To ask the Minister for Communities to detail any steps their Department is taking to ensure the draft Anti-Poverty Strategy addresses the disproportionately high poverty rate among disabled people, 30 per cent compared to 16 per cent, as identified in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report entitled, Disability and poverty in Northern Ireland.

The Executive aims to address the higher poverty rate experienced by disabled people, referenced in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Report, using a variety of interventions across the Executive’s Anti-Poverty Strategy, the Executive Disability Strategy, and the Disability and Work Strategy. These represent combined efforts to address the barriers and inequalities that impact upon the lives of Deaf and disabled people, ensuring that they have the same rights and opportunities as the rest of our community.

Aligned to these Strategies, my Department’s initiatives such as the Pathways to Work and Wellbeing Transformation Project offer key opportunities to help more disabled people and people with health conditions to find and progress in employment.

We will continue to seek to include the voices and experiences of people with disabilities throughout the lifespan of the Anti-Poverty Strategy.