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There are around 10 million adults in the UK likely to be covered by the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) because they have a disability or long-term health condition.
They are more likely to be out of work and to lack skills; more likely to be in poor health and to have more limited access to arts, culture and information of all kinds.
They are all users of government services and need to be able to enter into an effective dialogue with government and its agencies.
The DDA and particularly the Disability Equality Duty means that government communicators need to take steps to promote equality for disabled people.
This is a deceptively simple question. There are many definitions of what constitutes the group of `disabled people'.
Different definitions apply, for example, to special educational needs provision, eligibility for disability living allowance or incapacity benefit.
Widest of all is the definition of those considered disabled for the purposes of the DDA.
The Act protects disabled people from unfair discrimination. This includes people who have, or had in the past, a wide range of impairments and long-term health conditions. These conditions include everything from asthma to depression, Down's syndrome to hearing impairment, multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia.
All of these people can face disadvantage, limited life chances or discrimination.
This group is estimated to number around one in five of the population. Many of them would not meet the common sense notion of who a disabled person is. Many would not describe themselves as disabled people. Nevertheless, they are disabled for the purposes of the DDA and may face barriers of one kind or another.
For practical tips, visit the top tips section of this guidance.
For other information resources, go to the resources section of this guidance.
Page last reviewed: 11 August 2008