability discrimination law, with no erosion of existing levels of protection from discrimination for disabled people.
Source: The Equality Bill: How Disability Equality Fits Within a Single Equality Act – Government Response to the Third Report, Third Special Report (Session 2008-09), HC 836, House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2009-Jul
The United Kingdom government ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The government said that ratification was further demonstration of its commitment to equality of human rights for disabled people, and of its determination to achieve equality by 2025.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 8 June 2009, columns 27-28WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard (1) | Hansard(2) | DWP press release | Optional Protocol to Convention | Scope press release | EFD press release
Date: 2009-Jun
A report examined the progress made by public authorities in Scotland towards equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people.
Source: The Scottish Ministers' Duty, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-May
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers examined the reservations proposed by the government in respect of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It accepted that a lack of clarity in the Convention might necessitate a reservation and interpretative declaration in relation to education: but it expressed concern that this might have sent a confused message to people with disabilities about the purpose and intention of the government's position. It agreed that the existing treatment of benefits appointees was incompatible with the requirements of the Convention and therefore necessitated a reservation.
Source: UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Reservations and Interpretative Declaration, Twelfth Report (Session 2008-09), HC 397 and HL 70, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons) Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Scope press release | Community Care report
Date: 2009-Apr
The prisons inspectorate examined the care and support of prisoners with a disability. Prisoners with a disability were found to be less likely to feel that staff treated them with respect.
Source: Disabled Prisoners: A short thematic review on the care and support of prisoners with a disability, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales (020 7035 2103)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Mar
A report summarized the proceedings of a conference (held in January 2009) that examined the impact of the disability equality duty after two years of operation.
Source: Doing the Duty: The disability equality duty – Impact so far and legal enforcement, RADAR (web publication only)
Links: Report | RADAR press release
Date: 2009-Mar
The government responded to a report by a joint committee of MPs and peers on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It also published the command paper and explanatory memorandum setting its plans for ratification of the Convention by the United Kingdom.
Source: UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Government Response to the Committee's First Report, Sixth Report (Session 2008-09), HL 46 and HC 315, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522) | Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Cm 7564, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, TSO | Explanatory Memorandum on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Office for Disability Issues (office-for-disability-issues@dwp.gsi.gov.uk)
Links: Response | JC report | Command paper | Hansard | NICCY press release
Date: 2009-Mar
The government announced that it would sign 'as soon as practicable' the optional protocol to the United Nations convention on the rights of disabled people, thereby giving disabled people the opportunity to take their case to the United Nations if they felt their rights had been breached.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 3 February 2009, column 43WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | DWP press release | Scope press release
Date: 2009-Feb
The government published the first annual report on hate crime, bringing together information on the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service in prosecuting racist and religious hate crime, transphobic and homophobic crime, disability incidents, and domestic violence.
Source: Hate Crime Report 2007-2008, Crown Prosecution Service (020 7796 8000)
Links: Report | Pink News report | Womensgrid report
Date: 2009-Feb
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers called on the government to publish the draft texts of its proposed reservations in relation to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities; and to consult disabled people and their organizations about whether the reservations were necessary and compatible with the Convention.
Source: The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, First Report (Session 2008-09), HC 93 and HL 9, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons) Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Community Care report | BBC report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | BBC report
Date: 2009-Jan