However, the University of Bristol’s Personal Finance Research Centre, and the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers recently published a report that Collard was closely involved in.
This report is called “The Financial Wellbeing of Disabled People in the UK: Access to Essential Services” and indicates the current situation in financial services is contrary to this. It showed there are many barriers for disabled consumers.
The report drew from results of a survey of over 800 disabled consumers and showed that “disabled people can face multiple disadvantages that impact on their individual resilience and financial wellbeing".
These disadvantages included accessing work, benefits, and essential services in addition to the costs of disability.
Collard says “this can result in a disability trap” which risks negatively affecting disabled people’s health and further disabling them in other areas of their lives".
Disabled people, like older people, have relatively little visibility in society. They are ‘hidden’ for many reasons. Hidden at home, hidden in hospital or in care. They may be struggling with additional costs, plus many will be looking after and caring for others.
It will be harder for you to leave your home and go out if you are heavily sedated with psychiatric drugs, or if you are wheelchair dependent in a world that is not that well adapted for access.
Likewise, a significant proportion of banks have shut down in town centres, while a high level of computer literacy that is now needed to do every day banking and investing activities.
Disabled people have reported being particularly disadvantaged by these factors. It is more difficult for them to reach the high street bank, or to access both the technology and the training necessary to bank online.
Johnny Timpson, a passionate advocate for equality, equity and inclusion was formerly the government’s disability and access ambassador. Timpson advocates for the ‘Social Model of Disability’.
This, unlike the common Medical Model, sees disabling conditions located in the environment, not within a person.
If every office, shop, church and building society was wheelchair accessible, and had sensory impairment adjustments for those who are hearing or visually impaired, then those so called ‘disabled’ customers would now be ‘enabled’ by their environment.
Timpson is the former Government Ambassador for Disability and Access in the Insurance sector. He is also co-founder of GAIN (Group for Autism, Insurance, Investment and Neurodiversity).
