BORIS Johnson wrote to every Cabinet minister asking them to review how their department can help lower barriers that disabled people face in their everyday life.
In a letter seen by HOAR the PM told his top team that they must all contribute ideas to his governments new National Disability Strategy.
He said disabled people currently face a host of challenges to a wide aspect of their lives that government can change – such as loneliness, unemployment and access to government services.
Each Cabinet minister has been ordered to look at how their department could increase opportunity for disabled people and make sure data and evidence held on the lives of disabled people is up to date.
In an emotionally charged letter to his top ministerial team – the first hes sent since the election, Mr Johnson wrote: Despite progress, many disabled people find it hard to access services that others take for granted.
That isnt just unfair, it is also a criminal waste of potential that shamefully and quite needlessly constrains the prosperity of our entire nation.
Mr Johnson wants a more joined-up approach across Whitehall departments to tackle problems faced by disabled people.
Aides pointed to the example of disabled people having to undergo multiple assessments to qualify for benefits, which not only creates extra barriers for them but also causes distress.
‘CONSTRAINS OUR NATION’
A beefed-up Disability Unit in the Cabinet Office will coordinate the cross-Whitehall approach and work closely with the No10 policy unit.
The PM will order the Cabinet to deliver their findings within weeks because he wants to publish a government Green Paper setting out a new National Strategy for Disabled People by the summer.
In the letter to the Cabinet the PM says he wants it to be the most ambitious endeavour on disability in a generationand deliver the greatest contribution to the lives of disabled people in our nation.
The review will come alongside reforms to the benefits system and new measures to close the disability employment gap and an overhaul of special educational needs and disability (SEND).
Mr Johnson said improving the lives of disabled people is a personal mission of his having seen first-hand how attitudes towards disability changed during the 2012 Paralympic Games that he hosted as London Mayor.
He wrote: As Prime Minister, I am determined to mobilise that spirit to transform the lives of disabled people right across our United Kingdom.
I want our National Strategy for Disabled People, announced in our manifesto, to be the most ambitious endeavour on disability in a generation.
In order to accomplish this, I am asking all departments to consider how they can make the greatest contribution to the lives of disabled people in our nation.
