Liz Lynne: Stop taking the dis

11.32.35am GMT Thu 2nd Feb 2006

Liz Lynne with disabled pupils at Trinity School, Hereford.

Liz Lynne, Lib Dem MEP for the West Midlands and Vice President of the European Parliament's Disability Intergroup, today backed a new campaign which aims to highlight the problems faced by disabled people on a daily basis.

The Disability Rights Commission is spending £1.2 million on the campaign, called 'Are We Taking the Dis?'. It will place a series of poster, press, radio and online adverts to raise awareness of Britain's 10 million disabled people.

Welcoming the initiative, Liz Lynne said "This is a vital message to get out there. Disabled people make up a sixth of this country's population, yet they continue to be treated very much as second-class citizens."

"An able-bodied person with no qualifications is more than twice as likely to be employed as a disabled person with a university degree. Even those who are employed earn 10% less, on average, that a non-disabled person."

"These are real, devastating and widespread statistics which cannot be ignored. Hopefully this campaign will make people stop and think twice before they look the other way."

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. The Disability Rights Campaign launched its 'Are We Taking the Dis?' campaign on Monday. For more information go to www.drc-gb.org.

2. The campaign highlights key facts, including:

a. Only 17% of people with learning disabilities are in paid work.

b. Disabled 16 year olds are twice as likely to be out of education or work as their non-disabled peers.

c. Disabled people earn 10% less, on average, then non-disabled people.

d. Disabled people are more likely to be out of work; those ain work are likely to be in lower-paid jobs.

e. 50% of parents with learning disabilities have their children taken into care.

f. Disabled people have no right of appeal if a local authority wants to put them in a care institution.

3. A report by the Rowntree Foundation last month revealed that a third of disabled people in Britain of working age now live in poverty, on less than 60 per cent of the average national income. The study also found that an able-bodied person with no qualifications was twice as likely to be employed as a disabled person with a university degree.