Consultation on the Disability Action Plan 2023 to 2024
In December 2022, the UK Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work announced that a new Disability Action Plan would be consulted on in 2023. The Disability Action Plan would set out immediate actions the government would take to improve disabled people’s lives and lay the foundations for longer-term change. The goal of the consultation was to ask respondents for feedback on priority areas for the government to focus on and how these might best be delivered if they were taken forward. Alma Economics was commissioned to analyse the answers of the public.
The Disability Action Plan consultation consisted of 16 demographic questions, 14 closed survey questions, 14 open survey questions and 5 semi-open survey questions. Responses were accepted through a dedicated online platform hosted by Citizen Space, as well as via e-mail and post, and it was open for 12 weeks between 18 July and 6 October 2023.
Our team conducted a transparent, rigorous, and systematic analysis of valid responses. We calculated descriptive statistics on the closed-answer questions and conducted a thematic analysis to identify common themes raised in the open-text questions.
The consultation received 1,331 responses in total, with the majority of responses (93%, 1,244 respondents) being submitted through the online platform, while 87 responses (7%) were received directly via e-mail or post.
Overall, 1,166 individual respondents (88%) and 165 organisational respondents (12%) submitted their answers to the consultation. The responses reflect a wide span of areas of conditions or illnesses, with each impairment group having more than 10% representation.
Some of the recurrent emerging themes that were identified during our analysis are outlined below:
The need to amplify the voices and lived experiences of disabled people;
The need for clear and measurable actions (with clarity on who was accountable for their implementation);
Greater financial support due to the impacts of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis;
Sufficient and specific funding for any policies implemented;
Better communication about available resources and ensuring information was accessible to disabled people with a wide range of impairment types;
Equality of outcomes and opportunity for disabled people.
Our analysis will contribute to evidence-based policymaking and will ensure that the voices of disabled people are heard. The findings will assist the Cabinet Office’s Disability Unit in further developing and implementing the Disability Action Plan.
Read the full report here.