The Disability Confident scheme, accredited by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), helps employers recruit, retain and train great people. Disability Confident organisations play a leading role in changing attitudes about, and increasing understanding of, disability. There are three levels of the scheme with Leader being the highest.  

The University's Disability Confident Leader submission focused on the people we employ including staff, PGRs, apprentices, and those undertaking work experience and work placements. It also highlighted how data is reported and includes an ongoing commitment to annually report the Disability Pay Gap. 

The successful Disability Confident Leader application was based on evidence generated through conversations with colleagues in the Disabled Staff Network and across the University about their lived experiences and professional practice.  The reporting captured both positive and negative experiences and reflected these honestly in the submission.  

The application focuses on all three pillars of the :  

• Inclusive Environments and Cultures; 
• Diversity and Equity in our community; 
• Inclusive Practice. 

The University was able to demonstrate how it strives to be disability-inclusive and endeavour to ensure that disabled colleagues feel they belong, and that the University is a great place to work, whilst recognising that there is work to be done in achieving this. 

It is only the beginning of the University's leadership journey comments provided by the Business Disability Forum will be used to co-create a robust action plan.   

Actions will be assigned to individuals to track progress and ensure accountability. Everyone has a role to play in eliminating discrimination and advancing disability equality. 

More information 

Professor Alys Young, who is also s deputy lead for the Outcomes programme in the Hearing Health theme for says she’s delighted to have made  the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 .

She follows in the footsteps of Jess Boland, Senior Lecturer in Functional Materials and co-chair of The University’s disabled staff network, who was on the list last year.

Professor Young is a co-leader of the Social Research with Deaf People research group which works in British Sign Language focussing on inequalities in health and social care affecting d/Deaf people.

She said: “Having lived with a serious debilitating condition most of my adult life, a great deal of my research work and academic teaching and student support is driven by a commitment to social justice, in all its forms.

“Anything I am able to do to unlock the latent potential and talents of others is a key motivator in redressing the consequences of structural and interpersonal inequalities.”

A former Academic Lead for Disability Equality at the university of Manchester, she is also a distinguished visiting professor at the Centre for Deaf Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

She was conferred a fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2016 in recognition of her contribution to the field of social research with d/Deaf people, and to social work.

In 2016, she won the Times Higher Award for Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year and is also a Senior Fellow of NIHR SSCR.

She currently leads the national longitudinal study of deaf youth in transition to and the first study of the impact of interpreter mediated Mental Health Act

The Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 aims to showcase the capabilities and strengths of Disabled People and the prejudice they often encounter.

Nationally and internationally recognized, it celebrates the most influential disabled people in the UK, nominated by the public and judged by an independent panel.

More than 20% of people have an impairment and too often society sees disability before capability, unintentionally excluding Disabled People, muting their impact and limiting inclusion.

Disabled people navigate an inaccessible world, equipping them with unique perspectives, expertise and experience that is often overlooked.

The study of English data, published today in Lancet Regional Health Europe (05/05/22) also links the lack of adaptations to not being able to participate in social activities and having to move home within two years.

The  analysis, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, followed over 10,000 adults aged 60 and over living at home in England for an average of 11 years using data from the English Longitudinal 91ֱ�� of Ageing.

The team compared older adults with and without mobility impairments living in homes that had been accommodated to their disability or that had remained unadjusted.

Among those with severe mobility impairments, home adaptions reduced the probability of falls by 3%, pain by 6%, and poor health by 4% compared to disabled adults coping without help.

Modifications for external access also increased the chances that people could go out of their home and participate in social life by 6% and enabled them to remain in their home for at least the next two years by 4%.

The adaptions they studied include widened doorways, access ramps, automatic doors, accessible parking, handrails and bathroom or kitchen modifications.

Lead author Honorary Professor Tarani Chandola from The University of Manchester said: “Mobility impairment is the most prevalent form of disability facing older adults today and includes difficulty in walking, climbing stairs, and getting up after sitting.

“But most of the housing stock in the UK is poorly designed for a rapidly ageing population, with only 7% of homes in England in 2014 meeting the minimum standard of accessibility.

“Over 70% of older adults with a mobility impairment in England live in a home without an accommodation for their disability.”

Participants in the survey were asked if their homes had external modifications such as widened doorways, ramps, automatic doors, parking and a lift and internal modifications such as rails, bathroom/kitchen modifications and a chair lift.

Mobility impairment was measured through reported difficulties in 10 activities including walking, climbing, getting up, reaching and lifting.

Five disability outcomes were analysed: falls in the previous two years, pain, poor self-rated health, no social activities, and moving home within next two years.

Until now, medical researchers often bundled up housing modifications with clinical or non-clinical interventions such as advice from a physiotherapist or exercise therapy, making it hard to separate the specific effect of home adaptations.

But thanks to the study, the team has been able to make a compelling case for additional investment in such home adaptations by policy makers.

He added: “Our study highlights how this topic has received little attention in debates about health and social care services.

“We now have strong and consistent evidence that housing adaptations can prevent a deterioration in the health, wellbeing, and quality of life of disabled older adults.

“That is why improving the quality of our housing is essential for achieving healthy ageing in the community.”

The paper is available here: