Introduction

The proposed work plan outlined below has been established through engagement with disabled people; as a result of bilateral meetings with a variety of government departments and through careful consideration of how we might bring added value to government over the next year while making best use of the resources available to us.

Disabled people have given us a wide range of issues they wish Equality 2025 to be involved in. We have done our best to ensure that we are not proposing to duplicate the work of any other non-departmental public body, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and/or replicate any work currently being carried out within government. Our aim is to bring added value to government.

Through all that we do, we will maintain active and effective engagement with disabled people and will ensure that any advice we give to government is firmly rooted in the views and opinions of as wide a range of disabled people as possible.

We have divided our proposed work plan into four focused areas of work. We are aware that there is much more to be done but it is important that we are able to deliver effective advice which, inevitably, necessitates an acknowledgement of available time, energy and other resources. We believe that the proposed work plan detailed below fits with our strategic aims, is manageable and will support the work of Government in its aim of achieving equality between disabled and non-disabled people by 2025.

Headings:

1. Independent Living
2. Equalities
3. Human Rights
4. Engagement

The first 3 of these contain the key areas of work. Each piece of work has the outcome Equality 2025 want to achieve, a reason for its inclusion in the plan, brief detail of methodology, and a timescale.

The fourth heading gives details of how Equality 2025 will engage with disabled people and Government, an on-going process which underpins all the work that Equality 2025 will do.

This work plan does not rule out the possibility of additional ad-hoc projects in response to events or policies that arise during the year.

Page last reviewed: 11 August 2008