Introduction

Bruce Calderwood
Director, Office for Disability Issues

The government's vision is that by 2025 all disabled people should have the same opportunities and choices as everyone else. Disabled people should be respected as equal members of society and be able to participate as equals in every aspect of family and community life.

A key finding of the `Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People' report was that government departments needed to work together more effectively on issues which affect disabled people. Critically, the report also found that government needed to routinely involve disabled people if they were to get the right outcomes. 

The Office for Disability Issues (ODI) was set up as a direct consequence of these findings. Our job is to support ministers and work across government to deliver equality for disabled people, particularly by:

• building on the co-operation that exists between government departments
• involving disabled people in what we do and encouraging others to do the same
• improving the evidence base on disability-related issues
• raising awareness of disability and good practice
• ensuring effective disability rights and legislation

Our work is overseen by two groups; one comprising ministers from a number of government departments. The other, ODI's board of management, is made up of senior government officials and representatives from disability organisations. 

These groups make sure that ownership of the government's strategy is shared between the departments whose policies and services have the greatest impact on disabled people. They also make it easier for the ODI to contribute to the development of policy across government.

The ODI is a relatively small part of government, with around 65 members of staff. This includes secondees from government departments, local authorities and disability organisations. We are also still a young organisation, having been launched just two years ago in December 2005. Inevitably, it has taken some time for us to develop our own capacity. But, as this report demonstrates, we are now making our presence felt. 

An important part of our job is to provide annual assessments to the Prime Minister of progress towards equality. Our first report to the Prime Minister focused on activity across government in response to the `Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People' report.  However, this year's report concentrates on the contribution which the ODI is itself making.

The main reason for doing this is that the delivery of the government's strategy over the next few years will be influenced by the outcome of a number of reviews. These include the recently published Comprehensive Spending Review and our own review of independent living, which will conclude shortly. A report which followed the same format as the ODI's 2006 annual report would therefore very quickly become out of date. 

We also want to be more open about our work, so that people can better understand what we do. So, starting in spring 2008, we will also publish our annual business plans, helping to ensure greater transparency about who we are, what we are trying to achieve and how we are delivering our aims.

Key commitments for 2008

By the time we publish our next annual report in 2008, we expect the ODI to have:

• made sure the right strategy and processes are in place to manage the government's work programme for delivering disability equality
• delivered a five-year strategy to achieve more choice and control for disabled people
• supported Equality 2025 in establishing new ways of bringing the voices of disabled people into government and influencing policy
• led government in ratifying the United Nations Convention on Disability Rights
• assisted departments in producing the Secretary of State reports required by the Disability Equality Duty on the progress made by public bodies in their respective policy sectors
• worked closely with the new Government Equalities Office to respond to the Equalities Review and ensured the proposed single equality act promotes equality for disabled people
• developed an effective working relationship with the new Equality and Human Rights Commission
• worked across government and with disabled people to finalise plans for the first British Longitudinal Survey dedicated to disability issues.

This has been a period of intensive effort from everybody in the organisation. I hope you will find that there is much here to celebrate.

Page last reviewed: 11 August 2008