14th December 2022

There are more people with disabilities living in Essex every year.

Did you know:

    • That about one in every six people in Essex has a long-term health problem or disability?
    • That the number of people with sensory impairment is set to grow from 240,000 (in 2020) to 310,000 (in 2030).
    • That the number of people with learning disabilities who need help from social care will likely go up by 8% by 2030?
    • That over 30% of people with physical or sensory needs tell us they don’t have enough social contact, and over 40% say they can’t do the things they want to do?

Our adult social care team is developing a new Disability Strategy in the context of these issues and more.  A 12-week public consultation has just been launched, and the purpose of this short note is to tell you about it, and ask you to share the information with your networks, to encourage as wide and comprehensive response as possible.

 

We, alongside our partners and care providers, have been talking to people with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and sensory impairment across Essex to understand what is most important to them and where we need to focus our work to remove the barriers that stop people from living the life they choose.

 

Now, with this Essex-wide consultation, we want to broaden that, and to hear from anyone living with a disability, their families and carers, people who work to support people with disabilities as part of their job.  Ultimately all residents of the county can feed into the process.

 

ECC’s Disability Strategy consultation was launched this week and can be accessed here.

 

The consultation runs until Thursday 23 February 2023.

 

Please share this via your networks and encourage residents to fill in the survey online or to contact us if they have specific accessibility requirements; we will ensure the consultation and draft strategy is made available in a range of formats, including an online EasyRead version, and will also be holding in-person focus groups around the county.

 

For any further enquiries please contact the disability strategy team disabilitystrategy@essex.gov.uk.