Nov 03 2023 45 mins
They say you shouldn’t kick a person when they’re down. It feels right now the UK Government are down. And unfortunately for them, Phil and Simon have found more reasons why they deserve maybe not a kick but a strong toe poke.
Launched in late September 2023, Ask Don’t Assume is the government’s disability awareness-raising campaign. It asks everyone to avoid making assumptions about disabled people as well as asking non-disabled people to become allies. Many disabled-led organisations and influential people dismissed it. We explore why it feels outdated and inappropriate and ask why, if it was created with disabled people, it doesn’t have more validity.
Another government initiative is the Disability Confident employer scheme. Quoting from the Disability New Service, Phil suggests the results show it’s not working. Simon flips the statistics around and shows it can be argued that it is doing very well. We know statistics can be manipulated, so leaving that aside, is the campaign any good?
Phil gives an update on his recent cancer treatment, and Simon tells of his recent talk at the Royal Television Society on 20 years of disability representation on television.
Ask Don’t Assume
Simon’s talk with Steph Lacey at the Royal Television Society