We attended a celebration event to mark one year of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) disability sector champions scheme. The event was opened by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Esther McVey MP and the Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work, Sarah Newton MP who spoke of their great pride in the scheme and all it has achieved so far.
Improving access makes good commercial sense as disabled people have a combined spending power of £80 billion. We heard from 9 of the current sector champions about what they have been doing over the last year. It was also announced that three new sector champions had been recruited for insurance, trains and arts and culture.
Below are some of the key points from the event:
- A number of the champions spoke of the importance of disability awareness training for staff so that they can understand the needs of people with different disabilities.
- Attitude is everything are using their charter of best practice to improve access at music venues and festivals.
- England’s Inclusive Tourism Action Group, have created 10 top tips for inclusive tourism.
- There has been an increase in disability visibility within advertising, such as the Maltesers adverts.
- Blackpool have developed an accessible model for bus transportation that they hope other places will adopt.
- A disability toolkit has been created for retailers to help them make shopping centres accessible to all.
You can find out who the different sector champions are on the DWP website.
If you have questions about what was discussed at the event then please contact our campaigns team: campaigns@musculardystrophyuk.org or 020 7803 4838