The UK Government’s National Disability Strategy, published in July last year after several delays, has been ruled unlawful by a High Court judge over its failure to properly consult disabled people.
Four disabled people challenged the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the strategy, which includes proposals for an Access to Work “passport” to enable “smooth transitions between job roles” and an accessibility audit of mainline railway stations.
The Limping Chicken, which promotes itself as the world’s most popular deaf blog, reported that Mr Justice Griffiths found that the Work and Pensions Secretary, Thérèse Coffey, failed to provide “sufficient information” on the strategy during the January survey to “allow for a meaningful response”.
The Limping Chicken said that Government evidence cited in the judgment said the survey “was not a consultation” and was “never intended to be a formal consultation exercise on any particular proposal, notably the Strategy”.
Mr Justice Griffiths went on to rule the UK Government had “voluntarily embarked on a consultation” with the survey at its heart, but he added the Work and Pensions Secretary “took on a duty to consult which she did not properly discharge and, as a result, the consultation she carried out, principally by means of the Survey, was not lawful”.
However the judge did not rule that the government had a legal duty to consult on its proposals, and he concluded it had not breached the Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act.
Jean Eveleigh, one of the people who lodged the challenge, told The Limping Chicken: “If the Secretary of State genuinely wishes to place disabled people’s lived experiences at the heart of the Strategy, then she must do so through proper and lawful consultation that provides a meaningful opportunity for disabled people and their organisations to contribute their views.
“As a strategy that is for disabled people, it should be informed by disabled people. Now that the Court has given this clear declaration, I hope the Secretary of State will carry out a proper and considered consultation to inform a revision of the Strategy.”
Solicitor Shirin Marker from Bindmans LLP, who represent the four claimants, said he hopes the secretary will “now seek to rectify this unlawfulness” through “proper and lawful consultation with disabled people and their organisations”.
In a statement, a Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said they were “disappointed” with the judgment and will “consider our next steps carefully”.
They added: “We engaged with disabled people, disabled people’s organisations, carers and others as part of the National Disability Strategy.
“We remain committed to improving the everyday lives of disabled people, and the National Disability Strategy has already made significant inroads.”
