Almost a third at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2013 –
and the UK is at the bottom of the league
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union has released a document on the eve of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities showing the situation of disabled people in the EU in terms of economic and social integrationi. To do so, Eurostat uses the following definition of Disability:
Disability is a complex, evolving and multi-dimensional concept for which various definitions, interpretations and approaches are possible in a particular survey. Disability is here defined as a self-reported limitation in the activities of everyday life.
Around 44 million people aged 15 to 64 in the European Union (EU28) have a reported disability, and on average, against the indicators of the labour market, the education system or social inclusion, the situation of disabled people is less favourable than that of non disabled people.
Particularly, regarding the UK:
Employment rate in the EU28 Member States, by disability status, 2011 (people aged 15-64)
The average gap in employment (the difference between the employment rate for persons with no disability and the employment rate for persons with disabilities in the EU 28 is -19.6.
With a gap of -27.8, there are 19 countries out of 28 in the European Union who have a better employment rate for disabled people than the UK.
Participation rate in education and training in the EU28 Member States, by disability status, 2011
Trends similar to those observed in the labour market can be seen for access to education with significant differences across Member States while the average in terms of gap in participation rate for the EU28 is -2.8.
Again 20 out of 28 countries perform better than the UK which has a 4.5 gap in terms of participation rates of disabled people in training and education
At risk of poverty or social exclusion rate in the EU28 Member States, by disability status, 2013
These figures are the most recent as they were compiled in 2013.
The UK is in the top 5 countries for having disabled people at risk of poverty or social exclusion with 34.8% of disabled persons at risk, compared to 19.8% for non disabled people.
As a whole, the six countries with the lowest activity gap (Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and France) have well developed quota schemes in favour of people with disabilitiesii. The majority of EU countries have implemented approaches to prevent discrimination in addition to quota systems. However, the UK represents an exception, as it abolished its quota policies with the implementation of anti-discrimination legislation related to disability in the 1990siii.
Although the UK made huge gains in terms of disability rights until the austerity policies put into place by the current government, these gains have not always translated into practical improvements for disabled people in terms of employment, education and social inclusion. Athough quotas which include incentives and sanctions for employers seem to have a marginal effect as such on disabled people’s employment, what seems to be more effective is a multi pronged approach, including quotas, anti-discrimination policies etc. which together would have a greater effect than the sum of its parts.
ii ANED_2013_activity_report_FINAL_EN.doc https://www.disability-europe.net/search/apachesolr_search/quotas%20employment?filters=
