Work and pensions secretary David Blunkett has announced a new Office for Disability Issues to tackle disability discrimination.
The unit will be responsible for driving action and delivery across government and linking with the work of the Disability Rights Commission in ensuring equality across society.
Blunkett said: “Rather than people fitting into services – services need to fit to individuals. Every person with a disability should have the power to choose the support and services they need from a wide range of possibilities that exist within a given community.
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“This programme will be co-ordinated by an Office for Disability Issues which will be established later this year.”
The prime minister’s Strategy Unit published an ambitious 20-year strategy this year to build on rights for people with disabilities by radically reforming the way local public services are delivered. This will be centred on the consumer, based on individual needs, and funded through transparent, individualised budgets.
