July 27, 2021, BBC News: 'Transformative' disability plan to be unveiled https://www.bbc.com/news/disability-57987803
A £1.6bn [$2.2B U.S.] strategy aimed at improving the lives and opportunities of disabled people has been unveiled by the government.
The National Disability Strategy has been described by the prime minister as "transformative".
It aims to encourage accessible housing and improve access to education and employment.
But a disabled Conservative peer, Lord Shinkwin, said the plans did not "go far enough".
The UK-wide strategy was first announced by Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative manifesto.
The prime minister described it as the "most ambitious and transformative disability plan in a generation".
The plan aims to:
• Increase the number of accessible homes and adapt older properties
• Provide £300m [$402M] to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
• Pilot an Access to Work Adjustment Passport making it easier for disabled people to change jobs
In its strategy, the government has also said it will review the education system for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
The current system failed when it came to Florence Karlsen's education.
The 11-year-old from Surrey, who has autism, epilepsy and global developmental delay, was struggling in mainstream school and needed specialist provision.
Florence's family had to pay £15,000 in legal fees in a battle with their local council to ensure she was sent to a school that met her needs.
Her father William said: "We selected the school we wanted Florence to go to and the council selected its choice but we weren't happy with the choice they made.
"It was not a good choice as far as we were concerned.
"We decided to take the council to tribunal to argue our case. We had to fund all our own private reports, and employ our solicitor, which is a hugely expensive process.
"There are hundreds of families locked in battle with their local authorities. It's the last thing you want to be focussed on when you want to be focussed on your child's wellbeing and education."…
Lord Kevin Shinkwin said the document was a "broken promise" and he did not believe it would prevent disabled people from being shut out of society.
He said: "The Department of Work and Pensions, which has led on the development of this strategy, does benefits but it doesn't do equality.
"I think that it shows that this government doesn't understand the desire and potential of disabled people to be seen as more than just recipients. We are contributors, we are all people."
National disability charities said the strategy did not give the "transformational change" that was promised….
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