ROFA have at last received a response to our letter to Justin Tomlinson. Unfortunately, he failed to address the majority of their concerns and provides no indication that the culture in the Disability Unit is going to be any different to that of the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) when it was in the DWP. Here is a link to their second letter after they waited a month for a response to their original.
Here is the response from Justin Tomlinson in full:
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Dear ROFA
Thank you for your email of 20 February. I am grateful that you took the time to share your thoughts on the National Strategy for Disabled People. I am sure you will appreciate that we are currently experiencing an unprecedented situation with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic and so I am sorry for not being able to respond sooner.
The Government is strongly committed to ensuring that disabled people have a central voice in the process of determining the National Strategy for Disabled People. You are correct in thinking that we have started some initial scoping with several disability charities and via our Regional Stakeholder Networks. We are keen to include the widest possible range of disabled people’s organisations in this process as we progress and I intend to host quarterly round table discussions, with representatives from these organisations, which would obviously include yourselves.
We had thought to start these as a series of face-to-face meetings towards the end of March. However, current health concerns make this impossible at present. We are progressing our plans to develop a digital engagement programme so that we can undertake some engagement during the current crisis. I do recognise that many disabled people are not able to access digital means of communication and I can assure you this is only a temporary approach and, once we can meet face-to-face again, we will be undertaking extensive regional and local engagement.
As the current pandemic is the priority for the Government, we will need to review our plans for the development of the National Strategy for Disabled People. We want to ensure that we have enough time to get this right and undertake a full and appropriate programme of stakeholder engagement.
My officials will contact you as soon as possible with respect to engagement on the National Strategy so we can agree how you and your organisations are part of extensive plans to engage with as many disabled people and disabled people’s organisations as possible.
Finally, thank you for your comprehensive list of concerns. My officials are working across Government to ensure that the needs of disabled people are centred in our response to COVID-19. These are rapidly developing circumstances but I can assure you that, as both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19. We will ensure that Government communications and messages about the coronavirus are available in many accessible formats.
I look forward to discussing the specific queries you raise for inclusion in the National Strategy for Disabled People when we are able to meet in person.
Kind regards,
Justin Tomlinson MP
Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work
The ROFA Steering Group will be following up and arranging a meeting after our conference. We will continue to keep you informed if any progress is made.
