Disability

The Facts

Disabled people are a significant part of the community and the market

·        There are approximately 10 million disabled adults in the UK covered by the Disability Discrimination Act, which represents around 18 % of the population.[1]

·        One in every three customers either has a disability or has a close relative or friend who is disabled. [2]

·        The estimated annual purchasing power of people with disabilities is £80 billion. [3]

And an important part of the talent pool…

·        There are over 6.8 million disabled people are of working age which represents 19%  of the working population. [4]

But they are an under utilised pool of employees…

·        At the end of 2005 only 50% of disabled people of working age were in employment compared to 81% of non-disabled people of working age. [5]

·        71% of disabled people with a higher education qualification are in employment compared with 88% of non-disabled people. Of those with no qualification, 23% of disabled people are in employment compared with 62% of non-disabled people. [6]

·        Disabled people are more than twice as likely as non-disabled people to be out of work and claiming benefits. Of the 2.5 million disabled people on state benefits and not in work nearly a million would like to work. [7]

The incidence of disability increases with age…

·        Whilst 9 per cent of adults aged 16-24 are disabled, this increases to about 44 per cent in the 50 to retirement age category. [8]

In 2004 40% of the English population are over 45, the age at which the incidence of disability begins to increase. [9]