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There are how many disabled people in England and Wales?

Cher_Alumni

On Thursday 23rd March 2023, the latest results from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) were published. This survey was conducted between 2021 and 2022.
The government will use these figures to measure disability prevalence rates in the UK. The figures tell us that 16 million people are disabled. That is 1 in 4 people or 24% of the population. Quite an increase from the 14.6 million previously reported in the 2020 to 2021 survey.

So why has the number increased?

There are several factors that may have contributed, like changes in attitudes towards mental health issues, an aging population or the effects of the pandemic on people’s mental and physical health.

We wanted to get your reaction from the FRS survey.

Do you think 16 million is the right number?
Is there still a stigma in having “disabled” as a label?
What other factors do you believe could have contributed to the increased figure?

Please give us your thoughts in the comments below.

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Comments

chiarieds

From looking into the link provided, I think the number of disabled people could well be higher, as they say: 'The definition of disability used in the FRS is consistent with the core definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010. A person is considered to have a disability if they have a long-standing illness, disability or impairment which causes substantial difficulty with day-to-day activities. Some people classified as disabled and having rights under the Equality Act 2010 are not captured by this definition, such as people with a long-standing illness or disability which is not currently affecting their day-to-day activities.'

It therefore seems that it's acknowledged that this may not reflect the true figure as they are using data about those who claim PIP, DLA, etc.

As we know from members who have joined the community, some people do have a long-standing illness/disability which can affect their daily activities, but either :

- don't know they could claim a 'disability' benefit
- aren't eligible because they don't 'fit' the descriptors/insufficient descriptors to get an award

- may give up if their initial claim(s) or Mandatory Reconsideration (currently this is unchanged except in approx. 23%) are unsuccessful

I think any 'label' can carry an unwarranted stigma

2oldcodgers

Do you think 16 million is the right number?
I would ask what was the definition as to who was disabled. In reality I would think that the figure is a little on the low side. Again, it does depend on the way you would define who was or was not disabled.
Is there still a stigma in having “disabled” as a label?
Most definitely. Mental health is the main one that still carries a stigma. In my case I refused point blank to even put that condition on my PIP claim form for fear of not being believed. I refuse to engage in any face to face meetings and discuss my issues. It has taken from the mid 90's to have the issues confirmed by the GP/Psychiatrist, Psychologist, OT's and Psychiatrics nurses and thankfully they believed me and since the late 90's I have been and still am on various medications. I am well able to hide the issue from everybody because I do not want to be considered a fruit case.
What other factors do you believe could have contributed to the increased figure?
More awareness and more acceptance by the patient.

WelshBlue

2oldcodgers said:

I am well able to hide the issue from everybody because I do not want to be considered a fruit case.

This.

I'm not ashamed of my issues, and proud of how I'm overcoming some major ones ... but am very wary of people knowing. I think it's a trust thing ? Being mocked etc.

On the PIP issue, the DM who rang me about my review stated he wanted to know a couple of things so that I didn't have to go through the stress of an assessment f2f

There are those in the DwP who understand Mental Health and are empathetic ... but it really does seem like a lottery to who looks at each case ?

durhamjaide2001

Wow that's a lot of people in the Uk who have a disability

rebel11

That doesn't surprise me, we really aren't a caring nation, in that the Government are only interested in 'Growth', not how we get there. People are stressed / suffer anxiety about day to day things, job, health, children, food, etc. The Government aren't proactive in mind / body welfare, just look at health, NHS etc.

Other countries look after their citizen, I also appreciate there are other countries that don't.

Cartini

rebel11 said:

That doesn't surprise me, we really aren't a caring nation, in that the Government are only interested in 'Growth', not how we get there. People are stressed / suffer anxiety about day to day things, job, health, children, food, etc. The Government aren't proactive in mind / body welfare, just look at health, NHS etc.

Other countries look after their citizen, I also appreciate there are other countries that don't.

We are a caring nation; but the Government has to put growth to the front to cover the cost of other areas. Those coming over in boats cost £6 million a day, that`t £2 billion a year. Those from commonwealth countries coming here for medical help because it`s cheaper to get a flight than it is to have the procedure in their country.

Stop the boat people (successive Governments are guilty of failing this) and charge those who come here for free medicine and there will be more money to look after those who need it.

rebel11

Cartini said:

rebel11 said:

That doesn't surprise me, we really aren't a caring nation, in that the Government are only interested in 'Growth', not how we get there. People are stressed / suffer anxiety about day to day things, job, health, children, food, etc. The Government aren't proactive in mind / body welfare, just look at health, NHS etc.

Other countries look after their citizen, I also appreciate there are other countries that don't.

We are a caring nation; but the Government has to put growth to the front to cover the cost of other areas. Those coming over in boats cost £6 million a day, that`t £2 billion a year. Those from commonwealth countries coming here for medical help because it`s cheaper to get a flight than it is to have the procedure in their country.

Stop the boat people (successive Governments are guilty of failing this) and charge those who come here for free medicine and there will be more money to look after those who need it.

You need to read what I wrote, you've gone on a tangent.

The post isn't about 'boat people or people from the Commonwealth'.

That is not the reason why the NHS is on it's knees.

There are around 130,000 vacancies in the NHS.

Hospital's are 'literally' crumbling. Things should be getting better.

Cartini

rebel11 said:

Cartini said:

rebel11 said:

That doesn't surprise me, we really aren't a caring nation, in that the Government are only interested in 'Growth', not how we get there. People are stressed / suffer anxiety about day to day things, job, health, children, food, etc. The Government aren't proactive in mind / body welfare, just look at health, NHS etc.

Other countries look after their citizen, I also appreciate there are other countries that don't.

We are a caring nation; but the Government has to put growth to the front to cover the cost of other areas. Those coming over in boats cost £6 million a day, that`t £2 billion a year. Those from commonwealth countries coming here for medical help because it`s cheaper to get a flight than it is to have the procedure in their country.

Stop the boat people (successive Governments are guilty of failing this) and charge those who come here for free medicine and there will be more money to look after those who need it.

You need to read what I wrote, you've gone on a tangent.

The post isn't about 'boat people or people from the Commonwealth'.

That is not the reason why the NHS is on it's knees.

There are around 130,000 vacancies in the NHS.

Hospital's are 'literally' crumbling. Things should be getting better.

To quote you "You need to read what I wrote".

I didn`t say it was about boat people or the Commonwealth; I put forward two examples of where money is being wasted when it could be put into the NHS to plug the gaps and improve services.

Wibbles

There are currently 2.8 million PIP claimants - that is probably a more realistic figure ?

2oldcodgers

Wibbles said:

There are currently 2.8 million PIP claimants - that is probably a more realistic figure ?

....and with that we ignore those that claim Attendance Allowance, those that choose not to claim any type of disability benefit, those that have claimed but have been refused and have given up..... the list goes on and on.

onebigvoice

rebel11 said:

Cartini said:

rebel11 said:

That doesn't surprise me, we really aren't a caring nation, in that the Government are only interested in 'Growth', not how we get there. People are stressed / suffer anxiety about day to day things, job, health, children, food, etc. The Government aren't proactive in mind / body welfare, just look at health, NHS etc.

Other countries look after their citizen, I also appreciate there are other countries that don't.

We are a caring nation; but the Government has to put growth to the front to cover the cost of other areas. Those coming over in boats cost £6 million a day, that`t £2 billion a year. Those from commonwealth countries coming here for medical help because it`s cheaper to get a flight than it is to have the procedure in their country.

Stop the boat people (successive Governments are guilty of failing this) and charge those who come here for free medicine and there will be more money to look after those who need it.

You need to read what I wrote, you've gone on a tangent.

The post isn't about 'boat people or people from the Commonwealth'.

That is not the reason why the NHS is on it's knees.

There are around 130,000 vacancies in the NHS.

Hospital's are 'literally' crumbling. Things should be getting better.

I agree and wonder with some parts of the NHS excepting the Wage offer, and others not is this dividing the NHS into a form of "post Code" lottery as to whether the funding is given to those areas that have settled, for what ever reason and those who as a group have taken to strike not only for better pay but working conditions.
As was said in a comedian on Britain's got Talent, its not all about the money Simon. Altering the payments for Sunday working and being on call when off and payments for extended hours ass if 80 hour working week practices were not enough, there is the other side of being able to recrute labour for those that have left, need to be retrained with better skills, increasing the turn over and reassuring people who were on the list to be seen will be brought to the front of an ever extending back log.
The NHS in its conception was for the people and any "profits" made were ploughed back into the resources of the hospital for training and equipment and the purchase of more sites to specialise in other parts of NHS treatment plan, like mental health or even diatiry conditions altered through the taking of a cocktail of tablets that do cause some to gain unwanted weight where it becomes a catch 22 take the tablets and put on weight, don't take the tablets and suffer.
When the NHS may an assessment that is what fixes me and should not be attached to anything else as they are the experts. The Care needs of a patient is to make sure that no one slips throught he net.
My needs are not always on display so when requesting an assessment I personally want it done by the person that is already looking after me as they have A DUTY OF CARE TO THE PATIENT, not to a government department.

rebel11

Another anomalies is people with 'health care insurance' treated privately in NHS Hospitals. With that package comes, Consultants, Doctors, Specialists, Nurses etc.

rustledjimm

Sounds quite right.

Aging population.

As the NHS crumbles it means people put off GP appointments or going to the hospital when they need to. This leads to lower average health and a higher risk of getting more ill or becoming disabled.

It's really not a topic that's brought up a lot. Though some disabilities are becoming more accepted there can be pushback against mental health and invisible disabilities.

Cher_Alumni

Thanks for your comments everyone. It's a topic that is bound to elicit varying perspectives and there's not one specific reason I think we can attribute the estimated rise to, more-so multiple overlapping factors as has been discussed.

On another note - I hoped the stigma around identifying as disabled would be lessening and that could be a contributory reason to the increased numbers, but your conversation shows that it's still very much felt on a private level

Bearing this in mind, and my own experience of loved ones reluctant to access help for fear of 'what others may think - I'm inclined to agree the overall number of disabled people is probably higher.

rustledjimm

I have been diagnosed with Crohn's much longer than I have with ADHD. It took me about 6 years to start talking about Crohn's outside of immediate family or friends, a bit longer to even bring it up to employers etc.

I still have difficulty bringing up my ADHD a lot of the time. I feel like there's a much larger stigma around it and a lot of assumptions. Not helped by certain areas of the media continuing to publish articles denying it's existence.

Cher_Alumni

@rustledjimm I'm a fellow crohnie who also has anxiety, and I certainly find it easier to talk about my bowels than my anxiety funnily enough. I think there's a lot of emotion, definitely for me, tied to my anxiety and so I have to be comfortable and trust those I share it with, beyond any practitioner.

I heard a phrase once, that I'm now possibly going to misquote(!) which said 'Who has earned the right to hear my story?'. And to be confided in, is definitely a privilege.