The DWP published the names of the ten member Disability Advisory Panel this week. The panel, which was first announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, has been set up to work with ministers across government on policies affecting disabled people.
Issues they will work on include:
- Access to Work.
- Disability Confident.
- The Keep Britain Working Review recommendations.
Disability minister Stephen Timms said that:
“Far too often, decisions about disabled people have been made without them.
“We are changing this. This Panel brings together years of experience and valuable insight. The voices of disabled people will count because they will be in the room where decisions are made, and where policies are shaped.
“We will listen, we will learn, and together we will build a system that truly works for disabled people.”
The panel is separate from the Timms review, but “expertise and insight will be shared between the two”.
Chair:
Zara Todd, disability equality consultant.
Panel members:
Laura Fulcher (Southwest) - Founder & CEO, Mission Remission.
John Kerr (Scotland) - Employability Development Officer, East Lothian Council.
Jeff Banks (Southeast) - CEO, Lightyear Foundation.
Tracy Lazard (London) - CEO, Inclusion London.
Nabila Gardner (Midlands) - Director/Founder, Ways for Wellbeing UK CIC.
Molly Deakin (Yorkshire) - Policy and Campaigns Officer, Together Trust.
Arun Veerappan (London) - Director of Research, The Disability Policy Centre.
Noor Al-Koky (Southwest) - Senior Commissioning Manager, Gloucestershire County Council & NHS Gloucestershire.
Damian Bridgeman (Wales) - Director, Freedom 365 Limited.
Isaac Samuels OBE (London) - Community Campaigner and Co-production Advisor.
CEOs, directors, managers and founders appear to be well represented on the panel and will undoubtedly offer a great deal of valuable insight. But currently unemployed disabled people and those struggling in insecure, minimum wage jobs are harder to identify. At best, it seems their voices may be heard second-hand.
