And so to the future – Disability Rights UK

Our new vision is a society where everyone with lived experience of disability or health conditions can participate equally as full citizens. Across all 3 organisations, 92% of members supported (or supported strongly) that vision. 

And 93% supported the objectives, which are:

• To mobilise disabled people’s leadership and control – in our own lives, our organisations and society
• To achieve independent living in practice
• To break the link between disability and poverty
• To put disability equality and human rights into practice across society.

The first objective underpins the other 3: as more disabled people are able to influence changes, it becomes more likely that we can make progress on independent living, poverty reduction and equality.

We live in very challenging times of service cuts and stigmatising statements about supposedly ‘undeserving’ disabled benefit recipients. We need a strong and sustainable organisation led by disabled people to push positive change – and to speak out when equality and independent living are jeopardised.

We are in the great position of being able to build on the work of National Centre for Independent Living, Disability Alliance, Radar – and also Skill (the former Bureau of Students with Disabilities). Some of their achievements include:

• Disability Alliance has expertise on poverty and the welfare benefits system – and produces the Disability Rights Handbook, which is vital to everyone who wants to know about benefits and disabled people. They also produce guides for disabled students
• National Centre for Independent Living produces great guides on independent living in practice, for instance how to manage your PA; and supports Disabled People’s Organisations locally
• Radar has worked in Parliament and supported the All-party Parliamentary Group on Disability, working with Jane Campbell and others to secure important policy changes (like concessions on the welfare reform bill). Radar has also supported over 450 disabled people through leadership programmes run by and for disabled people    

By coming together we will be able to campaign on vital issues such as disabled people’s learning and career opportunities – whether through apprenticeships, work experience, further and higher education or employment; and on income, through career progression and the benefits system; and on different aspects of independent living. We won’t be able to do everything at once – but we can make the links, to make the campaigns more compelling.

We will have greater reach than any one of our organisations could alone: we expect to have 800 organisational members, 1000 individual members, and a website attracting half a million visits a year. We plan to strengthen our offer to our members and our capacity to work collaboratively with members on campaigns, local innovation and more. We are developing a protocol for how we work with the national Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland organisations, so we support each other and join forces where this will increase impact. 

We are able to make some efficiencies by coming together – one chief executive instead of 3, one building instead of 3, and so forth. This merger should make us more sustainable. 

Over the coming months we will be working on the specifics of building a single organisation– from a new website to common policy positions and more.

I very much hope that you who have been involved with Disability Alliance, National Centre for Independent Living and Radar will want to be involved with Disability Rights UK. I look forward to working with members, partners and supporters to make a significant difference to disabled people’s rights in practice.  Do let us know if you would like to discuss any aspect of the merger or the plans for Disability Rights UK. 

Liz Sayce - Chief Executive - Disability Rights UK