The Government wants that in 2030 at least half of people with disabilities have a job

On the occasion of International Convention Day on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Council of Ministers approved on Tuesday the Spanish Strategy on Disability 2022-2030. It is an ambitious, cross-cutting plan that wants to turn Spain into a benchmark for accessible society and inclusive for people with disabilities.

To do this, it sets a series of challenges, such as ensuring that at least half of the population with disabilities have job in 2030; reduce by half the number of people with problems access to transport or public buildings; Encourage the inclusive educationinclude the early attention in the portfolio of services or reduce the number of people living in institutionalized settings as residences.

To this end, the Ministry of Social Rights sets as a general objective “guaranteeing the effective exercise of human rights” of people with disabilities, “through policies that ensure their inclusion in the community, their full development, quality of life, personal autonomywith conditions of equal opportunities and non-discrimination”, in line with the convention guidelines of Rights of the UN.

The “debt” to women

The document contains a series of challenges and has, as “transversal axes”, gender perspective, territorial cohesion, innovation and sustainable development, among others. “A debt must be paid to women and girls with disabilities because they are in a situation of inequality due to many realities and historical oppressions,” the plan states.

The problem with this type of strategy is that it is difficult to quantify compliance. To correct this deficit, the document includes a series of indicators and goals, which can be used when carrying out the final evaluation in 2030. Thus, in the workplace, it marks that the employment rate among the population with disabilities should be increased from 34% to 51%. In education, the number of people who reach higher education should rise from 20.5% to 31% and the percentage of people with difficulty using the public transport should be cut in half (from 40% to 18%).

early care

Likewise, one of the main demands of the sector is that the services of early attention, aimed at children and seeking to provide a response as quickly as possible to temporary or permanent needs in their development disorders. Currently, access to this service has long waiting lists and its provision depends on each community. The Strategy recognizes early intervention “as a subjective right” and provides for “guaranteeing equal access” and that it be included in the “common portfolio of serviceshealth and social services financed by the public system.

Another of the key points of the Strategy is “to promote strategies of deinstitutionalization“, which implies developing a “range of community services that reduce the need for institutional and segregated care”. This objective is in line with the Government’s challenge of putting an end to the macro-residences for the elderly and promoting that these spaces be smaller and the closest thing to a home.

no budget

In short, as explained by the Government spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, with this Strategy the aim is “to be closer to the more than four million Spaniards who suffer from disabilities and accompany them when it comes to break down barriers“.

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However, the sector, which has participated in its preparation, “appreciates” the “social transformation” agenda proposed by the Strategy and believes that its challenges “are well focused” but fears that they will remain wet paper since the document is not accompanied by an execution budget. “We agree on what but we are concerned about how and the time in which it happens,” he explains. Enrique Galvandirector of Full Inclusion Spain.

In addition, the sector misses a greater effort in reducing waiting lists to have an assessment of disability, which is now in about two years and is expected to decrease but in a later initiative. In short, the Strategy is “an opportunity to move forward but if it remains in a drawer and without deployment it will be a reason for frustration“, according to Galván.