NHS England is running a people’s experience survey to understand the progress of implementation of personal health budgets, integrated personal budgets and personal wheelchair budgets. Please help us promote this survey to as many budgets holders as possible so we can hear a wide range of views. It’s vitally important that we hear directly from [...]

It’s long overdue, but five new disability champions have been appointed by the government to ensure businesses don’t forget about their disabled customers. The five - listed below - will join 14 existing champions who have already made great strides in improving accessibility from industries as diverse as insurance to music. Using their industry influence, [...]

Latest image-based characters used in text messages and social media include disabled characters… Who needs words when you have emojis? The image-based characters are used across social media and text messages and include things as varied as aubergines and Christmas trees. Yet until recently, disabled people were not well represented. However, the latest batch of [...]

If you employ personal assistants (PAs) or carers, using a personal budget from health and/or social care or with your own money, you can apply for funding to pay for training… If you’re a PA User - find out more and download the application form from the Skills for Care website. If you’re a PA, [...]

Oh tidings of comfort and joy may be the chorus line from ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ but in Philadelphia, US, this year Santa has brought comfort and calm to an autistic teenager. Michelle Arnold Healy takes her son - 19-year-old Jack – to see Santa in their local shopping mall every year. Sadly, Jack [...]

The name Briony Williams will no doubt be familiar to fans of the Great British Bake-Off, but for those who don’t follow the series, you might be interested to learn that Briony, a former contestant, has a disability - her left hand stops at the wrist. At no point did the show mention her disability [...]

Today marks World Mental Health Day. Presented by the World Federation of Mental Health, the goal is to help raise awareness of mental health and to remove the stigma that is attached to it. Every year one in four adults, along with one child in ten, will have a mental health issue. These conditions can [...]

If you employ your own personal care assistants using a social care personal budget, you can apply for money from Skills for Care to pay for training for yourself and your staff. The money can cover the direct costs of training, travel costs and the cost of hiring replacement PAs. Find out more about the [...]

Make a note on your calendar because Tuesday 13 November has been earmarked as the UK’s first ever accessible shopping day, aimed at getting retailers to take all kinds of disability seriously. The initiative has already been backed by the government and major high street stores such as Argos, Asda, Sainsburys and Marks and Spencer. [...]

Facebook and Twitter say they could do more to prevent online abuse… PA Pool, the website that helps disabled people find suitable carers, has welcomed the spotlight falling on protecting disabled people online. Social media giants including Google, Facebook and Twitter have been questioned by MPs following a call from model Katie Price for ‘Harvey’s [...]

Disability Rights (UK) have just updated their Disability Living Allowance (DLA) Factsheet. The information is aimed at helping you to make a claim for DLA and also tells you what your child can expect to receive to help them with their care or mobility needs. Furthermore, the factsheet is laid out in format so that [...]

Goss Consultancy Limited (GCL) was established in 2005 by Nick Goss. GCL works with organisations to help them become as diverse, accessible and inclusive as possible in the way they employ people, develop policies and deliver services. We have a firm belief that achieving equality and promoting diversity is not only about legal compliance but [...]

The latest Rough Guide aims to help people with disabilities enjoy more of Britain’s attractions… The new edition of the Rough Guide to Accessible Britain has intensified focus on ‘invisible’ disabilities, such as autism and mental illness. The Guide, just published, which has a foreword by Chris Packham, has included for the first time information [...]

What is it? Do I need it? How do I buy it? An increasing number of carers are making the decision to become self-employed. Working for yourself can give a level of flexibility and job satisfaction much greater than that offered by traditional employee roles. You can choose who you work for and when you [...]

We have recently been contacted by Zoe Thomas who says she experienced a very poor service using Manchester Airport's Disabled Assistance. Unfortunately, Zoe thinks that complaining is pointless but has an 'in' to the BBC who may be interested in doing an investigation. But, in order to do so, they will need some more examples. [...]

If you're not sure what it means, then the Disability Confident Scheme, launched in November 2016, aims to help employers make the most of the opportunities provided by employing disabled people, by providing those employers with the skills, examples and confidence they need to recruit, retain and develop disabled employees.  It is a voluntary scheme [...]