Disabled people continue to bear brunt of UK poverty – DRC.

4th December 2006

The song remains the same for disabled people and people with long term health conditions the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) said today after publication of the latest figures monitoring the success of Government policies aimed at reducing poverty.

Commenting on figures compiled by the New Policy Institute for the Joseph Rowntree Trust, the Commission underlined its call for policies aimed at supporting whole families out of poverty rather than benefits targeting individuals as the only means to bring about an alternative future for the thousands of disabled people living in poverty.

With ‘worklessness’ being pinpointed as a key driver behind increased levels of poverty among disabled people, the Commission also pinpointed the forthcoming Leitch Review into skills as being a key moment to view the Government’s real intent in tackling the barriers to participation that disabled people face entering the labour market.

A spokesperson for the DRC said:

‘The song remains the same for disabled people and people with long term health conditions living in poverty today. At 30%, the poverty rate for disabled adults is twice that for non disabled adults. The gap between them is higher now than a decade ago. And traditional routes out of poverty through work are also barred - a disabled graduate is more likely to be out of work than a non disabled person without qualifications and one quarter of disabled parents in poverty are already in jobs.  Any serious observer of persistent poverty in Britain today knows that it frequently has disadvantage related to disability at its root.  Tackling poverty effectively means putting disability at the heart of the solution.’

The DRC’s Disability Agenda to be launched in February provides the means for the link between disability and poverty to be broken and for child poverty to be eliminated by 2020.

A spokesperson said:

‘Ending poverty, including child poverty, demands reforms to the welfare state that focus help onto the family as a whole, not just separately onto individuals. Services should help families take control of their own lives, escape dependency and build resilience against poverty as well as optimise their potential to achieve economic well being.’