EFD homepage > Media centre > EFD comment > An open letter to David Cameron MP
Leader of HM's Official Opposition
House of Commons
Westminster
London SW1A 0AA
4 December 2006
Dear Mr Cameron,
In your recent interview with Disability Now, you rightly assert that if we are to bring about real change for disabled people we have to make the 'business case' for employers. Many readers will have assumed that the business case still means; are the 6.9 million disabled people of working age employable? Or are 'they' worth the bother?
We would like to take this opportunity to point out that this 'business case' is now, thankfully, out of date. It is no longer a question of the cost-effectiveness of employing disabled people - can we really generalise about 6.9 million individuals, or the 3.4 million disabled people in work already? The real question now is - why is disability confidence good for business?
Society has moved away from thinking we have to treat every 'group' of people exactly the same – that was the old approach to equal opportunities. Our employer members are learning, reinforced by the DDA, that you have to treat individuals differently to treat them fairly.
A disability confident organisation understands how disability affects its talent pool, its people, its customers and markets, its product development and the communities in which it operates. Such employers have the disability 'know how' and confidence needed to remove systemic barriers whilst empowering individuals at the same time.
We would be grateful for your help in challenging outmoded assumptions. Please find enclosed a copy of the new 'business case' for disability confidence, “Realising Potential”, supported by www.realising-potential.org which I hope you'll agree is a compelling read.