Paul Goodman: We must take the disabled more seriously

The Conservative Party won't win elections by pitching its appeal to a bygone age

Disabled people don't have equal opportunities in today's Britain. Disadvantage begins even before a child is born: a disabled child is less likely to survive pregnancy and birth than a non-disabled child.

Disabled people don't have equal opportunities in today's Britain. Disadvantage begins even before a child is born: a disabled child is less likely to survive pregnancy and birth than a non-disabled child.

This inequality stretches out through the life cycle. As a disabled child grows up into an adult, he or she is less likely to enjoy the good life which many non-disabled adults take for granted - gaining qualifications, holding down a job, going shopping, enjoying an evening out with friends, or going on holiday.

And as that adult ages, he or she is less likely to get the medical treatment they need, enjoy the same income in retirement, deal with social services or the benefits system as easily or live as long as a non-disabled person of the same age.

All this presents a huge challenge to all politicians - including, of course, the Conservative Party. We are extremely critical of the Government's record in some respects. To offer one small but telling example, it has so far held only one full debate on disability since the last election. The day it chose for that debate was European election day - the day during this Parliament when MPs were most likely to be engaged elsewhere. This was insensitive and egregious timing. But the stark truth is that we won't meet this challenge simply by attacking the Government. The issues raised by disability are too serious for that. The demand for equal opportunities by women, by minority ethnic groups, by lesbians and gays and by disabled people is part of the life of modern Britain. The Conservative Party won't win elections by pitching its appeal to a bygone age: we must show that we're at ease with modern Britain if we're to thrive.

And far more importantly, we have to be at ease with Britain as it is if we're to meet its challenges.

The present barriers of disadvantage are formidable - and disabled people frequently find themselves marginalised and excluded. But they are, all too often, an untapped source of talent and potential. They're playing an increasingly important role in the economy. And they want to be treated not as victims, but as equal citizens.

The range of their needs and aspirations is vast. Some are born disabled, but most acquire disabilities later in life. Some have multiple disabilities - and old age usually brings disability with it. Many, too, have no carers. When they do, those carers, parents, families and friends are often placed under great strain - as are the voluntary and charitable sectors, whose role in providing care is irreplaceable.

Look at those challenges in more detail. Take schools, for example. Provision for disabled children is inadequate - and the results can be seen when they leave: 13 per cent of non-disabled young people have no qualifications; the figure for disabled young people is 24 per cent. Children with disabilities are also more vulnerable to abuse in schools. Schools aren't always accessible. There is a shortage of special equipment and teachers trained in special needs.

Or take health. The range of health problems endured by disabled people are vast - but the health service isn't always able to respond. There are complaints health provision is too focused on acute conditions and not enough on continuing needs. Hospital facilities aren't always accessible and hospices are underfunded, if funded at all. There are long waiting times for such items as powered wheelchairs and digital hearing aids.

Transport is a key issue. One survey found that nearly a quarter of disabled people who've been offered work had to turn it down because transport was inadequate. But even when the transport is there, access to work or leisure often isn't: 75 per cent of businesses present access problems for disabled people. Some 73 per cent of disabled people with mobility or sensory impairments, or both, have difficulty in accessing goods and services.

Meanwhile, some 2.7 million people are claiming incapacity benefit. Many of them can't work. Over half, however, say that they want to work - but the government's New Deal for Disabled People has been unsuccessful and underfunded. Fifty per cent of disabled people have incomes below the poverty line - and the minister-driven complexity of the benefits system isn't helping them. There are particular and, in my view, justified complaints about the ineligibility of many disabled people for the winter fuel allowance.

This will be a crucial autumn for disabled people. They're demanding that the Government honour its manifesto commitment to bring in a new disability anti-discrimination bill. But Ministers are going slow on the bill - and have recently rejected key recommendations relating to it drawn up by an important cross-party committee. Ministers' own surveys show that small business and service providers are under-prepared for the introduction of important new disability requirements in October.

Those requirements are part of the legacy of the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act. It was a Conservative government which brought in that act. We've much to be proud of in our record on disability. But, like other political parties, we have now to do better.

The author is shadow Minister for Disabled People