External Advisory Board for the Disabled People’s Rights Plan meeting, 30 June 2026: meeting notes

Board members

• Amelia John (WG Co‑Chair)
• Professor Debbie Foster (Co‑Chair)
• Natasha Hirst (Deputy Chair)
• Brett Bignall
• Andrea Gordon
• Chaz Hampton
• Damian Bridgemen 
• Debbie Shaffer
• Joe Powell

Apologies

• Laure Adelaide Betts
• Angharad Price
• Willow Holloway
• Owain Gwilym

Welsh Government secretariat

Officials from the equalities and human rights division, Disabled People’s Inclusion Team, and other officials progressing actions from the Disabled People’s Rights Plan. 

Guest

Sioned Williams, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Minister for Social Justice.

Members discussed future recruitment to the External Advisory Board (EAB) and the need to strengthen representation across the Board.

Key discussion points

• Improved representation of:
  • deafblind people
  • young disabled people (including those aged 18 to 24)
  • people with profound learning disabilities
  • disabled children, Additional Learning Needs (ALN) and play specialists
  • expertise relating to emergency planning and climate change
• Members noted the importance of ensuring representation extends beyond those able to participate directly in meetings and that mechanisms are developed to capture wider lived experience.
• Welsh Government confirmed that work is underway to develop a fully accessible recruitment process and that recruitment is expected to begin in late summer 2026.
• A discussion took place regarding the relationship between climate change and emergency planning. Officials explained that these areas had previously been identified as requiring specialist expertise, particularly around the disproportionate impact on disabled people regarding:
  • pandemic preparedness and public health emergencies
  • climate-related impacts such as water shortages and increased temperatures
  • emergency response planning and disabled people's inclusion in resilience arrangements

Ministerial and government update

Officials provided an update on the new Welsh Government administration and confirmed:

• the Disabled People’s Rights Plan remains a priority.
• equality has a prominent place within the new Ministerial portfolio.
• the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Equality is committed to ensuring disabled people’s voices shape policy development and delivery.
• a new Programme for Government is expected in the autumn.

Action

The Welsh Government to work with local authorities and transport operators to collect and update data on the availability and location of parking spaces for Blue Badge holders and integrate them into transport websites.

A verbal progress report was provided by Officials, this will be published separately, as a Progress Report on the Disabled People’s Rights Plan: Theme 1 Neighbourhoods, places, and transport.

Raised by the Board

• Concerns regarding the potential impact of future PIP changes on Blue Badge eligibility.
• Difficulties obtaining evidence for discretionary Blue Badge applications, particularly where medical professionals charge for supporting information.
• Importance of accessible parking information as part of journey planning.
• Changes to PIP eligibility could have implications for Blue Badge eligibility, particularly for individuals with non-visible and fluctuating conditions.

Advice requested from the Board by the Welsh Government 

• How do disabled people currently plan journeys?
• Are there apps, websites or technologies that support accessible journey planning?

Action

The Welsh Government to improve the engagement with disabled people in the development of accessible transport services and oversight arrangements.

A verbal progress report was provided by Officials, this will be published separately, as a Progress Report on the Disabled People’s Rights Plan: Theme 1 Neighbourhoods, places, and transport.

Raised by the Board

• Strong support for co-production.
• Concerns about whether disabled people involved in engagement are properly remunerated.
• Concerns that Wales is not sufficiently represented within UK-wide transport disability structures.
• Proposal for a Wales-specific disability transport advisory group with meaningful influence.
• Disabled people involved in engagement structures receiving appropriate remuneration.
• Perceived lack of engagement in UK Department for Transport disability engagement mechanisms.
• Need for a disability-focused transport advisory body with greater influence and accountability in Wales.

Advice requested from the Board by the Welsh Government 

• Are there gaps in who we are hearing from?
• How can we better engage groups whose experiences may be underrepresented?

Action

The Welsh Government to ensure that transport organisations conduct regular and inclusive consultations with disabled children and young people and their parents and carers.

A verbal progress report was provided by Officials, this will be published separately, as a Progress Report on the Disabled People’s Rights Plan: Theme 1 Neighbourhoods, places, and transport.

Raised by the Board

• Members welcomed the focus on disabled children and young people and reinforced the need for direct representation of younger voices.

Advice requested from the Board by the Welsh Government 

• How can disabled children and young people be supported to participate meaningfully in transport engagement?

Action

The Welsh Government to develop a standardised programme of training for all customer-facing staff in transport including rail, bus, taxi, private hire vehicles and airports.

A verbal progress report was provided by Officials, this will be published separately, as a Progress Report on the Disabled People’s Rights Plan: Theme 1 Neighbourhoods, places, and transport.

Raised by the Board

• Members welcomed the co-production approach and recognised the significant effort undertaken to engage disabled people in developing the materials.
• Members thanked officials for their work with Disabled People’s Organisations and acknowledged the effort made to involve disabled people throughout development.
• Ongoing concerns were raised regarding the shortage of wheelchair-accessible taxis across Wales, including difficulties obtaining accessible taxis from major transport hubs and railway stations.
• Members noted that accessibility training is important but must be accompanied by improvements in the availability of accessible vehicles.
• Monitoring and evaluation of the uptake and effectiveness of the taxi training films by local authorities and training providers remains an important issue. Transport officials advised that evaluation of the films is the next phase of work. This will include engagement with local authorities and training providers to assess uptake, use and opportunities for improvement.
• The availability of wheelchair-accessible taxis remains a concern, and consideration should be given to what further measures could increase provision across Wales.

Action

The Welsh Government to work across government and with transport operators to ensure digital and assistive technologies are available and accessible across transport modes to enable disabled people to confidently plan and undertake trips that meet their needs.

A verbal progress report was provided by Officials, this will be published separately, as a Progress Report on the Disabled People’s Rights Plan: Theme 1 Neighbourhoods, places, and transport.

Raised by the Board

• Strong support for a single journey planning platform.
• Need for: 
  • real-time disruption and service change information
  • information on accessible toilets and changing facilities
  • information about refreshments and facilities needed to support medication and health needs
• Members highlighted barriers to receiving travel updates when information is communicated verbally only.
• Members noted that any future digital tools must be accessible from the outset and work for blind, visually impaired, deaf signing, autistic and neurodivergent users.
• The Aubin App was highlighted as an example of accessible journey-planning design developed for autistic and neurodivergent travellers.
• Journey-planning tools should include information on: 
  • accessible toilets
  • refreshment facilities
  • facilities needed for medication, hydration and nutrition
• The accessibility of transport apps for blind and visually impaired users has been identified as an important consideration requiring appropriate assurance and testing.
• Ensuring that deaf people can access timely and accessible information during service disruptions remains a key issue requiring ongoing attention.

Advice requested from the Board by the Welsh Government 

• Is real-time information during disruption or service changes as important as information available before a journey?
• How important is it that accessibility information is updated quickly when services change?

Action

The Welsh Government to ensure that our Travel for All approach and broader transport policies and grant funding consider disabled people's accessibility needs, especially in rural areas where there is often a greater degree of dependency on them.

A verbal progress report was provided by Officials, this will be published separately, as a Progress Report on the Disabled People’s Rights Plan: Theme 1 Neighbourhoods, places, and transport.

Raised by the Board

• Ongoing accessibility challenges in rural areas.
• Need for stronger disabled people’s representation within regional transport and infrastructure decision-making.
• Members highlighted that accessible transport must be considered alongside active travel, safe crossings, dropped kerbs and the wider built environment.
• The representation and involvement of disabled people in regional transport planning and decision-making structures has been identified as an important consideration.
• The need to ensure that transport planning takes account of the accessibility of the wider built environment has been highlighted as a key issue.

Advice requested from the Board by the Welsh Government 

• Are there barriers in rural or isolated communities that should receive greater emphasis or be addressed more urgently?

Action

The Welsh Government to work with local authorities and service providers to improve the provision of accessible accommodation for disabled people, their carers, and their children when fleeing from violence.

A verbal progress report was provided by Officials, this will be published separately, as a Progress Report on the Disabled People’s Rights Plan: Theme 1 Neighbourhoods, places, and transport.

Raised by the Board

• Accessible information and support in BSL are essential for deaf signing people fleeing violence.
• deaf signing people can become isolated within shared accommodation where communication support is unavailable.
• Additional support may be required to help access police, banks, landlords and other services where communication systems rely on telephone contact.

Action

The Welsh Government to review the Welsh Development Quality Requirements 2021, including its impact and effectiveness.

A verbal progress report was provided by Officials, this will be published separately, as a Progress Report on the Disabled People’s Rights Plan: Theme 1 Neighbourhoods, places, and transport.

Raised by the Board

• Importance of how accessibility requirements are being considered as part of the review.
• Importance of how the wider community infrastructure will be reflected alongside housing design requirements.

Action

The Welsh Government to work with local authorities to continue to improve accessibility and coordinated delivery of housing adaptations and the supply of equipment.

A verbal progress report was provided by Officials, this will be published separately, as a Progress Report on the Disabled People’s Rights Plan: Theme 1 Neighbourhoods, places, and transport.

Raised by the Board

• Need to improve existing housing stock alongside new developments.
• Members highlighted the importance of considering: 
  • transport links
  • healthcare provision
  • education provision
  • community infrastructure
• Questions were raised about barriers to home ownership and mortgage discrimination.
• It is vital that sufficient resources are available to meet growing demand for housing adaptations.
• Questions raised on how future housing policy will support disabled people who wish to own their own homes.

Action

The Welsh Government to work with housing organisations to help improve the dissemination of more accessible housing information to disabled people, including those who are digitally excluded.

A verbal progress report was provided by Officials, this will be published separately, as a Progress Report on the Disabled People’s Rights Plan: Theme 1 Neighbourhoods, places, and transport.

Raised by the Board

• Lack of BSL interpreters and accessible communication in housing services.
• Concerns about children being required to interpret for deaf signing parents.
• Accessibility barriers associated with privately managed properties and management companies, including communal areas, intercom systems, maintenance issues and building access arrangements.
• Housing providers need to better anticipate communication needs rather than requiring disabled people to repeatedly request adjustments.

Action

The Welsh Government to work with disabled people’s organisations and experts to design and deliver training to housing organisations.

A verbal progress report was provided by Officials, this will be published separately, as a Progress Report on the Disabled People’s Rights Plan: Theme 1 Neighbourhoods, places, and transport.

Additional information

• Information was provided on Tai Pawb’s “Disability Café” project, which works with disabled tenants to co-produce resources, guides and videos to support people navigating housing systems and housing adaptations.
• The project aims to empower disabled tenants, reduce isolation and ensure lived experience directly influences housing policy and practice.

Raised by the Board 

• Points raised around Disability Café’s focus on creating new resources.
• Vital that appropriate resourcing for the effective participation of disabled people in co-production processes has been ensured.

Action

The Welsh Government will engage with disabled people to understand the specific barriers to housing, for example for disabled Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people.

A verbal progress report was provided by Officials, this will be published separately, as a Progress Report on the Disabled People’s Rights Plan: Theme 1 Neighbourhoods, places, and transport.

Raised by the Board

• Members stressed the importance of collecting meaningful disability-related data.
• Future housing surveys should use language that captures people who experience disability-related barriers but may not identify themselves as disabled.
• Welsh Government must ensure housing surveys accurately capture the experiences of disabled people who may not identify themselves as disabled. 

The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Equality, Sioned Williams, reaffirmed the Welsh Government’s commitment to the Disabled People’s Rights Plan.

Key priorities highlighted included:

• independent living and disabled people’s rights
• inclusive childcare and play
• financial inclusion and accessibility
• engagement with UK Government regarding PIP and the TIMS Review
• ensuring progress is measured through tangible improvements in disabled people’s lives

The Deputy First Minister expressed support for maintaining ongoing engagement with the EAB.

• To work with Disabled People’s Inclusion Team to consider and strengthen deafblind representation within EAB membership arrangements. Lead: Disabled People’s Inclusion Team.
• Written responses to transport-related questions and feedback to be provided following the meeting. Lead: Transport Officials
• Chat comments to be included as an annex to the meeting record. Lead: Secretariat
• Follow-up discussions to be arranged with members who requested further meetings on transport issues. Lead: Transport Team.
• Written update via the progress report to be provided on the Social Model of Disability actions due to lack of agenda time. Lead: Disabled People’s Inclusion Team Secretariat.
• Further information to be circulated regarding additional EAB membership and recruitment arrangements. Lead: Disabled People’s Inclusion Team Secretariat.
• Members to be contacted regarding additional skills, expertise and representation requirements for future EAB recruitment. Lead: Disabled People’s Inclusion Team Secretariat.

Due to time constraints, the agenda item on progress of the actions on the Social Model of Disability Actions was deferred. Welsh Government officials confirmed that written progress updates on the following actions would be circulated to members following the meeting.

Note: A written update on these actions will be circulated to members via the Progress Report following the meeting.