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Disabled people feel “forgotten and left behind” due to severe delays to reforms aimed at advancing their rights in Wales, the UK’s equality watchdog warned.

Ruth Coombs, head of Wales at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), gave evidence to a Senedd inquiry about disability and employment on Monday October 7.

She said: “By not giving disabled people access to employment, as a nation, we’re really missing out – on productivity, economic engagement and Wales moving forward.”

Ms Coombs warned of a policy implementation gap in response to the recommendations of the Locked out report about the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on disabled people.

She told the Senedd’s equality committee: “We’ve got some great ideas about what we should be doing, but there have been severe delays.”

‘Left behind’

She said the Welsh Government’s disability action plan has been delayed by 12 to 18 months, as she called for greater impetus, with disabled people feeling “forgotten and left behind”.

Ms Coombs told the inquiry that disability rights have taken a “bit of a backseat” because of a lack of resources from the Welsh Government to maintain focus.

She warned of “uneven” access to employment and educational opportunities across Wales.

The former headteacher raised the role of Medr – which replaced Hefcw in August and oversees all post-16 education – in encouraging disabled people into apprenticeships.

She said very few disabled learners start apprenticeships and even fewer complete them.

Official figures for 2022 showed the disability employment gap – the difference in employment rates between disabled and non-disabled people – in Wales was 32.3%.

This was higher than Scotland, 31.6%, and the UK average, 29.8%.

‘Poor relation’

Martyn Jones, interim chair of the EHRC’s Wales committee, shared campaigners’ concerns that disability does not have the same status as other protected characteristics.

“We don’t see the same focus and drive,” he warned, drawing a parallel with Welsh Government action on domestic abuse and racism in recent years.

Mr Jones described disability as, unfortunately, the “poor relation” of the equalities world, urging ministers to enshrine the UN convention on disabled people’s rights into Welsh law.

He encouraged public bodies to be more proactive, praising the example of the GCHQ intelligence and security agency actively recruiting autistic people for their skills.

Ms Coombs raised concerns about nervousness and a lack of confidence among employers on recruiting disabled people as she pointed to EHRC guidance published in September.

‘Fiscal firepower’

Fflur Elin, head of public affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses Wales (FSB), told the committee about 25% of small business owners are disabled or have a health condition.

She said disabled people and businesses often do not know where to access support as she raised the recommendations of the FSB’s 2020 report, Business without barriers.

She called for devolution of the shared prosperity fund, which replaced EU structural funds, saying this would give Wales the “fiscal firepower” to strengthen business support.

Asked about businesses’ awareness of their duties under the 2010 Equality Act, Ms Elin echoed the EHRC’s comments on a “nervousness in saying or doing the wrong thing”.

On the UK Government’s Access to Work scheme, which provides grants for adjustments, she warned that a 26-week wait for a decision acts as a major barrier.