Disability Campaign and Updates

Scope – Work Without Barriers

Disabled people continue to face barriers entering and staying in work.

Scope's current campaign is calling for:

• Disability pay-gap reporting
• Better workplace adjustments
• More flexible working
• Stronger disability equality at work
• Progress on the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill

Scope and partner organisations sent an open letter to Government in June 2026 calling for the draft Bill to be brought forward.

Scope – Futureproofing Benefits

Scope's major 2026 disability-benefits campaign is focused on the future of PIP, Universal Credit health support and disability assessments.

Its priorities include:

• Keeping PIP separate from assessment of ability to work
• Keeping disability extra-cost support separate from income replacement
• Reforming the system rather than cutting support
• Making assessments more dignified
• Reducing unnecessary reassessments
• Co-designing reform with disabled people

Scope – Benefits Without the Fight

Benefits Without the Fight campaigns for a fairer disability-benefits assessment system.

Scope has highlighted:

• Inaccurate assessments
• Unnecessary appeals
• Stress and financial hardship
• Delays
• Assessors lacking appropriate knowledge

Campaign Goals

• Improve assessment quality
• Reduce unnecessary reassessments
• Improve assessor knowledge and training
• Allow people to request an assessor with appropriate knowledge
• Create a more humane process

Scope – Disability Price Tag

The Disability Price Tag highlights the extra costs disabled households face simply because of disability.

Costs can include:

• Higher energy bills
• Specialist equipment
• Accessible transport
• Care and support
• Home adaptations
• Higher insurance and service costs

Scope's 2025 research estimated that disabled households needed an additional average of around:

£1,095 every month

to achieve a comparable standard of living to non-disabled households.

Scope – Travel Fair

Travel Fair campaigns for disabled people to have equal and independent access to public transport.

Key Issues

• Broken lifts
• Inaccessible stations
• Poor assistance
• Staff training
• Difficult booking processes
• Weak accountability

Campaign Goals

• Step-free access
• Reliable assistance
• Consistent accessibility standards
• Improved passenger rights
• Clear accountability

Scope – Let's Play Fair

Let's Play Fair campaigns for accessible playgrounds where disabled and non-disabled children can play together.

Goals

• Inclusive playground design
• Accessible play equipment
• Better local-authority planning
• Equal opportunities for play
• Parents to be involved in playground design

Scope – Invisible Disabilities

Scope supported ITV's campaign highlighting that many disabilities and health conditions are not immediately visible.

Examples can include:

• Autism
• Chronic pain
• Mental-health conditions
• Epilepsy
• ME / chronic fatigue conditions
• Hearing loss

Campaign Goals

• Increase understanding
• Reduce judgment
• Challenge assumptions
• Improve accessibility
• Encourage disability allyship

Scope – Stuck: Reform Sick Pay

Scope and Mind campaigned for Statutory Sick Pay to become more inclusive and financially secure.

Campaign asks included:

• Removing waiting days
• Wider eligibility
• Better financial protection
• Flexible sick pay
• Support lasting longer where needed
• Reducing disability-related workplace inequality

Scope – End the Awkward

End the Awkward was one of Scope's major public-attitudes campaigns.

It challenged:

• Social awkwardness around disability
• Stereotypes
• Fear of saying the wrong thing
• Negative assumptions

Its message continues to be relevant to disability-awareness work, although Scope now describes it as a past campaign.

Scope – We Won't Be Forgotten

This campaign highlighted the effect of the pandemic and economic pressures on disabled people.

Its themes included:

• Poverty
• Energy bills
• Food insecurity
• Social-care pressures
• Disability-related expenses
• Ensuring disabled people were not overlooked by government

Campaign for a New UK Accessibility Act

Disability Rights UK and Disabled People's Organisations are developing a campaign for a dedicated:

UK Accessibility Act.

The proposal is for legislation to sit alongside existing equality law and create stronger accessibility duties covering areas such as:

• Transport
• Housing
• Built environment
• Technology
• Communication
• Employment
• Goods and services

Disability Rights UK's 2026 survey reported overwhelming support among respondents for stronger accessibility legislation.

Disability Benefits Reform & PIP Review

Disability Rights UK and other DPOs are actively participating in and scrutinising the 2026 Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment.

Campaign priorities include:

• Disabled people helping design reform
• Protecting disability support
• Fairer PIP assessments
• A benefits system based on dignity
• Recognition of disability-related costs
• Preventing reform from becoming a route to benefit cuts

Protect Access to Work

Disability Rights UK and allied Disabled People's Organisations are campaigning to protect and properly fund:

Access to Work.

The scheme can support disabled people with equipment, support workers, travel and workplace adjustments.

Campaigners are asking disabled people and allies to contact MPs about delays, funding pressures and proposed changes.

Independent Living

Independent Living is a central part of the UK disability-rights movement.

Campaigners argue that disabled people should have the support and resources required to choose:

• Where they live
• Who they live with
• Who supports them
• How support is provided
• How they participate in their community

Campaign priorities include:

• Accessible housing
• Personal assistance
• Adequate income
• Accessible transport
• Inclusive education
• Equal employment

Independent Inquiry Into Benefit-Related Deaths

Disability Rights UK continues to call for an:

Independent inquiry into benefit-related deaths.

Its campaign position includes calls for:

• DWP investigations to be made public
• Greater safeguarding accountability
• A legal duty of care
• Reasonable adjustments to be consistently provided
• Lessons from serious cases to be acted upon

Disabled People's Manifesto & Rights Priorities

Disabled People's Organisations have repeatedly developed manifestos setting out priorities created by disabled people themselves.

Common themes include:

• Independent living
• Social care
• Employment
• Housing
• Transport
• Human rights
• Education
• Adequate income
• Accessible public services

Current 2026 national and devolved manifestos are included later on this page.

Accessible Housing

Disability organisations continue to campaign for:

• More wheelchair-accessible homes
• Adaptable housing standards
• Affordable accessible accommodation
• Clear information about accessibility
• Disabled people being involved in housing policy

Several live Parliament petitions on accessible housing are included below.

Accessible Elections

Disabled People's Organisations campaign for disabled people to be able to participate equally in elections and political life.

Common campaign demands include:

• Accessible polling stations
• Accessible election material
• Voting independently and secretly
• Support for disabled candidates
• Accessible political meetings

Disability Hate Crime

Campaigners continue to push for better prevention and response to disability-related harassment and hate crime.

Campaign priorities include:

• Better reporting systems
• Improved police training
• Consistent recording
• Support for victims
• Stronger national strategy

A live UK Parliament petition currently calls for a National Disability Hate Strategy.

Mencap – Homes Not Hospitals

Mencap campaigns against inappropriate long-term detention of people with learning disabilities and autistic people in mental-health inpatient units.

The campaign calls for:

• Community-based support
• Suitable housing
• Earlier intervention
• Better crisis support
• Families to be listened to
• People to live in homes rather than hospitals wherever possible

Mencap's June 2026 data reported more than 2,000 people with a learning disability and/or autism in inpatient mental-health hospitals in England.

Mencap – I'm In

The I'm In campaign raises awareness of the GP learning disability register.

Mencap wants more people with a learning disability to be identified by GP practices so they can access appropriate healthcare support, including annual health checks where eligible.

Campaign Goals

• Increase awareness of the register
• Improve annual health-check uptake
• Reduce health inequalities
• Improve reasonable adjustments
• Help people get earlier medical support

Mencap – Disability Benefits

Mencap campaigns against benefit reforms that it believes could reduce financial support for people with a learning disability.

Its campaigning includes:

• PIP
• Universal Credit
• Fair assessments
• Financial security
• Recognition of additional disability costs

National Autistic Society – Education

The National Autistic Society campaigns for an education system that better meets the needs of autistic children and young people.

Issues include:

• SEND support
• School inclusion
• Staff knowledge
• Attendance barriers
• Appropriate specialist support

Empowering Autistic Voices

The National Autistic Society campaigns to ensure autistic people can influence political decisions and policies affecting their lives.

The principle is:

Autistic people should help shape decisions about autistic people.

Tackling Autism Misinformation

The National Autistic Society is campaigning against misinformation and harmful myths about autism.

The campaign seeks to:

• Increase public understanding
• Challenge inaccurate claims
• Promote evidence-based information
• Reduce stigma

Autism – Mental Health

Campaigning focuses on making mental-health services work better for autistic people.

Priorities include:

• Autism-informed mental-health support
• Early intervention
• Reasonable adjustments
• Preventing people reaching crisis

Autism – Employment & Benefits

The National Autistic Society campaigns for autistic people who can and want to work to receive appropriate employment support, while ensuring people unable to work receive appropriate financial support.

Disabled Children's Partnership – SEND Reform

The Disabled Children's Partnership brings together organisations campaigning for disabled children and their families.

During the 2026 SEND reforms it has called for:

• Existing legal rights to be protected
• Disabled children to remain at the centre of reform
• Clear enforceable support standards
• Better health and care involvement
• A stronger specialist workforce
• Better support in mainstream education
• Families and young people to be involved in reform

Fight for Ordinary

The Disabled Children's Partnership's wider campaign vision is for disabled children to be able to enjoy the ordinary opportunities other children take for granted.

Campaign themes include:

• Education
• Health
• Social care
• Family support
• Play
• Community inclusion

ALLFIE – SEND Reform

The Alliance for Inclusive Education campaigns for disabled children and young people to have a right to inclusive mainstream education.

Its 2026 SEND campaign calls for:

• Inclusive education
• Protection of disabled children's rights
• Less segregation
• Disabled people to help design reform
• Investment in inclusive mainstream provision

Contact – Fix Disabled Children's Social Care

Contact argues that disabled children's social care needs major reform.

Campaign areas include:

• Clearer law
• Better funding
• A larger skilled workforce
• Consistent assessments
• Family support
• Respite and short breaks

Contact – School Transport Campaign

Contact campaigns against gaps in transport provision affecting disabled young people.

It argues that disabled young people should not be denied education because suitable transport is unavailable or unaffordable.

Contact – Unlock Child Trust Funds

Contact supports a parent-led campaign concerning disabled young people who cannot easily access money in Child Trust Funds or Junior ISAs after turning 18 where they lack capacity to manage the account.

Contact estimates tens of thousands of disabled young people may be affected.

Contact – Counting the Costs

This campaign highlights the financial pressure faced by families with disabled children.

Campaign asks include:

• Better disability-benefit support
• Affordable energy
• Inclusive childcare and breakfast clubs
• Benefit checks
• Action on disabled-child poverty

RNIB – Inclusive Journeys

RNIB campaigns for streets and public transport to be safer and more accessible for blind and partially sighted people.

Its work addresses:

• Rail accessibility
• Bus travel
• Street design
• Pavement barriers
• Passenger information

RNIB – Accessible Voting

RNIB campaigns for blind and partially sighted people to be able to vote independently and secretly.

Campaign issues include:

• Accessible ballot papers
• Voting equipment
• Accessible election information
• Polling-station support

RNIB – Alt Text Campaign

RNIB campaigns for better use of alternative text so digital images can be understood by people using screen readers.

RNIB – Fairer Welfare & Benefits

RNIB campaigns for disability assessments and benefit rules that understand sight loss and provide timely and accurate decisions.

RNIB is also engaging with current PIP and Universal Credit reform.

Guide Dogs – Streets Ahead

Streets Ahead campaigns to make public spaces safer for people with sight loss.

Campaign issues include:

• Pavement parking
• Street clutter
• Shared-surface streets
• Accessible crossings
• Safe pedestrian routes

Guide Dogs – Accessible Transport

Guide Dogs campaigns for people with sight loss to travel independently and confidently.

Campaign work includes:

• Accessible buses
• Audio-visual announcements
• Taxi and private-hire access
• Safe electric vehicles
• Reliable assistance

RNID – Accessible TV, Subtitles & Signing

RNID has been campaigning during 2026 around Ofcom rules for subtitles and signing on major on-demand television services.

The campaign seeks better access to:

• Subtitles
• Signing
• Accessible on-demand programmes
• Clearer accessibility standards

RNID – Hearing Healthcare

RNID is campaigning to improve access to:

• Audiology
• Hearing care
• Ear-wax removal
• Early diagnosis
• Accessible healthcare

In July 2026 MPs attended an RNID parliamentary event examining barriers to hearing care.

Transport for All – Unlock Transport Access

Transport for All is campaigning to reform disabled concessionary travel.

Its demands include:

• Disabled bus passes usable at any time
• A national disabled bus-pass card
• Consistent eligibility rules
• An accessible application system
• Support for carers or personal assistants travelling with disabled people
• Ending local postcode differences

Disabled Bus Pass – All-Day Travel

Transport for All welcomed a 2026 commitment that from April 2027 disabled bus passes in England should be usable at any time of day.

The organisation continues campaigning on the wider remaining accessibility demands.

Disability Wales – From Barely Surviving to Truly Thriving

Disability Wales' Disabled People's Manifesto 2026–2031 was co-produced with Disabled People's Organisations and more than 250 disabled people.

Its key calls for change include:

• Incorporating the UN disability convention into Welsh law
• A strong Disabled People's Rights Plan
• Disabled people in leadership and decision-making
• The right to independent living
• Greater financial security and welfare reform

Disability Wales – Access to Politics Charter

The Access to Politics Charter campaigns to increase meaningful participation and representation of disabled people in Welsh politics.

It calls for political organisations to:

• Remove accessibility barriers
• Make meetings accessible
• Support disabled candidates
• Provide accessible information
• Increase disabled representation

Inclusion Scotland – Manifesto for Inclusion

The 2026 Manifesto for Inclusion sets out seven major priorities identified by disabled people and DPOs in Scotland.

They are the right to:

• Independent living
• An adequate standard of living
• Be involved in decisions
• Education and employment
• Climate justice
• Accessible communities
• Human-rights protection

Glasgow Disability Alliance – Manifesto for a Fairer Scotland

Glasgow Disability Alliance's 2026 manifesto calls for systemic changes intended to give disabled people the same freedom and opportunities as non-disabled people.

Campaign themes include:

• Independent living
• Social-care reform
• Accessible communities
• Income security
• Human rights
• Participation in decisions

Our Lives. Our Rights. Our Futures.

Scottish Centres for Independent Living have campaigned together for disabled people's right to independent living and equality.

The campaign focuses on:

• Choice and control
• Social care
• Personal assistance
• Accessible housing
• Equal participation

Disability Action Northern Ireland

Disability Action campaigns for the rights of d/Deaf and disabled people across Northern Ireland.

Its work includes:

• Independent living
• Employment
• Accessible transport
• Housing
• Equality
• Political participation
• Accessible public services
• Disability strategy

Reopen Northern Ireland's Independent Living Fund

Disabled People's Organisations and campaigners have called for Northern Ireland's Independent Living Fund to reopen.

Campaigners argue that people in Northern Ireland should have comparable access to independent-living support and control over assistance.

Protect Community Disability Services

Disability Action and voluntary-sector organisations raised concerns in 2026 about major reductions in community funding in Northern Ireland.

Campaigners warned that reductions could affect services supporting:

• Disabled people
• Employment
• Independent living
• Community participation
• People facing multiple barriers

Accessible Changing Benches for Disabled Children

Calls for large public venues to provide accessible changing benches for disabled children who have outgrown standard baby-changing facilities.

Closes: 9 October 2026

Penalties for Repeated Breaches of SEND Law

Calls for enforceable penalties where public bodies repeatedly breach their statutory SEND duties.

Closes: 8 November 2026

Reinstate Post-16 Transport for Disabled Young Adults

Calls for dedicated transport provision for disabled young people attending post-16 education.

Closes: 25 September 2026

Parental Responsibility for Severely Disabled Adults

Calls for a safeguarded mechanism for parental responsibility to continue after 18 where a young person severely and permanently lacks capacity, rather than families always needing Court of Protection deputyship.

Closes: 23 September 2026

Protect Higher Motability Mileage Options

Calls for higher-mileage options to remain available to disabled people who need to travel more than the standard allowance.

Closes: 27 October 2026

Allow Regular Carers to Continue Visits in Hospital

Calls for guidance so disabled hospital patients can continue receiving appropriate support from regular care workers while admitted.

Closes: 8 October 2026

Require Venues to Publish Accessibility Information

Calls for venues, shops and businesses to provide clear, up-to-date accessibility information online.

Closes: 3 February 2027

Accessible Social Housing Floor Plans

Calls for social-housing providers to publish floor plans and key accessibility measurements for homes advertised as accessible.

Closes: 12 September 2026

Properly Equipped Accessible Hotel Rooms

Calls for large hotel chains to provide a minimum number of rooms with appropriate disability-access equipment and clear accessibility information.

Closes: 29 November 2026

Legally Binding NHS Wheelchair Waiting Standards

Calls for NHS wheelchair assessment, repair and replacement standards to become legally enforceable.

Closes: 26 September 2026

Protect Disabled Students' Allowance Technology Funding

Calls for specialist assistive-technology support under Disabled Students' Allowance to be retained.

Closes: 8 December 2026

PIP & Type 1 Diabetes

Calls for PIP standards and assessment practice to more clearly recognise the impact of managing Type 1 diabetes.

Closes: 2 December 2026

End Routine PIP Reassessments for Lifelong Conditions

Calls for people with lifelong and progressive conditions to be protected from routine repeat PIP assessments.

Closes: 4 February 2027

Mandatory Hidden Disability Training

Calls for hidden-disability training to become mandatory across public services.

Closes: 26 December 2026

Changing Places in All Public Buildings

Calls for Changing Places standard facilities to become mandatory in public buildings.

Closes: 1 January 2027

National Disability Hate Strategy

Calls for a dedicated UK-wide strategy to tackle disability hate, harassment and abuse.

Closes: 17 February 2027

Accessible Gaming

Calls for video-game developers to provide adaptable accessibility options for disabled users.

Closes: 27 September 2026

Disabled Toilets on Commercial Flights

Calls for accessible toilet facilities for disabled passengers on commercial aircraft.

Closes: 8 December 2026

Wheelchair-Accessible Motorway Emergency Areas

Calls for emergency safety areas and motorway barriers to be made accessible to wheelchair users.

Closes: 3 January 2027

Specialist Disability Buggies on Public Transport

Calls for national guidance on how specialist disability buggies should be accommodated on public transport.

Closes: 26 September 2026

Include SEND Children in Universal Breakfast Clubs

Calls for government-funded breakfast-club schemes to be accessible to all SEND children, including those requiring additional staffing or support.

Closes: 20 November 2026