The Disability Equality Duty was introduced in the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. It is a statutory duty to promote the interests of disabled people in employment, service delivery and public life. Public bodies must take a more proactive approach to addressing disability and preventing discrimination. This includes promoting equality of opportunity and taking steps to take account of people’s disabilities in cultural and sports provision.

Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People is a 20 year vision that ‘by 2025, disabled people in Britain should have full opportunities and choices to improve their quality of life and will be respected and included as equal members of society’. The strategy for achieving this vision is based on removing barriers to inclusion, meeting individual needs and empowering people. It includes a package of measures agreed by government for:

• independent living and personalised services
• support for families with young disabled children
• transition into adulthood
• support and incentives for getting and staying in employment.

Specific recommendations on culture and sport include:

• ‘opportunities for disabled young people to improve their life chances should be provided through … accessible mainstream leisure and cultural activities and youth services’
• local authorities should work ‘proactively’ with a range of stakeholders, including the leisure industry, to increase opportunities for participation for disabled people within their area.

Other drivers for making cultural and sports provision more accessible include:

• early years and family support to enable children to participate in cultural and sports activity
• addressing access and transport to cultural and sports activities and facilities through independent living assessments.

Our Shared Future, 2007 is the final report of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion. It provides practical approaches to building communities' own capacity to reduce tensions and create opportunities for more integrated and cohesive societies.

The report identifies ‘sports, culture and leisure’ as one of four areas where a ‘focus on interaction’ would help build integration and cohesion.

Specific recommendations include:

• ‘nationally, cultural development agencies, including the Arts Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund, should require applicants for funding to demonstrate their commitment to integration and cohesion outcomes as part of its funding criteria. This would be in addition to the current focus on equality of access and participation’
•  ‘this same principle should apply to local public agencies when considering the potential for “bridging” activities across communities when funding sports and arts projects’

A collection of case studies accompanies the report to illustrate examples of good practice, including for culture, sport and the arts.

This is what the Commission on Integration and Cohesion says about how culture and sport should be represented on local strategic partnerships

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