Debate contribution: Disability Strategy: Public Consultation

Debate contribution by Mr Gordon Lyons on 9 December 2025.

MLA

Mr Gordon Lyons

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

9 December 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statement

Heading

Disability Strategy: Public Consultation

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5295574

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I wish to make a statement to the Assembly regarding my plans to bring forward a new Executive disability strategy for Northern Ireland.

Around one in four people in Northern Ireland experience some form of disability, and it is fair to say that we are all impacted to some extent. Everyone’s experience of living with disability is unique, and so any new strategy needs to be able to flex to accommodate the often complex and unique interventions that are to be managed. Through the sharing of lived experience by deaf and disabled people and by our commissioning of bespoke research, the disability strategy demonstrates that we have taken account of the issues raised by deaf and disabled people, the expert advisory panel, the co-design group, the cross-departmental working group and many other stakeholders during significant engagement processes. The disability strategy vision, outcomes, principles and terminology and language used are all a product of that extensive engagement process, and the strategy commitments are broadly reflective of the wishes of the sector. The strategy represents further delivery against our Programme for Government (PFG) commitments. It also intersects with a range of strategic agendas such as the anti-poverty strategy, the autism and mental health strategies, my Department’s disability and work strategy and the review of special educational needs (SEN) provision. In co-producing the disability strategy, we have placed people with lived experience of disability at the centre, involving them at every stage to ensure that we have identified and shaped the change needed to achieve better outcomes. We have a wealth of experience in our voluntary and community sector, and we know that its insight and value cannot be overstated. In developing the disability strategy, we have carried out many engagement events with individuals and organisations that represent the deaf and disabled community. Those events were delivered online and in person. Special efforts were made to engage with those who can often be the hardest to reach in Northern Ireland, including minority ethnic communities and the Travelling community. Those marginalised yet often inspirational people freely contributed their lived experience and ideas to my officials. I want to tell them this: your views were valued greatly. You were not only heard but, more important, listened to. From an early stage of the engagement, it was apparent that a number of key asks were coming from across the sector about what it wished to see in a new disability strategy. I wish to cover some of those asks briefly and how we intend to deal with them through the new strategy. First, there was a universal desire to establish a Northern Ireland disability forum wholly comprised of deaf and disabled people and having a role in supporting the monitoring and reporting processes involved with any new disability strategy. I can announce today that the strategy commits my Department to establishing a Northern Ireland disability forum to monitor the actions included in the strategy. The forum's membership will be made up entirely of deaf and disabled people, with my officials providing secretarial support. The forum will also link in with the Department of Health's existing regional disabled people's health and social care forum as appropriate and will be able to engage with all Departments on their responsibilities in the strategy. I have also taken steps to ensure that forum membership will be fully representative of our community. For example, places will be reserved for young people who have not yet had the life opportunities or lived experience to be able to demonstrate the academic credentials or experience that normally indicates suitability for a place on such a body. We were also told of the desire to see reform of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which, stakeholders believe, is no longer fit for purpose. I, too, believe that there is a clear case for the review and potential reform of disability law here. The Disability Discrimination Act is 30 years old. There is a clear gap between the legislative protections available to disabled people here and those in, for example, Great Britain, where the Equality Act 2010 is in force. I can also announce today that scoping work is under way in my Department with a view to the full incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) into domestic law. That, of course, will require additional funding across Departments, but I am sure that we can all agree that it is the right thing to do. The strategy is constructed around eight outcomes. During the lifetime of the strategy, there will be continuous monitoring of its delivery. Those outcomes will ensure that deaf and disabled people can effectively exercise their rights and fundamental freedoms and participate in society on an equal basis, free from discrimination; that they can access our built environment, facilities and transport on an equal basis; that, across our public services, government information and communications will be provided on an equal basis; that they can access and participate in culture, leisure activities and sport on an equal basis; that they can live independently in the community with choice and control, with a sufficient and sustainable standard of living; that they can have access to quality health and social care on an equal basis and without discrimination; that they can access, sustain and progress in quality employment in an inclusive labour market; and that deaf and disabled children and young people can exercise their rights and reach their full educational, social and developmental potential. Once it is approved in final form by the Executive, the disability strategy will run for a 10-year period from 2025 to 2035. It will be underpinned by an action plan that will contain a range of time-bound, measurable actions targeted at progressing the strategy outcomes and commitments. The action plan will be monitored, reviewed and updated annually, with published progress reports that will be agreed by the Executive.

A formal midpoint review will allow for the strategy to be assessed, taking account of the annual reports on the action plan. That review will provide an opportunity for the strategy's commitments to be reviewed, amended, removed or added to if necessary. The strategy's impact will be measured through the delivery of actions in the action plan and progress against agreed indicators and outcomes.

We have worked closely across Departments to commit to the actions in the strategy, and the Executive have given it their endorsement. We must continue to work together to ensure that, collectively, we achieve better outcomes for deaf and disabled people. I will be launching a minimum 12-week public consultation on the disability strategy. That wide-ranging conversation with society provides an opportunity for everyone to contribute their views and highlight any areas that can be strengthened further. In addition to being able to engage in the consultation online, we will be hosting a series of roadshow events across Northern Ireland, at which people who attend can engage with officials. Naturally, all documents will be available in a range of accessible formats to make it as easy as possible for everyone to contribute to the consultation. I encourage as many people as possible to take part in the consultation. I place on record my sincere thanks to everyone who has taken the time to share their experiences and suggestions. Taken in conjunction with the recent launch of my Department's disability and work strategy, today's announcement signifies my commitment to the deaf and disabled community and a step change from the Northern Ireland Executive in delivering for deaf and disabled people, their families and their carers. I commend the statement to the House.

We are going to start that work now. Some people think that we in Northern Ireland should replicate the Equality Act 2010, but, as I said, key stakeholders in the disability sector do not believe that it is fit for purpose. One of the reasons that it is important that we put the disability forum in place is that we will hear views from people before that legislation is drafted. I want that forum to be set up and for it to feed into the process. The legislation can then be brought forward. If any legislative changes can be made during the rest of the mandate, we will certainly do that, but the Member will be aware of how long it takes legislation to progress. If that is not possible, I want to make sure that we are well placed to introduce fit-for-purpose legislation at the start of a new mandate.

I had a meeting last week with some people representing the disability sector. The points that I made to them will answer the Member's question. First of all, it will be for Ministers to bring forward actions, and they need to be held to account on those actions. I hope that the Assembly and its scrutiny Committees will do that for individual Ministers. During my time in office, I will certainly make sure that I hold other Ministers to account, and that we put proper priority on delivering things that will be of benefit to deaf and disabled people. Last week, I made it clear to the group that the forum is not simply a tick-box exercise for me. I have not simply put a few deaf and disabled people on the group as a token; the group will comprise deaf and disabled people entirely. I expect them to be very forthright in holding Ministers and the Department for Communities to account. I want them to do that, and I know that they will. We will certainly look at how it is structured to make sure that we can do that effectively. Ultimately, we should all want to deliver, and we need to be held to account on that.

The time frames will depend on the responses that we get to the public consultation. I will go back to Executive colleagues so that they can look at the recommendations that come through during the consultation process. The Executive will then consider what can be put into the final strategy and the action plans that can come from that. That will take some time. We do not have definitive timescales, but it is important to note that, even in the absence of the strategy, we have not been found wanting in getting on and delivering for deaf and disabled people in Northern Ireland, whether that is through the disability and work strategy; the Sign Language Bill that is progressing through the House; the JobStart programmes that we have been able to put in place; what we are doing in housing, in particular with the disabled adaptations and grants that we make available; lobbying the Government on some of the disgraceful changes that they announced on support for disabled people; or the many other issues. Although it will take some time to progress the strategy, it is important that we do it right and that we deliver for deaf and disabled people in the meantime, and I will certainly do that.

Of course, it is hard for us to put a price tag on that because we are just going out to consultation. We will hear people's views, and that is when we will decide the specific actions to implement as an Executive. Ministers will be aware that the strategy is coming forward. They will not necessarily be aware of all the actions that they may be required to take, but sufficient budgetary processes are there, and they should be thinking ahead about what needs to be done. If necessary, the Executive should allocate additional funding for that purpose. It is a little bit hard for us to be final on it until we know what will be in the final strategy and the action plans that will follow. However, we absolutely should be prepared to allocate money to it, where possible. We should see the strategy as an investment. We should not see it as money that we have to put into something; we should see how it can generate a return for us. I made this point in the House yesterday: taking the disability employment rate from 40% to 50%, as it is in the rest of the UK, for example, has the potential to generate savings of around £750 million a year. Helping deaf and disabled people can actually bring an economic return as well, so we should not see the strategy just as money that we spend but rather as an investment.

It is important to highlight that that is why we will have the regional disability forum: to make sure that the strategy that we have and the actions that we put into the action plan are necessary and deliverable and that we are held to account on them. I am more than happy for us to subject ourselves to that scrutiny, because I do not want this to be a wasted opportunity; I want to do something that actually makes a difference, is tangible and has the right outcome. That is why I am committed to doing that and why the forum has such a key role. As I have said, I do not want that to be a tick-box exercise. I genuinely want to get that feedback, input and monitoring and to be held to account by that group.

The Member is absolutely right to raise the issue, because we see time and again that disability is a huge factor that impacts on poverty. That is why we have 58 commitments in the strategy, many of which will directly impact on that and some of which will have an impact in other ways. There are a number of ways in which we can make a difference. One of the first key actions will be the collection and increased availability of data. A problem that we have had in the past is this: if we do not have the data, it is hard to put the policies in place to make a difference. A number of other things that we are doing will also tackle poverty. It is often related to isolation, so, for example, there are ways in which we can make sure that people in urban and rural settings have access to transport. Other issues include communication, which is why it is so important that we have introduced the sign language legislation. We will implement the disability and work strategy because we know that one of the best routes out of poverty is through work. We have to make sure that people have jobs, that they have the ability to travel to them and that they get the reasonable adjustments that they need. We know that participation in the arts and in sport is also a contributing factor in helping to deal with poverty, and the strategy includes that. It is also about making sure that people have suitable accommodation; housing is another key commitment in the strategy. All those things together can help us to tackle poverty, along with, of course, improved access to health and social care. That is why it is important that we have a joined-up approach and why the strategy will help us to deal with poverty.

Yes, absolutely. That was a key ask and is one that we will deliver on. That work is starting now. It will require significant resource, because the existing disability legislation is extremely complex, but we have to see that as an opportunity to create meaningful and lasting improvements in the lives of deaf and disabled people. Any new disability legislation would be a positive measure but would also be cross-cutting; we would need to collaborate across Departments and then get Executive agreement. I am committed to doing that because that is what the sector tells us that it needs, and listening to it on those issues is important.

2,647 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:07 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification